The Encounter

Japanese Hauntings #4

by Laura M. Drake

Lincoln Kingston is no stranger to the paranormal. He’s spent the last few weeks trying to defeat the vengeful ghost who snatched his girlfriend’s dad last year. But when Selena and Lincoln go to the scene of her dad’s disappearance, they realize things aren’t as they seem.

Meanwhile, there’s a serial killer loose at Berkeley, and a string of murders have left the police stumped. While physical and supernatural forces threaten them, Selena and Lincoln struggle to keep their budding romance, and each other, alive.

If they hope to survive, Lincoln will have to work with those around him and trust his family’s supernatural abilities. Will they figure out the truth behind the new threat and defeat Oiwa once and for all? Or will Selena lose the chance of helping her dad forever?

119 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 30, 2021

About the author

My name is Laura M. Drake, and I'm the youngest of five kids. I grew up in Arkansas and moved to Utah to attend Brigham Young University. After spending three summers abroad in France, Japan, and China, I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and began teaching 4th grade near Salt Lake City. A few years later I moved back to Japan to fulfill a life-long dream of living there. When Covid got bad, I came back to America and have been living in Arkansas and writing full-time ever since. I'll soon be moving to UT and look forward to the new adventures that await me there. When I'm not writing (which isn't very often--I should probably get a life haha) I love playing ultimate frisbee, board games, writing in my journal, and spending time with friends and family.

Reviews

[Megan Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series and this was a phenomenal book. I enjoyed reading it and I enjoyed how the storyline and characters ended in this series.

[Debbie Eyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say when I started this series I didn’t know what to expect but with each book the story has just gotten better and better and I am so sorry to see it come to an end! The author has done a fantastic job on the world building and all of the Japanese ghostly aspects and I have found myself on the edge of my seat more then once. The characters have been amazing and I have loved their growth and development as well as their relationships and the conclusion to this series was just awesome and was a fantastic way to finish this series and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

[Cera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this series so much that I hope this book isn’t the last of Selena and Lincoln investigating and stopping dangerous Japanese ghosts. Following them through their ghostly adventures was so fun!

In this 4th installment in the series, we find Selena finally getting her chance to help her Dad. And with Lincoln focused on helping the girl he loves, he almost misses the new Japanese ghost hunting on his college campus.

No spoilers this review.

I loved seeing things from Link’s perspective in this book! Getting the views from Selena, Dex, and now Link really brings everything in a full picture of what’s on the mind of each character throughout all the supernatural drama. Link gave me so much feels because he really truly loves this girl. Willing to do whatever she needs from him. Working with his family on what he needs to know to protect himself and Selena. Love that!

Lincoln is also learning about his own ghost power heritage along the way, which I think could make him quite the defense against the dangerous ghosts and help protect innocent victims in the future.

The descriptions of the ghosts definitely left me creeped out. To the point where I was like, ‘I should google these ghost to learn more! But… maybe I don’t want to have nightmares.’ Too scared to google ghosts. lol! Amazing job freaking me out.

If this is the last book in the series, then I am sad because I’ll miss following these characters chase ghosts. But the ending was perfect. I really liked that Selena could find peace.

[Kimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an Amazing series!

I can’t say enough how much I love this story. It’s definitely my favorite series by far. I am really sad to see that it’s come to an end though. But it ended perfectly in my opinion. I’m so happy the way everything turned out. I love all the super natural scary creepy elements of this story. And the new ghost too. The characters are great. And I’ll admit I want more of Selena and Lincoln.. especially Lincoln he’s super kickass now… haha. Without spoiling anything. This last book was crazy good. I highly highly recommend this as a must read series. Here’s to wishful thinking that maybe later on they’ll be more stories to come someday. That would be so awesome.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the title says it all here, this was an absolutely amazing conclusion to this series! Reading from Lincoln's perspective (which left me fangirling to see the story from his point of view with his Japanese ancestry. And the writing style is so beautiful, so harmonic, you just cannot put the book down. It's kind of an odd comparison, but I kept thinking of Persona 4 and a Luigi's mansion crossover! In short I loved every minute of reading this, and honestly I wish there were more to come, but since this series is over I am looking forward to seeing other works from this author.

[Scarolet Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Encounter: A paranormal romantic suspense novella (Japanese Hauntings Book 4) by Laura M. Drake is a fantastic story that I have loved reading very much. This is book number four in this fantastic series that I have been so hooked on. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading paranormal romance suspense novels.

I read a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy of this book & am voluntarily leaving an honest and unbiased review.

[Miranda Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful ending to a chilling story! Japanese horror at its finest, and the happy ending everyone deserves! For fans of Japanese mythology and good clean relationships, this author does horror the right way!

[Jane Lebak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fitting end to the series, although it didn't finish up the way I thought it would. No spoilers or complaints here--I just figured one thing and a different thing happened. This was a good series of stories, and I would recommend it.

[Samantha Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the conclusion to this series. Loved Selena story and Loved the ending. Perfect way to end the series. Highly recommend

[Heather Bane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series!!!! So very well written with great character work. A story that grabs you from the start and keeps you hooked to end. A definite must read!!

[Lara]

I edited this book

[Patrick Stockdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

An end of an era. Satisfying conclusion to a fun, Japanese-ghost series! That being said, my boy Dex done got ROBBED. He’s the one I wanted Selena to end up with. Sad day.