The Ghost Detectives

by Charles Townsend

Can a ghost solve his own murder? Charlie is dead, but he doesn't understand what's happened. He thinks he may have been murdered. Together with another ghost, Lizzie, they set out to investigate his death. As ghosts there are only two things that they can do that can affect alive people. They can change the temperature, and they can blow gusts of cold wind. But being ghosts, they are able to go where they want without search warrants and listen in to conversations without people knowing that they are there. Using just these, will they be able to find out what really happened, and if they do, will they be able to guide the police to the murderer? Things are complicated by an evil ghost that seems to be also interested in Charlie's death.

344 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 5, 2026

Reviews

[Ruth-Maria Ilieva · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5⭐️ stable book

Was the mystery heart-wrenching and stilling? No. But was it going for that? Also no. So in my book, that’s a success.

The story revolves about an ordinary guy, literally “just a dude”, named Charles that suddenly realises that he’s looking at his body, instead of from his body. He starts trying to rearrange the pieces of his latest memories and it slowly dawns on him that he has, unfortunately and mysteriously, died!

However, he is standing, floating above his lying body, actually, inside of a locked room, that no one outside of him has access to, so how has he died with no visible outside interference? Was he secretly suicidal? No… then how come is he not waking up?

Just as he’s pondering these heavy questions he meets Lizzie. Lizzie is a fun, light-hearted, curious, a little flirty 😉, friendly ghost, that seems entirely too interested into u ravelling the mystery of the death of Charlie.

Together they try to figure out what dominoes had to fall so that Charlie could end up a little see-through and a lot more float-y than before. They are forced to deal with heavier topics such as affairs, intimacy, sense of self and great questions like “what parts of you are you and what are just a product of your upbringing and circumstance?

There are also, per usual for any good mystery, bad guys (ghosts) tangled motives and a lot of decisions that weave together to show the intricate connections between people.

Overall I really enjoyed the book, the only downside that I see is that there was a slightly awkward air around the flirty remarks between the two main characters, and also the narration was a little wonky for my taste, but I concede that’s on me for choosing to listen to it, rather than read the book.

I’d definitely come back to this book at a later date to physically read it as I think I’ll definitely enjoy it more then. I think I’ll reread it in autumn though, it feels like a good season to read a cozy mystery like this one.

[Katerina Ermeidou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Online Book Club and Charles Townsend for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Ghost Detectives by Charles Townsend is an entertaining and mysterious page-turner, offering a delightful twist on the classic murder mystery. Charlie has just found himself dead and is quite convinced that his demise is a result of foul play, so he embarks on a fun and occasionally dangerous journey with fellow-ghost Lizzie who introduces him to the world of ghosts and his new supernatural existence. The premise of this book is very unique, as we do not often get a chance to see the "victim" of the story also being the hero. Nonetheless, I did feel like at the end of the day the book did not live up to its full potential.
But let's start with the best parts. It was undoubtedly a very fun and light-hearted read, easily finished in one sitting since it is quite fast-paced. I personally listened to the audiobook, so even though I cannot account for any misspellings or typos in the text, I can definitely say the voice actors did a lovely job holding the listeners' interest and bringing the characters to life. The story itself had some very interesting elements, such as the creative use of the ghosts' powers and classical conditioning. Seeing Charlie adopt to his new life while at the same time everything he knows seems to fall apart is one of the main things that kept me intrigued.
Unfortunately, this is also where the story started to disappoint me. I felt that for a man who just died (possibly murdered) he never took a moment to come to terms with the fact, nor did he experience any particular feelings about it. He just seemed to pretty much just immediately accept it and jump straight into detective mode. As for Lizzie, a clearly comedic addition to the story, I found her unnecessarily sex-driven, in a way that stopped being funny very early on. When it comes to the rest of the characters, they felt more like plot devices to help move the story forward than actual fleshed out characters, a fact that made the plot twists quite predictable and lessened the suspense. There were plenty of points in the story where I thought that the author was telling me what to feel instead of take me through the story and allow me to make my own conclusions.
Overall, I truly believe that the author's idea is very unique and creative and I would love to see how he continues with this series. What brought down the rating for me was how superficial the story felt, perhaps since the book was fairly short as well. If the author had taken more time to explore the characters and deepen our connection to them, instead of simply just telling us how to feel about them, the story could have easily been a 4 - 4.5 star read.

[mina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love the concept of a character being a ghost and solving their own murder or maybe why they are still wandering around but I think it’s good if the author makes it seem the character is alive or tricks you into thinking they are.
When it comes to the writing style it feels very juvenile but it’s easy to read and follow. There’s quite a lot of context missing at the beginning, for example Lizzie, she showed up and they just started working together, it was never mentioned why her or where she came from, not even what’s her connection to Charlie, which in my opinion feels like a plot hole. In the span of an hour he’s dead and working his homicide with an unknown ghost that happened to appear out of nowhere, it never went into detail about him processing or dealing with the fact that he is dead, leaving behind his kid, his friends and Fay which was supposed to be the woman he was spending his life with. The writing is also a bit repetitive, for example “I had to think and decide what should I do. The first thing I had to do, I decided […]”. Those two sentences are one after the other one, and they might be built like different sentences but they use the same words, making it feel the same. Also, every time one character referred to a different person with their name, they would list them and then add ‘that’s’; for example, ‘Alex, that’s Doctor Alex Enderby.’ , which made everything a bit repetitive.
Plot is interesting, characters are not very likeable, and I still can’t get the fact that everyone is sleeping with everyone and that the ghosts are, often, making sexual remarks or ‘jokes’. Things are still not very clear even though I am halfway through the book which is kind of annoying, a lot of the time was spent seeing Charlie trying to develop ghost abilities instead of actually solving his murder, which is the premise of the book. Yes, he is following the detectives and giving them little pushes but that’s about it. The writing is decent, still a bit repetitive but it can be overlooked at times, it just feels like you go over and over the same things. Now the murderer was a surprise, which raised my rating of the book.
The only thing that I can’t overlook is the sexual connotations in the interactions between Lizzie and Charlie and the few mentions of Fay’s breasts. I feel like that didn’t add anything to the scenes or the story and could have been left out. You can mention an affair without having to mention the character’s breasts while she is having sex with a man, specially since it wasn’t a full scene with importance to the story or the plot. He lost me when he talked about the FMC’s breasts, which to me as a reader and a woman felt totally unnecessary and irrelevant. Going with the comment about Fay’s breasts, we have Lizzie with the “picture me as your ideal woman”. Add to the fact that Lizzie wanted to have sex with him at the end of chapter 2, again, fully unnecessary to sexualize ghosts, it’s supposed to be a mystery and not a romance. I just can’t understand what is it with the thirst on Lizzie’s behalf? Why is she so sexual?
‘naturally sexy and seductive temptress, complete sex kitten’ was the quote that annoyed me the most, again we are talking about a ghost, he makes her sound too sexual and it stopped being funny after the first time.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

My honest review on “The Ghost Detectives” By: Charles Townsend

My honest review on “The Ghost Detectives”
By: Charles Townsend
The author of “The Ghost Detectives” did an amazing job at keeping my attention as a reader. This book was funny and suspenseful. I really enjoyed the book a lot the author definitely knows how to keep a readers attention especially from the beginning and that’s what I like to see when I’m reading books because if it doesn’t grab me within the first chapter or so I know I’m won’t be into the book. It was a very fast pace book. The story was based around a guy named Charlie who died unexpectedly an him and another ghosted he meet name Lizzie are trying to figure out what happened to him. These two characters together were very entertaining together an it definitely made me not want to put the book down at all. Charlie’s character was kinda on the shy side at first but later on he opened up an joked around more and Lizzie she was very outgoing and always joked about sex throughout the whole book. There was one part in the book that was spicy but only rating it a 🌶️ in the spicy department.
This book definitely pulls you and keeps you on the edge of your seat on whats gonna happen next because who doesn’t love a good murder mystery book that gets you thinking an keeps your guessing what’s gonna happen next. There was always something happening in the story like an evil ghost coming along and trying to interfere with there investigation on who murdered Charlie, there was so many suspects involved an different theories of what an who could have murdered Charlie.
The character build and the character growth by the end of this book was good. Charlie and Lizzie definitely became the power duo on solving the mystery of who murdered Charlie. The author put a lot of detail into his writing so when you read you can definitely picture each sentence and how things played out. Definitely a great little short read book and I seen there was another book after this so I will definitely be checking it out!. 4.5⭐️

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Ghost Detectives" is written by Charles Townsend. I have to say that I thought this book tried too hard to be both a funny and slightly spooky mystery novel that combines the paranormal with a traditional mystery novel. I did think that the “banter” between the characters got old pretty quickly as did the constant “funny” sexual situations. Lizzie, could have been an interesting character, but she is pretty annoying and I grew tired of her fairly early on.
This book does not fit into one category, being rather a combination of a comical and paranormal mystery. It is a book trying to decide what it wants to be, "Some mysteries aren't meant to be solved – only understood.” and so manages to fail at both.
Namely, the author uses jokes, mostly about sex, which are not particularly funny and, instead, start seeming irritating. “We floated through the door into a flat on the left. A young couple I didn’t recognized looked like they were about to go to bed. “Ooo! Shall we stay and Watch! said Lizzie. “He’s quite a hunk!” is a good example. Moreover, such humor does not contribute to developing the plot and characters and only seems to be forced. Lizzie could have been a decent character, but she failed to do so because of lack of development throughout the whole novel.

I am also not sure what the target audience of the book is since it is written in a way that would fit a middle schooler well. However, the presence of the sexual content does not suit that age range. Thus, it cannot be called “Scooby-Doo” for that matter, though some lines may be considered as such.

Still, it should be admitted that the book is very easy to read. There is no problem with grammar, spelling, or editing; thus, nothing interferes with comprehending the text. As a result, those interested in cozy mysteries might find the book worthwhile.

However, despite its positive aspects, the book was not enjoyable for me. I would give it 5 rating since it was not difficult to read, but I am not going to proceed with other books by the same author.

[Breanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5

The Ghost Detectives by Charles Townsend was a quick, playful read with an intriguing premise, though the writing style and sexual references may make its intended audience a bit unclear. 


The story revolves around a murdered man who teams up with a ghostly female sidekick in a murder-mystery whodunit. Despite Amazon marketing the book to the ages of 15-18, I feel it's questionable for two reasons.


First, the prose of this book was a bit simplistic. At times, the writing felt better suited for elementary or early middle school-aged readers. The pacing of the writing was a bit fragmented, and the word and phrase usage was noticeably repetitive. 


Second, while the narration appears to be written for younger children, there are frequent references to sex and sexual innuendos. It also appeared as though nearly all of the characters were unfaithful, that it was perfectly acceptable, and everyone knew about it. Not to mention, it also encouraged voyeurism on a few occasions. For that reason, it doesn’t feel appropriate for younger readers. 


Now that we have addressed those concerns, it is a lighthearted and playful book. The characters enjoy playing pranks on each other and casting bets with one another. Personally, I found the sexual elements unnecessary and distracting, and it really pulls the story away from what I tend to think of when wanting a “cozy,” quick read. 


With that said, while this book is not my typical read, I did enjoy the premise. The blossoming friendship between Charles and Lizzie was entertaining to watch, and I liked how the ghostly world started unfolding while the investigation was taking place. There was a bit of a secondary story line happening with a “malicious” ghost named Malice. Malice's misdeeds introduced us to the Ghost Council's head, adding an additional layer to the story and setting up the storyline for the next book. 


Overall, I do believe some readers will appreciate the book as a lighthearted, easy read that they could complete in one day. 

[Adio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title:The Ghost Detectives. I just finished reading this thought-provoking detective novel called "The Ghost Detectives." I must say it is a very interesting and well-thought-out novel. I find myself trying to solve the puzzle of whether Charles Benson, one of the main characters of the novel, died of natural causes or was murdered. It brings about a strange contrast of a ghost trying to investigate his own death upon reawakening in the Ghost Realm, where other ghosts choose to stay for reasons best know to them before passing on. The murder investigation could easily be concluded as one cause by natural causes. Since the murder weapon wasn't something that could easily be suspicious, the writer's style is clear and easy to read. The part I enjoyed most was trying to understand the innovative ways the ghost detectives tried to manipulate the human detectives using all sorts of methods, including giving warm and cold shoulders. It's also interesting to know there's a code of conductor the ghosts follow and breaking the rules comes with some sort of trial that might lead to the ghost being frozen. Another important aspect of the story that I find fascinating is the idea of Charles getting used to being a ghost, the fact that he can't taste food, he can easily go through walls, jump on any train or car and eavesdropping on conversation easily makes the investigations easy. Although the Detective did most of the work on the ground, they wouldn't have achieved much without the Ghost Detectives. I am giving the book a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars because I find it easy to read and easy to follow every investigation and inquiry done by both human and ghost detectives. It turns out there were more murders overlooked, but the investigations unraveled them.I am happy to recommend this book to anyone trying to solve an investigative puzzle.

[Ashley Ulrichsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Paid review through onlinebookclub.org

The Ghost Detectives is a fun, cozy, quick mystery read. I feel that the author created a great number of potential subjects to keep the reader’s mind open, but the interrogation process throughout the book was very repetitive as it jumped from character to character regarding the same matter. This could have been done in a much more efficient manner where longer interrogations were noted to keep the story moving in specific directions.

I struggled with feeling like the lead character had no emotional reaction to dying. He expresses no great sadness towards no longer being with his wife, son, or friends, yet does spend time reflecting on how much he’ll miss eating food and going out to pubs, which doesn’t correspond with his character’s personality of being a loving husband.

Lizzie’s character was at times funny, but was frequently overly sexualized with no summary as to why. Her story is vaguely shared and I think it would’ve been helpful to dive into her history to help the reader understand her character better, especially if she’s portrayed as such a sexual being. Not having the understanding made me feel uncomfortable reading her flirtations.

There were instances of improper grammar which had me questioning the review process, notably not including an “s” in “We may need to come back and ask some more question later”, and “When got there, we found the search team from Colchester had arrive just a few moments before us.”

I love mystery books, and the concept of this book was fun, but I felt as though it removed most of the room for reader interpretation. The author was very descriptive which is great for world building, but it extended too far and took away from the reader’s ability to guess the next events. This may be a good recommendation for somebody that’s new to mystery novels and would benefit from having the guidance throughout the book.

[Kylie Di Mauro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ghost Detectives by Charles Townsend is a simple, quick read about Charlie, a man who dies in suspicious circumstances. His ghost remains behind, and he meets another ghost named Lizzie. Together, they set out to discover how Charlie died. Along the way we meet other ghosts, as well as Charlie’s wife and friends.

I enjoyed the premise of a dead man trying to solve his own murder. I also liked that the identity of the murderer was not obvious until the end, and that we gradually learn more about Charlie’s friends throughout the book.

However, I found myself confused about the intended target audience. The writing is very simple and uses childish expressions such as “yukky,” “oooo yes,” “ooo, lovely,” “rumpy pumpy,” and “hunk,” which makes it feel as though the book is aimed at young teenagers. At the same time, there are frequent and unnecessary references to sex. Within three hours of Charlie’s death, Lizzie begins asking sexual questions, such as, “Have you ever done it on the back seat of a car?” and “Can ghosts… do it… have sex?” These comments occur repeatedly throughout the book. Many of Charlie’s friends, including his wife, are also having affairs, which Charlie discovers on the day he dies. This content feels inappropriate for a younger audience and adds nothing to the storyline. I believe it is meant to be humorous, but it is mentioned so often that it becomes annoying.

The characters are also very one-dimensional and lack depth, again making me think it is being written for young teenagers. From the beginning, Charlie seems surprisingly calm about his death, aside from briefly thinking, “I think I’m dead… something isn’t right.” He quickly moves on to solving his murder with Lizzie, a ghost who appears with very little explanation. His death feels overly light-hearted, and even when other characters die, their deaths seem to exist only to complicate the plot rather than deepen the story. Overall, the lack of character development makes it difficult to feel invested in the characters or their outcomes.

[Debbie Luchon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ghost Detectives review by Debbie

I loved this book. Lizzie's character was very refreshing. Charlie was very intelligent and sweet. When reading this book I was trying to solve the murder of Charlie Banson, I came to the conclusion towards the end before sergiant Hart and detective Anderson was able to. But, was floored when they discovered that Helen murdered a lot more people. The ghost Malice was frightening. Knowing at the end that he forced other ghosts to pass on and almost got to Charlie? Wow just wow. He was extremely lucky that lizzie was there for him.

While reading there were a lot of missing words and words that shouldn't have been. I noticed also, misspelled words. Detective Hudson was misspelled quite a few times. Words like it's should have been alone in the sentence, instead it read it's is. There were sentences that didn't make any sense, such as in chapter 11. Sentence says "It does rather seem rather like that" that made no sense to me. I think it should have been worded like this, "It does seem like that"

I also found missing punctuation, commas mostly, throughout the story.
Chapter 18, there's another sentence that didn't make sense to me. "It's important because YOU father did not make a will. " Should be YOUR.
In chapter 19 the word "Inquiries" was spelt "enquiries".

Ghost Detectives was an exciting book. I'd recommend reading to all murder/mystery lovers.

[Lee Rozinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death creates a new ghost.

Charlie Benson wakes up to discover that he is floating and looking at his body. He had an argument with his wife the previous evening and was sleeping in the spare bedroom with the door locked from the inside. Enter an evil presence and then something shimmering who chased it away. That's Lizzie who becomes Charlie's guide. She is flirty and very suggestive.. This was overdone in my opinion which is why I gave it 4 stars. They follow the police around and guide them to the killer, with lots of red herrings along the way.

[Michael Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie and Lizzie are ghosts. Charlie has just died and us puzzled who killed hum. Lizzie has been around for a while and becomes Charlie's companion. The plot has many twists and turns as they try to send the live detectives in the right direction. I found it a great read and recommend it to all readers.

[Saffiatou · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Ghostly Case That Will Keep You Thinking

It earns a strong rating for its eerie atmosphere and clever mystery, but loses a point for slightly slow pacing and some underdeveloped characters. Still, it’s a solid and enjoyable read,especially if you like detective stories with a supernatural twist.
It’s was a funny read overall. I will definitely reread it again.

[Alix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Charles Townsend and and online bookclub.org for this arc copy!! I really enjoyed this book other then the countless spelling errors I do believe the story of Charlie's death was super cool especially the plot twists I was so hooked on this book I could not put it down and I'm excited to read book 2! once again thank you!! This story is perfect for anyone just getting into mystery!

[Angelena Marie Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the read

Gripping from the start. Lots of twists and had me laughing. Navigating the world can be hard, even more so if you are a ghost, likely help was found in the way. Sure to sooth the inner detective in you

[Melissa Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

This book is definitely one in the books for a mystery. I absolutely love this book and I would definitely read it again. If you love murder mysteries than this book is for you.

[Tina Terrelonge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

This book is a great after work read. It's mysterious, without being over the top. I loved Lizzie and her carefree personality and how she help Charles to be his true character. I'm waiting to see what happened with Malice and the other characters in the next book.

[Kajori · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Ghost Detectives” by Charles Townsend follows Charlie and Lizzie, two ghosts, as they set out to solve the murder of Charlie. Full of aha moments, this book is a must-read for fans of murder mysteries and ghostly tales.

[Andrea Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, plot that keeps you reading

It took a minute to see where the story was headed, but that's a good thing. Enjoyed reading about their adventure and finally solving the mystery.

[Ashley wiggjns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghost Detectives

I loved this book. I couldn't put this book down. It kept me reading. I thought it was cool how ghosts were able to solve their own murders, as well as others.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. This book definitely had a plot twist.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fun, fast paced murder mystery

A locked room murder, and a crime-solving ghost duo - what’s not to like! A lot of fun with twists to the end!

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

**review coming soon**

[Annabelle Zamora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

New to the author and good thing I got the second book because it was rather an interesting read. Who knew ghost could help solve cases. I had a great time reading it.

[Freda Eastabrook McNulty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read!

The Ghost Detectives is about a man who dies and hooks up with another ghost to solve how he died.
It has mystery from a lighter side.
I love this book!

[Paulette Ondara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review coming soon