Seeing the Light

Marie Jenner Mystery #1

by Eileen Bell

Marie Jenner has never had much luck. Her job sucks. Her apartment — the one with the unbreakable lease — has a ghost. And worst of all, her mother won’t let up about her joining the “family business.” Since that business is moving the spirits of the dead on to the next plane of existence and doesn’t pay at all, Marie’s not interested. She wants a normal job — a normal life. That’s not too much to ask, is it?

Apparently, it is. Even when she applies for the job of her dreams, Marie doesn’t get what she wants. Well, not entirely. She does get the job — but she also gets another ghost. Farley Hewitt, the newly dead caretaker of the building, wants her to prove his death is not an accident, and she’s pretty sure he’s going to haunt her until she does.

All she wants is normal. She isn’t going to get it.

Genres: Mystery, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Fantasy, Ghosts, Canada, Fiction

ebook

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Eileen Bell has has had fiction and creative nonfiction published in On Spec Magazine, and on CBC's Alberta Anthology. She’s won a handful of Aurora awards for her work in Women of the Apocalypse and Bourbon and Eggnog.

Her debut paranormal mystery novel, Seeing the Light, is the first in the Marie Jenner Mystery series. It won the BPAA Best Speculative Fiction Book of the year, and was shortlisted for the Bony Blithe Mystery Award for Light Fiction. (Under the pen name E.C.Bell.) The second book in the series, Drowning in Amber is available, and she's hard at work on the third.

When she’s not writing, she’s living a fine life in her round house (even if it is in a perpetual state of renovation) with her husband and two dogs.

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know better than to "choose a book by its cover"...but I don't always do what I know not to do...and it IS a really lovely cover! The story was interesting, the writing was very well done, and the "star of the show", Marie, was a character that you desperately wanted root for. She wasn't a perfect character by any stretch of the imagination...she did some really dumb and stupid things, like talking to the killer and actually telling him what evidence she had on him... but hey...it's a story and I still had some hope for her. It more than a little strange that no one ever asked her HOW she knew or WHERE she obtained all this information that she had.... not the police...not even the killer.

Sometimes I felt some pity for Marie's circumstances. She's a young woman who is desperate for rent money, who has to deal with a boss on her temp job, who could hand's down win the "Sleaze of the Year Award", along with a pesty ghost who keeps interrupting her efforts. If you are looking for a Shirley Jackson or an Edgar Alan Poe type of ghost story...this, isn't it...still it was a fun read.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all? All book that uses the verbs hut-hutted and hut-hutting? That's a book for me!

Seeing the Light is a fun paranormal mystery that is set in Edmonton. Reading a book set in the city you call home is always at least a little fun because you get to pick out the landmarks, guess at some of the settings and fully visualize others, so let's face it, between that and the hut-hutting I wasn't ever going to hate this book. But those aren't the things that made me really like it (and I DO really like it).

I like it because the main character Marie is a snarky but flawed heroine who alternately had me completely on her side and made me want to scream at her and Farley, her ghostly sidekick, is simultaneously a real asshole and completely sympathetic. In other words? They felt like real people. Nuanced and complicated, people.

Disclosure: I heard Eileen read part of this story at When Words Collide and offered to read an it with an eye toward providing a blurb for it if I liked it. I did like it. The blurb I'm going to offer to her, will go something like this:

Whatever you do, don't start this book at bedtime! Bell's skilful storytelling, nuanced characters and intriguing plot will keep you turning the pages long after your head is meant to be on your pillow.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quirky ghost story set in Edmonton, Alberta. With likeable characters Marie, who can see ghosts but doesn’t want to, and Farley, who is a recent ghost who wants to find out what caused his death, this story was a fun and fast read.

I will admit that I was a bit leery at first as the premise of a reluctant “ghost whisperer” character is nothing new, but there is a gentle sassiness to this story that is quite entertaining. Marie is very much an optimist, even when her string of bad days seems like it will never end. This optimism helps keep the story from feeling dark or depressing, even when bad things happen.

It doesn’t quite fall into a cozy mystery feel, but it’s still light enough to be an easy weekend read that will leave you smiling. Marie seems to have a knack for getting into almost ridiculous situations, and I’m sure they will only get better as the series progresses.

[Billie Milholland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A first novel, set in Edmonton, Alberta, with promise of more to come with the same characters.
It was a fun & quirky read as I came to know the players.

I warmed up to Marie Jenner and her unexpected, troubled ghost, Farley, right away. Marie's possible love interest, James, took me a bit longer, but I see his potential and anticipate his growth in subsequent stories!

Marie's boss is a familiar character, delightfully similar to many petty, autocrats I've known.

Marie, reluctant ghost whisperer & accidental sleuth, is having a bad day - a series of bad days, actually. I came to count on her self-deprecating sense of humour and persistent resiliency to yank her back from despair and I was not disappointed. I look forward to seeing how she grows into herself, so I hope there will be many more Marie Jenner books!

Her gift, inherited from her mother, is the ability to help the recently dead move along to the next stage of their journey. It's a gift she didn't ask for, doesn't want and can't get rid of. It's the burden of responsibility that comes with that gift that complicates her life.

Farley is dead and doesn't want to move on. He wants to know the truth about his death & counts on Marie to help him find it.

James, the person who took over Farley's job, is an unlikely building maintenance guy... a bit of an opportunist when it comes to trying to persuade Marie to work with him. I'm suspicious of him, but not unsympathetic. I look forward to seeing how he develops.

I hope this becomes a series.

[Karin Corneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I had already written a review, but apparently not, so here we go again :)

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms Bell at the Calgary Entertainment Expo this year. The book cover caught my eye so I wandered over to her booth to check it out.

I love all things paranormal but am usually a little leery about stories involving ghosts. I had read one before where the main character fell in love with the ghost and ultimately ended up making out with said ghost (seriously?!?). This turned me off of ghost stories and since then I've been leery to read another.

The premise to this book is quite straight forward, Marie Jenner reluctantly sees ghosts. On her first day at a new job, she meets Farley who is trapped in the building and asks For Marie's help in finding out why he was murdered.

Thus begins a wonderful who-dun-it. Marie is a completely relatable character and the character development in this story was superb. I powered through this while on vacation and literally finished it in 2 days.

The only negative I have is that there were a few spelling mistakes, and one of the characters was given a different name.

I also loved that it took place in Edmonton, Alberta since I live in Calgary :)

But, I enjoyed everything about this book and immediately rushed out to the nearest bookstore to get the next instalment Drowning In Amber, but sadly the store had none left, so I'll have to wait until I get home to buy it.

Thank you Ms Bell for introducing me to Marie Jenner, it was a pleasure to meet you (my first author meeting I might add) and I look forward to more!!

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gritty paranormal mystery set in Edmonton. Marie Jenner has just landed a new job--unfortunately her office building is haunted by the ghost of its former handyman. Ghosts are the family business, one that Marie has been trying to get away from, but she reluctantly agrees to help Farley solve the mystery of his death. There are plenty of twists and turns, plus an explosion. The set up for book two looks intriguing.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fantastic! I met the author at Calgary Expo, when I was a bit tired of going to con and just looking for a book to sit and read. She recommended I start with this one, and it was a fantastic read! I just finished it today, after losing it in moving clutter for several months. What a great find and a quick, entertaining read. I really liked the pacing, in particular.

[Brandon]

A great start to a paranormal mystery series set in Edmonton. Marie Jenner has a crystal clear voice, one that carries this book through. Excited to read more. :)

[Sharkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me much too long to finish for a book I really enjoyed!

I'm still not sure how to describe my feelings around it... I love Marie, to the bottom of my heart, and feel for her so much. I wish the ghostly aspect was focused on more, but I understand why it wasn't. I like the mystery parts, though as with most thrillers I wish the action was more developed.

A very good, very fun mystery all in all.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't be mistaken by the title -- this story is no yawn-fest guide to spiritual growth. Marie Jenner is an endearing down-to-earth protagonist who takes us through her chaotic quest to become normal, at a pace that flows briskly and probably doesn't indicate Marie's going to achieve her goal anytime soon, either. She whines but always just enough to keep the reader sympathetic, and never tips into the realm of a bleeding heart. The treatise of helping spirits move on is handled in a unique and very real way, with life's messiness that neither Marie nor anyone else can ignore. The ghost development and execution are not what you'd expect, and smack into reality in surprisingly thought-provoking ways. I had a few issues with some plot points and character motivations that didn't seem realistic, but things kept moving quickly enough in an interesting direction that it was easily forgiven. The overall resolution of the central conflicts is very satisfying, which is quite an achievement given how easily the material could have been painted with broad brushstrokes of sappy, cliched inspiration. I'm interested to see how Marie grows and develops in the series, and willing to endure more raised eyebrows of people thinking I'm a hyper-conservative Christian hoping to find my inner light as I read.

[G.J.C. McKitrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marie Jenner's life is lived from pay cheque to pay cheque, from trauma to trauma and from ghost to ghost. Not figurative ghosts like the one's you find in phycological novels, but real honest-to-God dead people. She can see them and because she can see them, she has a responsibility to them. If that weren't bad enough she is chronically under employed, running from a stalking ex-boy friend, trying desperately not to fall in love with a new male friend, and dealing with murder mystery that falls into her lap via the latest ghost. Add a homicidal land developer into the mix and you have one serious page turner. The best part of this novel, however, E.C. Bell's finely nuanced portrayal of Marie Jenner, a woman whose life is determined to beat her down but she just won't let it. And this is only the first book in a series.

[JoeK · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story started out fast and funny and then became neither. I suppose in the context of the story, Marie was behaving the way a normal woman would when confronted by the bizarre situations she encountered. Still, she and James Lavall were barely heroes at all. Both were alternately whiny, or stupid and my growing dislike for them slowed the pace of the book for me.

There wasn't too much of a mystery here, and the two villains were almost as inept as the investigators. Quite frankly, without the assistance of the heroes, I expect the two of them would still have been caught.

As far as the supernatural element of the story went – moving Farley Hewitt on to the next stage was the only thing interesting enough to keep me reading this thing to the end. Unfortunately for this author, it's not enough to make me pick up another of her books.

[Alejandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Promising beginning of a categorization defying series. Part mystery novel, part supernatural fantasy with a sprinkling of humor. Marie took a while to grow on me, I wanted to yell at her a lot, but I liked how fleshed out she is, flaws and all. Looking forward to her next adventure.

[Barbara Galler-Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. Farley the ghost needs Marie Jenner to help his solve a murder--his own. What they discover on their journey is a conspiracy of greater proportions than either of then realized. A great adventure that will leave you wanting more. And there are more! Yee-haw!

[Susanne B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this cover to cover today. I liked the perspective shift from character to character. There was much happening but it did not feel contrived. I am so pleased that there is another book, Drowning in Amber which I shall be reading this evening instead of everything else I should be doing.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, Great story, very interesting.

[Pat Flewwelling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky and lovely. Not a fan of paranormal or romance, but there was enough mystery to keep me highly entertained.

[Jamie Bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Falls Short

I generally enjoy mysteries and books that have anything to do with the paranormal or supernatural, so I thought that this book would be a natural fit for me. However, this particular novel didn't work for me. I'm having a hard time pulling together my thoughts about it. Several things just didn't ring right with me, but I'm having a hard time putting my finger on precisely what I'm not liking here. One of the things I can say for sure is that I didn't like the profanity in the book; I just don't think profanity is necessary except to show character and only in very limited places (genres). I felt like the characterization was weak for all the major players in the book. Marie, a viewpoint character, could have been interesting given all that she had to deal with but she was just lacking in too many ways; I didn't feel like her head was an interesting place to be in. The main viewpoint character has to have solid characterization to be believable, relatable, and someone that we want to follow, and that just wasn't here for me. I also felt like the mystery element of the story was barely there; for a book called a mystery, there needs to be more mystery! Like the other characters, I didn't find the villains particularly well drawn either. I understand that this is the author's first book, and perhaps she will improve the more she practices writing.

I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.

Read my other reviews at https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com

[Ken Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marie Jenner can see ghosts - she'd prefer not to and tries to avoid them if at all possible. According to her mother, who is similarly gifted, Marie's job is to help them move into the light (or wherever!) - she's having nothing to do with it.
Her newest ghostly acquaintance, Farley Hewitt, has little interest in moving on - he just wants to know who killed him a few days earlier. Initially he's bound to the building where he worked as the maintenance guy and where he was found dead.
Marie is working in the Palais Office Building, a 1920s structure soon-to-be a listed building and is the only person who he can communicate with, he hounds her to investigate his death. Her job as a receptionist is well paid but far from taxing - it's just her and her boss.
"Seeing the Light" is set in Edmonton, Alberta, where Marie has moved to avoid her abusive ex-boyfriend.
Hoping to fill the romantic gap is the new janitor, James Lavall, whose uncle owns a small detective agency.
As Marie and James probe the circumstances surrounding the death of Farley Hewitt both, Marie in particular, find themselves in danger.
E. C. Bell has a likeable writing style and, overall, the book is highly enjoyable. It's also about a third too long and has several strands which, while interesting, are far from vital. Some of the plotting relies far too heavily on serendipity.
3.5 Stars, reduced to 3 Stars.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A murder mystery. But the only person who thinks it's a murder is Farley Hewitt, the building's ex-caretaker. A ghost. The only person he can communicate with is Marie Jenner, who most definitely does not want this. She's just started a new job, her mom is perpetually nagging her about moving back to Fort McMurray and joining the “family business” laying ghosts to rest – a business Marie wants nothing to do with and which doesn't actually generate a paycheque – the ghost in her apartment spends all night screaming; her whole existence is a grey, depressing sludge pile. All Marie wants is a normal life. But as Farley draws her deeper into the solving the murder and her new boss gets more suspect every day, it doesn't look like normal is on the horizon any time in the near future. With a smidge of romance, shady business dealings, and enough plot twists to keep any thrill-seeker happy, Seeing the Light is the start to a great new mystery series that I can't wait to devour. It also has hints of drug use, discussions of domestic violence, and of course murder and suicide. All are fairly mild, so lovers of mysteries and paranormal fiction who have a bit of a tolerance for violence may want to give these books a shot.

[Krista D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

So first - let's get this out of the way. I honestly thought I'd read this. I mean, I've gone to several of Eileen's book launches and events over the years. Hell, I even had one with her! I've recommended the book to people, I advised them on plot and content things they asked about. But I realized upon what I thought was a re-read (so that I could get caught up in the series) was that I hadn't finished reading Book 1. I just somehow had forgotten, but had known so much of the plot from all of these events that...well...oops.

So, as someone who has now just actually read the entire book, as opposed to just going to Eileen's events and hearing her read it to me, I loved this paranormal suspense debut. It was a solid meager of suspense, mystery, local setting, and fantasy. The setting was unique (Edmonton), and the characters were alive and distinct. The dialogue was excellent, and the cinnamon bun saying "Son of a gun" while being chased by an arsonist was adorable.

Highly recommended for urban fantasy lovers and mystery lovers who want adventure and a down-on-her-luck ghost whisperer.

[Emily Craven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, paranormal mystery set in Edmonton (I love books set in cities I've lived in but aren't major world cities - it's so much fun identify the landmarks I know so well!). Marie our heroine is kickass, but flawed, dealing with real life shit but also paranormal shit with about as much finesse as I would. She's sassy, but human and I love that. But Marie is not the only character who had amazing depth and complexity, even the resident ghost of the book was created with as much depth as the fleshies. The book did go much darker than I was expecting for the fun tone at the start of the book, but even though it was unexpected, it worked. One thing that might be a trigger for some people is that Marie does take a lot of shit from her new boss and doesn't have the courage to stand up to the bully for a large part of the book, it's 100% in character for her, and she grows so well and you can see where that comes from by the end, but it may be a trigger for some readers. Otherwise, highly recommend to all!

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! A spunky and likeable main character, whose tumultuous relationship with an interesting ghost at her new job, leads her down a rabbit hole mystery that doesn’t let up from start to finish and made the story quite the ride. It was fast-paced and surprisingly funny in parts. Light on the supernatural side, but that added element gave it an interesting twist and also a surprisingly emotional core. Having the story take place in Edmonton was refreshing, especially since I live just outside the city and enjoyed being able to really picture the locations. There were a few qualms I had, mostly with some repeated storytelling tactics that felt a bit over used sometimes and James, almost Mary-Sue like personality grated a bit, but that might be a personal thing I disliked. Overall though I was really impressed with my random book purchase at the Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo - one of the best local novels I think I’ve read. Highly recommended!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this and am on the cusp of ordering the next in the series. I'm mainly not giving it five stars because although very entertaining, it was not an edge of your seat, can't put it down book. It almost falls into the category of "cozy mystery" which I generally try to avoid for fear of the story being too saccharine. This wasn't, thank goodness.

The characters are likable, except for the bad guys, of course. I'm curious if Marie's ex-boyfriend will reappear in the future. He is a real piece of work. Her ability to talk to poor Farley, the ghost, without others catching on is a hoot.

[Janice Spina · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing book that held my interest throughout. This is the start of a series of paranormal books with Marie Jenner as the protagonist of the mysteries. Marie has the ability to see and converse with ghosts. She inherited this ability from her mother.

Marie is drawn into a mystery as she gets closer to the cause of the ghost’s death. Things begin to happen that threaten her very life for there are some who would kill in order to keep their plans a secret.

A thoroughly enjoyable read that I would recommend to all who love paranormal mysteries that keep you engaged.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled to finish this book. It was not well written unfortunately. There was a lot of repetitive dialogue, characters who were stereotyped and way too many plot lines going on. The basic storyline caught my attention but I couldn’t connect with Marie and her whining. Several characters were just dropped like Jasmine and we never found out the big secret with Marie’s mother. Lots of “I need you “ then “Leave me alone “ between Marie and James. I skimmed a lot of the book, am happy to be finished and won’t be reading any sequels! Hopefully, the author’s writing improves.

[Scarolet Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing the Light (Marie Jenner Mystery #1) by E.C. Bell is a wonderful story that I have had the privilege to read. This is book number one in this start to a brand new series writen by a brand new author for me to read and I fell in love with this book, can not wait to read the next one in this series. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about ghosts and mysteries in their stories.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Johanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fun read but it took me a long time to read it. Marie was very engaging and Farley was quite endearing but I really didn't like James so I wasn't too keen on the "will they/won't they" subplot. The action parts were good but they felt quite bitty - maybe it was the lack of flow that meant I kept putting the book down and picking it up again. There were large chunks of exposition. The book overall is a fun read and I see a lot of potential in the author but I had a few issues with it.

[Valerie's Reading Nook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, especially as it is set in Edmonton, a city I've visited many times.

I liked that the character, Marie Jenner, is extremely down to earth and just really does not have any time in her life for extra drama. She is just trying to survive every day, save some money to help her mom and put up with the ghosts that are a constant nuisance in her life.

I'm looking forward to book 2.

[Pat Eroh · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you add a ghost who demands you prove their death was murder, you have my attention. Add an overbearing mother and a sassy girl, now I am hooked. So well-written and such wonderful characters that I love this book!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.