Review of DEADSPEAK by Ruth Bainbridge

Mystery / Thriller / Paranormal

Date Published: October 1, 2016

DEADSPEAK. A chilling new mystery series
from the author of THE CURT SAVAGE MYSTERIES.

Things look different when you're dead.

Thirteen-year-old Griff Lindon is dead. Murdered. But she's determined to make the killer that stole her young life away pay. Her ghost forms an unlikely alliance with Kimberly Trent, the rookie detective assigned to her case. The problem is that Kimberly has troubles of her own.

Kim's sister was also thirteen when she was murdered by a serial killer who was never caught, and the similarity in ages is enough to stir up old memories that will forever haunt her. Even though it's been almost twenty years, an ominous feeling that the killer is still out there makes Kim fear he's not done.

With no clues, her sister's case has gone cold, but it just could be that a ghost of a girl will be the one to help her stop him once and for all.

REVIEW

This Haunting, Suspenseful Thriller Has Me Hooked!!!

DEADSPEAK by Ruth Bainbridge is AMAZING!!! I LOVED it! It’s some weird hybrid that’s part mystery, part thriller, part paranormal, part ghost story—and all gripping suspense. The end result is fascinating, and had me flipping pages until my fingers bled.

The homicide of a thirteen-year-old girl sets the stage for what is to come, and while I didn’t know Griff Lindon very long, her murder hit me hard. I don’t know why it shocked me so much. I was horrified and felt a real sense of loss. If I had to guess, I’d say it was because it was written so believably. Ms. Bainbridge did a brilliant job, and even though not particularly graphic, it was SO disturbing to me—as if it happened to someone I knew.

In terms of the story, it opens with Griff Lindon explaining what she’s going through. She’s confused and alone and we wonder why. The rest of the story fills in the why and, oh, what a beautiful story it is!!! Imaginative and full of surprises, there is not one place where I succeeded in guessing what was going to happen next. It’s extremely unusual, and I appreciated that Ms. Bainbridge took the path less traveled and made this absolutely unpredictable.

DEADSPEAK hinges on Griffin staying behind after death to help Detective Kimberly Trent solve her murder, BUT (and this is a big BUT), she doesn’t remember all the details. This complicates what should be pretty simple, but there’s more. The other problem is that Kimberly Trent is keeping some pretty devastating secrets of her own. What was done to her and her family is so overwhelming that my heart went out to her. I bonded with this rich, complex character which brings us to another point of why this story worked so beautifully. It’s because the characters are divine—most especially the two leads, Griff Lindon and Kimberly Trent.

I don’t know if Ms. Bainbridge has a degree in psychology or if she’s only a student of the human condition, but she pretty remarkably nails each and every one of her characters. As Detective Trent does the yeoman job of tracking down Griff’s killer, we’re treated to these vignettes that delve into what makes the people interviewed tick. It makes Trent solving the homicide downright intriguing because at its heart, DEADSPEAK is a taut mystery.

I applaud Ms. Bainbridge for taking a chance and doing something different. I double applaud that she did it so brilliantly. There was another reviewer that mentioned Mystic Woods was almost another character. Yes! It’s true. I put it down to Ms. Bainbridge being a meticulous and complete writer. Everything in DEADSPEAK is developed, including the woods!

I highly, highly, highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a gripping, unputdownable read! If your thing is superb writing, you will not be disappointed. DEADSPEAK has everything that a reader is looking for and more. DEADSPEAK is as good as it gets and I can’t wait to see what comes next!!!

PURCHASE LINKS:

Amazon