Principles of Spookology by S.E. Harmon

Narrated by Kirt Graves

When I reviewed the audiobook of S.E. Harmon’s P.S. I Spook You back in 2018, I think (but don’t quote me on it) it was a standalone title; Goodreads and Amazon show the publication date for the ebook edition of Principles of Spookology as March 2020, so I’m going to assume it was. When I saw the sequel was coming to audio, I recalled that I’d liked (rather than loved) P.S. I Spook You; I’d enjoyed the narration, the plotline and the banter (S.E. Harmon writes great snarky dialogue), and although I’d had some reservations about the romantic elements and plot holes in the story, I’d enjoyed the audio experience sufficiently enough to be interested in listening to another in the series. I wasn’t bothered by the change of narrator (from Noah Michael Levine to Kirt Graves) and decided to request a copy to review.

In the first book, FBI profiler Rain (Rainstorm, courtesy of his hippie parents) Christiansen had a run-in with his superiors and his BAU team when he tried to get a message from the spirit of a dead girl to her grieving parents. We learned that he’s been able to see ghosts for some time (one of my problems with the story was that this element of his character was really vague) and that he has tried to put his ability down to anxiety or stress, but that it’s become increasingly difficult for him to handle. His boss finally assigns him to cold cases – one of which is rooted in his hometown of Brickell Bay in Florida, which is what he decides to focus on. During the course of the story, Rain reconnects with the man he’d been in a relationship with for four years, Detective Daniel McKenna, whom Rain had abandoned three years earlier when he suddenly upped sticks and ran off to DC. (Another plot point I had issues with, because the reasons given were so flimsy.)

Principles of Spookology opens around six months later, with Rain and Danny an established couple. (Although Rain spends more time at Danny’s house than at his own, they haven’t officially moved in together.) At the end of book one, the BBPD created a new unit, the PTU (Paranormal Tactical Unit), designed to make use of Rain’s abilities to investigate cold cases, and now, the unit is up and running, although it seems the higher-ups are still not quite sure what to make of it. Rain still has very little control over or understanding of his talent; more and more ghosts are seeking him out, they have no sense of personal boundaries and seem to be getting stronger and more corporeal. It’s clear he’s going to need to learn more about his gift if he’s to be able to fully embrace it and live with it without becoming physically and mentally drained.

When the spirit of a man appears in their bedroom in the early hours of the morning and asks Rain to take a drive with him, Rain and Danny are pretty sure they’re looking for a body. The ghost – who says his name is Mason – doesn’t know or remember anything about the location other than that he was drawn there, and when hours of searching turn up nothing, Rain senses that their proximity to Willow Lake is significant. The body is in the water.

While Danny organises a dive team, Rain starts to look for more information on the victim. Mason Page went missing around a decade earlier; there were no leads, no suspects, Mason was quiet and law-abiding and even though his personal life was a bit of a mess – he’d been divorced three times – he was on good terms with his ex-wives, and nobody had a bad word to say about him. However, his younger brother Luke was a different story. He’d inherited Mason’s business – a bakery – his house, his car, got the insurance payout, and was the last person to see him alive – plus, Rain learns that he was forever borrowing money from Mason to finance his gambling habit. Could Luke have killed his brother? It’s a distinct possibility, although there is too much Rain doesn’t know for him to be able to be sure. But when Mason’s body is found at last, Rain and Danny have to completely reappraise their view of the case. Because they find not one body – but two.

From there on in the plot thickens nicely, and the author creates a complex and satisfying mystery as Rain, Danny and the other members of the team work the case. The identity of the villain isn’t too difficult to work out, but the author manages to create just enough doubt about it to have had me wondering if I’d got it right more than once. The romance works better here than in P.S. I Spook You; Rain and Danny have great chemistry but their getting back together in that book felt a bit rushed, especially given the way things ended with them the first time around. By the time this book opens however, it’s pretty clear they’re solid and in it for the long haul, and while they still have a way to go in terms of communicating what they want from each other, they’re learning and continuing along the right path, and I liked that. ILYs have been exchanged, but relationships take work, and I appreciated being shown they were prepared to do whatever it took to be together. And of course, this couple has more to contend with than most, what with ghosts with no sense of personal space constantly interrupting their “alone time”. A lot of the humour in the story comes as a result of Danny persuading Rain to see some ‘spiritual guides’ so that he can learn to manage his abilities, but of course, none of them have ever come across anyone quite like Rain and… well, things don’t really go to plan.

Principles of Spookology is a satisfying follow-up to the previous book, and felt much more polished in terms of the plotting and storytelling. Rain’s particular brand of wit and snark works really well for me; he’s funny and self-deprecating, and the exchanges between him and Danny are a terrific mix of cute and tender with a sting in the tail. The story is once again told entirely from Rain’s PoV, but the author does a much better job here of presenting Danny to the audience through Rain’s eyes. There’s no question Rain is IT for him, and his love and concern come through really strongly.

I’m not sure why there was a change of narrator for this book, but I wasn’t worried; I like listening to Kirt Graves and he does a pretty good job here all-round. His pacing is fine, his enunciation is clear, and although he doesn’t have a particularly wide range in terms of pitch and timbre, he does differentiate well between the various characters – it’s just that the differences are quite subtle. There may be some members of the secondary cast who sound a bit similar to each other, but they’re rarely in the same scenes and the main thing is that the two leads are distinct throughout. I did miss the southern drawl given to Danny in the previous book; Mr. Graves does a terrific southern drawl, and although I don’t recall it being mentioned in the text, it would have made sense to carry it over. Where he really shines is in his characterisation of Rain and the performance of his dialogue and internal monologues; his comic timing and deadpan delivery are a perfect fit for Rain’s quirky, snarky personality, but he’s good in the quieter moments, too, his insecurities – over where things are headed with Danny and his lack of control of his psychic abilities – come through, as does the depth of his love and affection for the man in his life.

If you’re into romantic mysteries with a touch of the paranormal with great banter, wry humour and an attractive, slightly geeky hero who sees dead people, you could do worse than give the Spectral Files a try. I’d suggest listening to the previous book so as to get the background, but I don’t think it’s absolutely essential. Principles of Spookology, was an entertaining, enjoyable listen and I’ll be looking out for the next in the series.

Caz