Deborah Grabien

Matty Groves is the third book in the Haunted Ballad mystery series. Ringan Lane's traditional folk song band has been invited to a prestigious music festival at Callowen. Callowen is home to a famous ghost, Lady Susanna, who is featured in the famous folk song Matty Groves. According to the song, her older husband caught her in bed with a young village boy and killed them both. However, as the music festival continues, the Ringan and his ghost sensitive girl friend, Penny, realize that there may be another presence at Callowen that is not as harmless as Lady Susanna. In order to rid Callowen of the malevolent presence, they must first discover the truth of what really happened at Callowen hundreds of years ago.

This was an interesting historical mystery. I liked that all the present day characters were interesting and likable. Having mysteries inspired by traditional folk songs is a great premise for a series. I was not able to get the first two books in the series because they are out of print and unavailable at my library. Although there were times that I felt like I was missing a bit of background about the main characters, it was not necessary to have read them in order to enjoy the story. The story did involve a bit of sexual violence, so if you are sensitive to that you may want to try one of the other books in the series and skip this one.… (altro)

Ringan is a musician and does renovations. When someone he has done some renos for can't pay, but instead, offers an old house and property, Ringan can't resist. However, he soon learns that the place is haunted. When his girlfriend, Penny, arrives, they work together to figure out who the ghosts are and why they are there.

It started a little slow for me, but it got better and I enjoyed the second half more. I really liked the epilogue. It was short and a quick read. I'm still unsure whether or not I will continue the series.… (altro)