Famed based paranormal investigative television show, Dead Inns, is tasked with investigating the Juniper Hotel near downtown San Francisco. Rocky Rapport, the psychic medium on the show, makes a startling discovery while investigating the hotel. During their investigation, Rocky encounters the latest recently departed, Sam Thompson. Their meeting may forever change the very nature of paranormal investigations... and test Rocky’s frazzled nerves at the same time. Rocky not only discovers that the hotel's haunted history is true but now Sam simply won’t leave him in peace unless he helps him solve his murder and locate his stolen merchandise, a bag full of uncut diamonds.
Haunted Ends is a fast-paced, paranormal novel with quirky characters and an interesting plot line. I love Elizabeth Price’s writing style. She is able to incorporate humor into a ghost story and I really enjoyed it!
Sam is definitely my favorite character. His outlook on life is a little sad, but I loved his attitude. He’s just such a fun character, with a personality I won’t forget. Rocky and Rose were also fantastically written characters. I loved how each person had a distinct voice, but they were all quirky in their own way.
I highly recommend checking this one out. I didn’t know what I was in store for when I started reading, but I am happy I did. I am looking forward to more!
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with R&R Book Tours. All opinions are my own.*
I occasionally get intense, and that doesn’t mean that I intrude on people’s shelters at campsites. For instance, when starting to read Haunted Ends by the talented Elizabeth Price and discovering that she has set the story in my hometown of San Francisco, my mind automatically clicks into its “fact checker” mode.
Hey, my mind yells, what’s with these Auslanders calling our city San Fran? And on another page, who on earth refers to San Francisco as Bay City? A character says he can see a hotel built in 1849 from across the freeway—where the heck is that? Mid-May temperatures in the 90s—nah, that would only occur outside the city limits down the Peninsula or across the Bay.
But after a while I finally settle down and allow myself to enjoy a really fun story. Sam Thomas measures only 3’2” but stands tall in his profession. An outstanding diamond cutter, he regularly transports millions of dollars’ worth of uncut diamonds from the Los Angeles area to San Francisco. He makes the trip so often that even the flight attendant knows him by name.
Rocky Rapaport has made a name for himself as a paranormal investigator for an obscure TV series called Dead Inns. He has an ability to pick up communications from the ghosts of the dearly departed as well as some whom we would not recall dearly. He drives a mint-condition 1956 Corvette convertible (waitaminnit—what sensible San Franciscan would drive a convertible?), so both his celebrity and his automobile cause heads to turn when he passes. In fact, at least four characters in the book use an identical phrase to describe his “nice ride.”
A murder has occurred at the ancient Juniper Hotel. Through circumstances we won’t go into here, Rocky partners up with Sam to investigate the crime with the aid of spirits of former hotel guests who died before they got the chance to check out and are continuing to haunt the establishment.
Author Price humorously brings to light some of the exasperating details of life in San Francisco, the most obvious of which is the impossible quest to find a legal parking space. Rocky even gets a ticket parking at a police station. But there is still a bit of the Auslander in the details—Rocky and his coworker both find curbside parking for their cars directly in front of their destination in crowded downtown, and when Rocky retrieves his towed car, the impound storage facility only charges him $200 instead of the more likely $800 to $1,000.
A reader will need to look past occasional glitches in editing and formatting, such as splitting a line of dialog mid-sentence to start a new paragraph without punctuation. (As a longtime editor I can get intense on the subject of grammar too.) But turn off the Fact Checker and Grammar Nazi modes and just enjoy the story. Price has apparently written 10 other paranormal mysteries, and I look forward to perusing them.
Sam runs diamonds from San Francisco to Los Angeles. One night he is mugged and shot in the chest. Although he gets back to his hotel he ends up dying there. Rocky is a psychic paranormal investigator that works on a television show called Dead Inns where he is to investigate haunted inns. His producer gets the approval to film at the Juniper Hotel where Rocky meets many ghosts, including Sam. Sam attaches himself to Rocky and convinces him to help find Sam’s killer. Same believes that finding the diamonds will help him move to the afterlife.
Sam may have not been much in real life but he is a kick as a ghost. I could understand why he was so focused on getting the diamonds; I would hate to be stuck in his position as a ghost. Rocky was an interesting character and I was glad that he decided to help out Sam.
The hunt for the killer kept me on my toes even if I was laughing at Sam’s antics. I love the paranormal shows on television so I was naturally curious about this book. I was drawn into the mystery and kept on the edge of my seat with the hunt for the diamonds.
I admit that the editing kept me from the flow of the story, which if it so bad that I notice it’s serious. This made me take one star off the rating. I did love the ending and can’t wait to read more about Sam and Rocky.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
A fun quirky tale of the paranormal with mystery and intrigue...
Haunted Ends is part ghost story and part murder mystery which turned out to be an overall fun read. The story opens with 'Sam' who is short in stature but full of character. His journey makes for one of two main plot lines that eventually intertwine after the initial chapters; the other follows 'Rocky' a car fanatic and paranormal investigator that used to be able to see ghosts, this is an ability that returns to him and he decides to use it which makes the story.
Eventually we see 'Sam' and 'Rocky's' paths cross in a ghost buddy story situation seeing them team up to solve a murder shrouded in mystery and deception. Rocky's journey seems to be full of misfortune while 'Sam' is doing his best to adapt to his new existence.
Elizabeth Price has created a world where ghosts are characters too and not just some scary concept making it accessible to most readers; it's quirky in places but still believable throughout.
As the story came to it's final chapters everything was wrapped up nicely (although quite quickly) making for a good paranormal read that's different, imaginative and fun.
From the moment I began Haunted Ends, I was drawn into Elizabeth Price’s beautifully haunting world. The way she weaves together suspense, emotion, and the supernatural feels effortless yet full of heart. Every twist feels earned, every atmosphere lingers long after the page is turned.
I was especially moved by how real her characters felt — their fears, hopes, and conflicts resonated with me. The haunting elements never overshadowed the human core; instead, they deepened it. Elizabeth’s writing balances tension and introspection with such grace that I found myself pausing now and then just to absorb a line or a turn of phrase.
One of my favorite moments is [you can insert a short memorable scene or line you loved here, if you have one]. It’s scenes like that which show she doesn’t just write, she creates moments that stay with you.
Thank you, Elizabeth, for this unforgettable journey. Haunted Ends is a book I’ll revisit, recommend, and remember. I can’t wait to see what you write next.
You will find yourself chuckling as you read. Even the killings have a touch of humor in them. The story is quite an interesting and intriguing look at ghosts and their interactions and feelings and almost makes you believe in their haunting abilities.
The start of this book was a little boring ( would have started it with I can’t be dead) but once we got to the ghost and murder, it was a gotta read more book. You got a fan. Catha Watkins Reese
The beginning felt like I was in the story and Sam was talking to me. There were a few times in the book that didn't seem to line up as far as how long had passed but I thoroughly enjoyed the book! Ready to read the next one! Enjoy!!
I really enjoyed this book. The character development was good. The two main characters encountered lots of difficulties. Was surprised as to who caused the issues. Was glad to see that there would be more sevens for Sam and Rocky.
Loved all the humor and even laughed out loud in lots of areas! And having the police join in was a nice touch. I've been known to have a bit of paranormal experiences so definitely enjoyed this reading and recommend it to all!
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this interesting, make you laugh story. The author brought the characters to life even though some of them were dead. Highly entertaining.