The Locket Spirit

Julie F.E. Neil
Dog Ear Publishing (2010)
ISBN 9781608443444
Reviewed by Tracey Rock for Reader Views (06/10)


Renny Thomas is a forty-something-year-old single, independent woman who enjoys living near her mother and going to antique auctions.  Some of her best finds are civil war memorabilia.  In her latest treasure hunt, she has purchased some old collectibles, including a locket belonging to Richard Hollingsworth, a wealthy confederate soldier who was killed in battle by his own men.  Soon after she brings her auction buys home, strange things begin to happen in Renny’s home.  She is hearing voices, seeing shadows and her lights are flickering off and on.  Renny is convinced there is a ghost in her house. 

In Renny’s search to learn more about ghosts, she meets Duane Weber, a professor of psychology at the local university who is researching paranormal activity.  Together, they go on a quest to find out more about what their ghost, Richard Hollingsworth, wants and how they can help him.  Could it be a love lost?  A final goodbye?  As they begin retracing the events in Richard Hollingsworth’s life, they learn of his pending marriage to Bethany Bailey, a wealthy socialite that would have made two families even stronger in their cotton business.  The lingering of Richard, they first believed was because of Bethany, but once they see that the wedding never occurred, they start unraveling an all too familiar truth of that day and age.  Any further records on Richard ceased.  His name and his military career were all but erased from the historical records.  There wasn’t even a death certificate for him.  Renny and Duane soon realize that they are going down the wrong path in finding out what happened to Richard and what he wants.  There is a connection to Richard’s mysterious death and Bethany, but not in the way that history portrayed it.  So, what significance does his non-existent life have to all of this and why as a ghost does he have unfinished business?

In a ghost-hunters fashion, “The Locket Spirit” is a fascinating novel set in two separate time periods.  The author shares both lives of Renny Thomas and Richard Hollingsworth as two souls both with unfinished business to take care of before they can move on.  I was never really interested in the Civil War, but the way the author told the story, I was drawn to that period of time as if I was there and the story was told with care and consideration.  I liked how the main character, Renny began to grow throughout the quest and to experience life through helping the locket spirit find peace.  This is a definite must read. 

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