If it weren’t for bad luck, Jeff Resnick would have no luck at all! While riding his new racing bike, Jeff is hit by an SUV, an accident which has a cascade effect on his life. He loses his job to a replacement, his girlfriend pressures him to move in, his bank accounts are hacked, and a restless spirit begs for his help—all in less than a week. But it’s soon apparent that his so-called random accident is anything but, and the murder of a close friend has a hobbled Jeff on the run. Can he discover who’s out to destroy his life—and threaten those he loves most?
The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what put Lorraine Bartlett’s pen name Lorna Barrett on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent -- whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett -- that keeps her there. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square and Lotus Bay Mystery series, and now the Tales of Telenia fantasy saga, and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s). Check out the descriptions and links to all her works here: http://www.LLBartlett.com
In this latest volume of Jeff Resnick's fight for his independence and justice for the dead, we find him being brutally attacked by a hit and run SUV, as he and his co-worker, Dave are going for a good long peaceful bike ride.
At first everyone handles the case as though it is an accident, then, when Jeff's instinct goads him back to the Cemetery, convincing his brother Dr. Richard Alpert to join him, a lone woman's ghost meets with Jeff.
Sweet Alice knows she was murdered but isn't sure why. Alice Newcomb dead since 1932 appeared to summon Jeff, and thus he knows something is up. When Jeff's co-worker Dave gets worried and then is killed, Jeff knows he needs to go on the offense.
Meanwhile, Brother Richard has a business proposition for Jeff. One that would cause him to literally loose his independence, but would be uniquely challenging for him.
The entire cast is present in this mystery and I do hope the Bakery Ghost will return.
I fell in love with this series back around 'Dead in Red.' If you are new to Jeff Resnick murders and like spots of Paranormal to solve the crimes...this is a series for you. This is a suspense Murder mystery series, not a cozy. Excellent writing.
Jeff is not having the best of luck. While out bike riding he gets hit by a driver who takes off. He ends up with his leg in a cast and had to move back in with Richard and Brenda leaving his cat alone in his apartment. He finds out his bank accounts have been hacked and his relationship with his girlfriend Maggie, well that's not going to good either. Could Jeff's life get any worse. Is this all due to bad luck or something more?! Jeff also keeps seeing flashes of a tombstone, and he knows that he needs to check it out. Well getting around may be a problem. This story kept me turning pages and not wanting to put it down, as Jeff got deeper into the mystery and intrigue. Jeff and Richard have to work on their relationship as his temporary disability is making everyone stressed. Looking forward to the next book in this wonderful series by L.L. Bartlett!
So, I'm a huge fan of The Jeff Resnick Mystery (7 Book Series)and was so happy to get this goodie into my hands.
Mr. Resnick is a former insurance investigator with a currently—due to a brutal mugging—heightened sense of awareness in others.
Unfortunately, while his family and loved ones seemed to be experiencing the greatest highs of their lives (His brother, Richard, and Richard’s wife, Brenda, have their loveable, beautiful little Betsy and Jeff’s girlfriend, Maggie, is selling her home for financial benefit and to be closer to Jeff), he’s experiencing nothing but lows.
To start, he and his friend, Dave, are run down while on their motorcycles, an incident that Jeff’s abilities lead him to believe is no accident. Adding on to that, his financial record is hacked and wrecked, dealing a blow to his pride as he’s further forced to depend on his brother and Brenda.
Furthermore, in Shattered Spirits, Resnick’s gift is put to use in a different type of cold case. It’s literally cold. Working together with Richard, Jeff meets the center of said case, Alice Newcomb, a young woman in her early 20s who has been dead since the 1930s.
My mind was blown. I don’t think I’ve ever seen L.L. Bartlett do this with the Jeff Resnick. For you other readers of the series, correct me if I’m wrong.
Yes, he’s picked up on the auras of living people in the middle of examining other cold cases before, but I don’t recall him ever working with and talking to a dead person to solve said person’s murder. I thought that was so interesting. It felt as if I, as the reader, got another genuine characteristic element of Jeff Resnick. Within a series, that’s pretty rare and totally awesome to get to know an old character in a new dimension.
I also enjoyed the realism of the family and relationship element. Betsy was adorable and Brenda’s my favorite and an absolute trooper with everything that goes on. I liked Richard as well, though sometimes the older brother had his own things to work through and it often inhibited his own growth and stalled everyone else. But he tries and he loves his family so he’s a winner to me.
On the other hand, I did not like Maggie in this book. I understand that she had a great deal happening with the sale of her home, finances and the like, but she seemed more selfish than distracted.
I have my own life too. At the same time, if I had significant other who went through an ordeal that almost killed them, I’d like to think I would be at their side a lot more than she was. Or at least show a drop more sensitivity, especially after all that they had gone through together. I was very surprised at her.
Beginning middle to end, I enjoyed the book and did not want the adventurous to stop.
It's power-packed with page-turning tension and paranormal thrills. I give it 4 out of 5 stars; I would recommend it!
In this latest installment, L.L. Barlett shows us yet another element to Jeff Resnick while telling us an amazing story and bringing back the characters we’ve gotten to love so much. Despite the fact that Shattered Spirits (The Jeff Resnick Mysteries) (Volume 7) is part of a series, you can pick it up without having read the others and you won’t be lost.
Ms. Bartlett, if you’re reading this, I really need you to hurry with the next Resnick book. We’re patiently waiting!
I love the ongoing adventures of Jeff, his family and friends. Reading a new one is like keeping up with an old friend. The only thing I don't like is...when the book comes to an end. The old cliche of 'leave them wanting more' definitely applies to this series. I really hope there are many more to come! A lot of crazy stuff happens in this book and I'm not about to ruin it for anyone who hasn't read it yet. I just have to say that YES, you should not only read this one but the entire series as well. I will be giving Bartlett's other book series' a whirl while I wait for the next Resnick book to come out. Thank you for all the great books! You really know how tell a story and keep me hooked! Cheers!
I'm really going to miss this series, but I didn't get as much enjoyment out of this book as I did the others. I love the characters in this series to pieces but I wasn't all that interested in the mystery in this installment, nor was I a huge fan of the amount of time focused on Richard's "phobia".
That being said, if any more Jeff Resnick books come out I'll still buy them in a heartbeat.
I’m sorry this is the end of the series. It seemed to have a good jumping off to new things ending. I enjoyed the series, even the supernatural part which isn’t really up my alley.
This book left me a little dissatisfied at the end. Not sure I liked this as much of the rest of the series. Is this the end of the Jeff Resnick books? If so, than there were too many loose ends.
The action really didn't start till last third of book. Most of the book was the character complaining about getting around with a broken leg. How many times do you need to read about how hard it is to go to the bathroom in a cast????
Things are definitely not looking up for Jeff. His leg is in a cast after having been involved in a hit-and-run accident while bike riding. His job has been eliminated due to his lengthy recovery period. He has to move into his brother's house during this recovery and leave his precious cat alone in his apartment. And his bank accounts have been hacked. Even his girlfriend, Maggie, seems distant. Could it get any worse? So how can he possibly investigate the ghostly images he keeps receiving of a tombstone? The latest adventure has Jeff trying to maneuver around while finding the mysterious tombstone and learning why he keeps getting flashes of it. As always, this story keeps the reader on the edge of their seat as Jeff becomes more and more involved in this mystery, trying to not only solve it, but also discover whether there is a connection to his current streak of bad "luck.". Jeff and Richard continue to work on their relationship together, strained as it is by Jeff's disability. As always, I look forward to the next book in this series.
I've impatiently waited for the next installment of Jeff's story and it was worth the wait. We start out with the following: Jeff's having visions of a tombstone; Richard can't find a job since he's reached the golden age of 50; Brenda is happy for now being a mother to the cutest little angel around; and Maggie wants to jump into selling her house to move closer to Jeff and family. Jeff's luck goes from bad to worse after he's involved in a hit and run while biking with his friend and co-worker Dave. Jeff's world starts falling apart as he works to recover from his injuries, to determine what his visions mean, and come to terms with the fact that his job will not be there for him when he recovers. When Richard proposes a solution to both of their job problems, Jeff agrees to a trial run in an effort to help the ghost whose tombstone he's been seeing. There are moments of heady action and passages of "family time" with lots of character development. And there's an open ending that will have me waiting just as impatiently for the next book.
When Jeff is badly injured in a hit and run accident he finds himself dependent on his brother Richard once again. Because Jeff has a connection with the spirits of the dead he finds himself drawn to a tombstone in Forest Lawn Cemetery but he doesn't have enough info to know who it belongs to. When Jeff and Richard discover that the spirit calling to him was murdered during prohibition and she needs closure they begin to do research on her family. In the meantime Jeff finds that someone is trying to kill him, the hit and run was no accident, and that the killer may be the person who took over his job at the bar he was working at until he was injured.
As usual an interesting story with great characters.
I liked the story, but this book was just ok for me. The writing style made me feel like I was in grade school and things were being explained to me. "He parked the car in the handicapped spot closest to the station's back entrance off Tupper Street, and then got out to help Jeff exit the Mercedes. Brenda's minivan was supposed to arrive the next day, which meant hours away from home spent getting the bank draft, acquiring the car, reinstalling Betsy's car seat- time not spent working on their fledgling hobby-hopefully future business-which had barely gotten off the ground and still had no name."
3 ½ *stars really I’VE READ MOST OF THIS SERIES AND I REALLY ENJOYED READING THEM. JEFF AND HIS FAMILY ARE GREAT CHARACTERS. BUT THIS ONE, POOR JEFF HAD SOME MAJOR PROBLEMS GOING ON, SO MUCH IT JUST TOTALLY CRIPPLED HIM. THE BOOK WAS MOSTLY ABOUT HOW HE COULDN’T DO ANYTHING WITH A BROKEN LEG, FOR ME IT JUST DWELLED ON THAT (not much else). IT MADE ME SO SAD TO SEE HIM SO HELPLESS, THE STORYLINE WAS KINDA SLOW AND DRAGGY. THE FACT HE WAS ON SOME SERIOUS PAIN MEDS BUT HE CONTINUED TO DRINK ALCOHOL, WITH A DR & RN AS RELATIVES. COME-ON REALLY? THAT’S A BIG NO-NO ALL OF THEM KNEW BETTER. ;]
Just when you think you've read everything that could happen to Jeff, a whole new slew of things happen to him! Wow! This book just kept me glued to it until I finished it. Fortunately, I had the day off to do just that. This is another great addition to this already excellent series of books. I love Jeff and Richard and Brenda, and I know you will, too.
Great book, Lorraine! Well worth waiting for. Jeff surely gets into some situations, doesn't he? So glad he and Richard are going into business, together. Some surprises, but Jeff always finds out who the culprit is. AND NOW; we have to wait for #8.
I am tired of Jeff being in constant pain. I don't like Maggie at all. You need a partner who will help you, mentally and physically. I don't even know this Richard. This may be the last Jeff Resnick story for me.
This is one of my favorite series. The main character, Jeff Resnick, is one of the characters you like so much that months after you have finished the last book you wonder what he is up to.