The Ghost of Valentine Past

Haunting Danielle #7

by Bobbi Holmes, Anna J. McIntyre

A romantic weekend at Marlow House Bed and Breakfast turns deadly when Earthbound Spirits founder, Peter Morris, is murdered. Plenty of people had a reason to want the man dead—especially Danielle’s current guests.

But it isn’t Morris’ ghost distracting Danielle on this deadly Valentine’s Day weekend, it’s her late husband Lucas. She has her hands full with suitors coming from all directions—both living and dead—while she tries to figure out if there’s a killer in Marlow House.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Paranormal, Cozy Mystery, Ghosts, Fiction, Fantasy

539 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2016

Reviews

[Laura LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It was ok. It really dragged through the middle. The last few chapters were good. This just was not as good as the previous six books. I sure hope that it’s a fluke.

[Renee Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of the same

I have read books 1 - 6. With that said my first thought was..."Enough with the Earthbound Spirits!!!!!!!,," That storyline got old awhile ago. Don't expect much of a story....it wraps up in two pages at the end and I wondered "Did the author get bored too and just wanted to end it." The other books were ok but there just was no story here ..sorry.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars... Bobbi Holmes takes her readers on another intriguing mystery that continues to build from past books... When the owner of Earthbound Spirits is found murdered at Marlowe House, the list of suspects grows by leaps and bounds... Secrets are revealed and relationships are altered as this investigation twists and turns to the very end... In the course of all this chaos, Danielle must confront her past and attempt to find closure in order to move forward, but who will be the lucky man she chooses? Some answers are found but more questions arise as this series continues to move forward... I, for one, am eager for the journey!

[Crystal FloridaGrams Of3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great mystery.
Who didn't want to kill Peter Morris in this one. But which one it would be kept me guessing throughout and of course I was wrong on who done it.
But Danielle finally getting peace from her deceased husband.
I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

[Chantelle Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars (Audible). Random thoughts: Chris seems a perfect match for Danielle. Kind of a lame murder mystery, but I'm glad there's more Captain + less Joe + Brian is this story. I hope we don't see Lucas again. Taking a little break from this series.

[Ash Mustard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn Lucas came back... there was a murder everything was WOW!

[Paul-Baptiste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, the world of Danielle, where most everyone is a millionaire, one out of every ten people can see and talk to ghosts, all the characters have been or will be murdered and are or will become ghosts, everything seems to tie in with a cult, and coincidences are just the way the universe works. These get sillier with each book, but they are consistently fun to read with engaging characters. It's like a soap opera, where everyone (and by everyone it's the same small cast of characters who've somehow all been in relationships with each other, are secretly related, or are a long-lost friend thought dead) is beautiful, rich, and without a need for anything like a job, with the added fun that everyone encounters ghosts on a regular basis. That little Oregon town must have the highest per capita of both millionaires and ghosts. It's not high literature, but is fun reading.

[a. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This started out as a promising series, but poor dialogue and character development are ruining it. And, enough already with the storyline with Earthbound Spirits. I pre-order every book in this series, but I might be done now.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way these stories all flow together and bring characters’ backgrounds into the plot is insane.

[Lexi Rose Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://lexirosereads.wordpress.com/2...

[Mary Corso · Rating 4 out of 5]

ghosts of the past
I like that some previous characters are still around.
At least Danielle wore a French braid this time - much prettier than a fishtail which I’m sick of hearing about.
This book toggles back and forth from the end of the last book (after New Year’s Day) to February (Saint Valentine’s day). Danielle gets a visit from someone in her past. And the local religious cult (Earthbound Spirits) brings new problems.

[Tina Hilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book in the Haunting Danielle series. Story was, again, great. Only issue with this one, is I listened to it on audiobook, and the reader, you could hear every deep breath she took. It was so distracting to the story because it drove me nuts. But as for the story itself, it is just as good as the previous ones. This series never gets boring and the characters (both returning and new ones) keep the story interesting and page turning.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still undecided whether I like the writing style of this series....so many characters, many of the names start with the same letter, so instead of enjoying the story, having the ghosts pop up to help, you are trying to keep straight who they are and are they live still or now ghosts....lots of work on this, but I think I might try another one !!

[Rebekah Macias · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Liked it. Wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend
*
This book didn’t hook me as hard as some of the earlier books, but I still enjoyed it. I’m very new to the “cozy” genre but so far Haunting Danielle is my only cozy series and I’m ok with that for now :)

[Bobbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another delightful book in this series. I’ve decided that Danielle should become a private investigator instead of running a Bed & Breakfast. Lol.

[Anabela Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful story.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner!

Enjoying all these books! The writers style and design of these characters is wonderful! Great series about a very interesting bed and breakfast on the Oregon coast!

[Dina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my least favorite in the series so far. I am getting tired of the same old characters. I kept wanting this book to be over.

[Kelly Knapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far, every book has been better than the previous, which is unusual. Most of us look forward to a sequel, but don't expect it to be better than the first. This series seems to be the exception for me.

In the previous year, Danielle Boatman has lost her husband, but found he was cheating on her. The pain of this betrayal has her selling the company they started and looking for a new start. It doesn't help that she can see ghosts who haven't moved on. However, she finds her new start in an unexpected inheritance from a Great Aunt by marriage, The Marlowe House. But Marlowe house comes with secrets and the town, a wide variety of characters. The main character is Walt Marlow, a Ghost, excuse me, a spirit (Walt does not like the term ghost) who died in his own attic at the age of 25. He has decided he doesn't want to "move on" to the next part of his journey. There's a touch of romance in the air, but where can a Spirit and a live woman's relationship go?

Danielle came to Marlowe House to start over. And she has. There are new friends, a ghost in residence (Walt Marlowe), and a place where she feels at home; she has even helped reunite lost siblings. But there have been set backs. Her cousin was murdered, her best friend nearly dies, and the local police wonder why she keeps finding herself in the middle of all these murders. Then, a man Danielle hated is murdered in her home.

The man Danielle believes is responsible for much heart ache and death in town is murdered and the police and FBI are looking at Danielle. The Chief knows Danielle's secret because his son is like Danielle. But he can only deflect a certain amount of the questions being asked. As if being looked at by the law isn't bad enough, the ghost of Danielle's cheating husband shows up wanting to speak with her. Danielle spends most of her time dodging everyone but Walt. Walt's calm demeanor and steadfast support keeps Danielle grounded. However, having learned that Chris shares Danielle's secret gift, gives Danielle a real life man who cares for her and both he and Walt are showing signs of jealousy. How long can Danielle juggle the two men in her life?

[Claudia |✨Cushin Violeta's Bookish Realm✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friday the 13th makes way for a new crime & new ghosts

🅼🆈 🆃🅷🅾🆄🅶🅷🆃🆂: 🄰🅄🄳🄸🄾🄱🄾🄾🄺

We have another exciting installment in this series... Oohhh... Guess who's back this Valentine and that even after quite some time. It's Friday the 13th and none other than Danielle's husband's sorry ghost is searching for her as there is something that still keeps him here.
But more than that, he needs to talk to Danielle and clear certain things with her because he still loves his wife.

We all have heard how Lucas, Danielle's husband had betrayed her trust and so this one had me wide-eyed, waiting to see what would happen next.

Not only that, we have new guests at the B&B and out of the blue, there's a new person that's killed that even at the Marlow house and it seems somehow everyone including the guests and other inhabitants somehow have had a motive to make that happen.

It seems like trouble and ghosts follow Danielle everywhere she goes and now this crime had to take place in her house inviting more trouble for her.

I loved the many twists we get and once again you will never be able to suspect who's the culprit. Even though every one is under suspect, it was so much fun trying to decode it all and at the same time thinking through what exactly happened and second guessing everything.

There's also the thing about Lucas, Danielle's husband haunting her for some kind of resolution along with the ongoing investigation that brings everyone under the radar.

Ahhh.. It was once again an Unputdownable ride as the Chief, Cops Brian and Joe go on a wild chase piecing together what clues they have and racing against time, before it all gets out of hand.

I couldn't put this one down at all and once again this one was a suspense ride that will grab you and won't let go. Loved loved this one.♥️♥️♥️♥️

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good enough book to listen to while doing chores/driving but nothing fantastic and the characters continue to do really idiotic things that are frustrating. Danielle's romantic life is just creepy with the ghost following her around & "dating her" in her dreams but now throw in the ex-husband and it was too much. It was ridiculous that she refused to talk to him or address any of the issues from their marriage while she had the opportunity. Finally after everyone badgered her into doing it she did listen to him and thank goodness that's one less guy hanging around her.

The murder mystery in this book hopefully puts to rest the involvement of the cult Earthbound Spirits. And I really didn't care if the police ever solved who killed either of the victims as they were both horrible people. At least in this book, we did get a wrap up with the ghosts involved. Nothing surprising or too great but decent enough to listen to while doing other things.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick Summary: A supernatural mystery

My Review: The Ghost of Valentine Past by Bobbi Holmes is book #7 in the Haunting Danielle series.

About the Book: A cozy mystery involving the living and the dead.

My Final Say: This book had quite the approach to addressing a murder mystery. The concept intrigued me so much so that I just had to take a read/listen. In hindsight, I wish I had started with book one. While I was able to follow the action and movement of the story, I felt like I missed a huge chunk of what was happening because I wasn't familiar with some of the referenced subjects, as well as characters.

Other: I plan to begin at book one and work my way back up to this one in the future. It may influence my scoring. At present, I feel like this lands at middle ground.

Rating: 2.75/5
Recommend: ?
Audience: A
Status/Level: 🕸

#libraryfind

[Elaine C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Valentine's Day is right around the corner. For Danielle Boatman, it was a special day - the day her husband had proposed to her. But she hardly expected to see his spirit show up on her doorstep!!!! I mean, she hadn't even seen him at his funeral, and had assumed he had moved on! So why was he there? On top of that, someone is murdered in the parlor of Marlow House ... a man that no one minded seeing dead - so LOTS of suspects, including the residents and guests of Marlow House! It is one tangled web of confusion to sort out the details (and a little help from the spirits from beyond) to get down to finding the murderer!

[Danielle Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I didn’t know better, I would think this book was written by a different person than the previous books in the series. I noticed an overabundance of the use of the contraction “I’ve” instead of “I have,” which was quite annoying. The writer also seemed like she couldn’t decide whether to use first names or last names from paragraph to paragraph. Then again, the repetition that I have come to expect from these books was still there, so I assume it’s the same author. If the storyline wasn’t so good, I would’ve already given up on this series.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the rest of the books so much that I'm giving this one the benefit of the doubt and giving it 4 stars. It was not as good as the other books in this series. There were a lot of characters and it was sometimes difficult to remember who was who. I felt the book rather dragged. And the murderer ended up being a minor character who barely showed up in the story. Lots of ghosts in this book.

I did like the continuation of previous characters. And the author ended the long battle with Earthbound Spirits (or maybe not).

[B&F · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Valentines Day in Frederickport,and the potential love interests (both dead and alive) are buzzing around Danielle like bees to a flower! Too bad about the pesky dead body in the parlor of Marlow House to just make things that much more complicated. Poor Danielle just can't catch a break! The fact that it's Peter Morris, silver-tongued big honcho of the money hungry cult Earthbound Spirits, leaves us with a whole slew of potential suspects,as there certainly weren't any tears being shed over his demise! Another great addition to the series 👏

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I'm getting tired of the "Earthbound Spirits" plotline, I still like the characters and the progress they make in the series. In this one, the founder of Earthbound Spirits is murdered in Danielle's sitting room, and it hopefully wraps up that part of the series, but Danielle is also faced with the ghost of her deceased husband and with the dilemma of having a relationship with a flesh-and-blood man or the ghost of Walt Marlow, who is "real" in her dreams. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 ⭐️
I don’t care for the murder mystery plot in this one. I don’t really care about the Earthbound Spirits drama and I hope the next books let it go.
I love Danielle and Walt. I love the animals. I found it interesting the ghost of Danielle’s ex-husband showed up. That was the “best” part of this one in my opinion. I like the personal plot points over the murder for this one. It does give Valentine’s Day vibes which is great for the season.
This also mentions essential oils and their “powers” which is funny to me.

[Rhonda Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Multiple Plot Lines Woven Seamlessly Together

I love a mystery that is much more than one dimensional. And we get it in these Haunting Danielle books. A lot goes on but it all flows well. Glad to see Chris again in this book! And I am glad how things worked out with Joe. He is not one of my fav characters, so I hope things will change up a bit with him. I am liking how Brian is turning out. I guess I am really invested in these characters.

[Doreen Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and easy read. Love the characters , all very colorful and uniquely believable ! Enjoying all the Danielle haunting books. Best to read the books in order to ensure maximum enjoyment out of the entire series. Always leaves you wonder and ready to see what happens next.

Definitely so far, each book in the series has been an very cozy mystery that invites you to open the book and escape from the real world for hours into a fun fantasy of ghosts!