The Ghosts of Phoenix No 7 by M. L. Bullock

The Ghosts of Phoenix No 7 by M. L. Bullock

This book had the potential to become one of the best novels in this series, but ended up squandering the opportunity. The basic plot—ghosts in a fire station—was fine and pretty much what we’ve come to expect from the series. The team is called in to investigate paranormal activity, have a couple of encounters with ghosts, and finally figure everything out. It was even touching at the end. But it was the subplots that offered the chance to turn this into an extraordinary novel, so let me take a moment to talk about them.

 

First, Midas, team founder, is not dealing well with the death of a teammate in the last book. He drops out of contact with his team and his girlfriend, Cassidy, and then disappears with an ex-girlfriend to return to the Leaf Academy where his teammate died. This move on his part was stupid on so many levels, but totally believable. And it sets the stage for a great adventure reminiscent of the beginning of the series. Midas is driven by guilt to face the Maelstrom again and goading him on is his self-absorbed ex-girlfriend who is looking for ratings for her new paranormal show. Not only does it give at least the appearance of cheating, we’ve seen in book after book that when the emotional state of the investigators is messed up, it impacts the investigation. This would have been a great story, worthy of a novel itself, but it all happens off screen and ends up being a great big dud.

 

Second, Sierra’s mother-in-law, who has hated her from book one and totally disrespects her interest in the supernatural is now having a supernatural problem of her own. This may be the focus of a future novel. It’s set up nicely here, but again, at least for now, nothing happens with it.

 

This is a good series and I hate to see moments lost that could make it great.