Review: GHOST IN ROOMETTE FOUR by JANET DAWSON

 

 

The Ghost in Roomette Four
Jill McLeod California Zephyr Series Book 3
Published: March 20, 2022
Ghost Mysteries and Historical Mysteries 

A FABULOUS MYSTERY THAT KEEPS YOU INTERESTED UNTIL THE LAST PAGE

What can I say? I completely loved THE GHOST IN ROOMETTE FOUR, Book 3 in the California Zephyr Series by author Janet Dawson. In fact, I loved Books 1-4 also. And, if truth be told, I will read the entire series before I am through.

Janet Dawson is a force to be reckoned with. Her mysteries solid and characters believable, she’s just one of those meticulous authors that don’t come around nearly often enough. And while I enjoyed her other work, I feel it’s the California Zephyr Series that allows her to spread her wings and show off her writing chops by undertaking and lovingly crafting this series of Historical Mysteries. She’s delivered on the promise and adeptly written an amazing story and almost a memoir that is replete with facts, locations, mores, styles, and the changing roles of women in society. Readers are the beneficiaries as the detail-oriented nature of her effort creates a portal in time where we can hang out, visit, and learn about the era, all the while being entertained.

Jill McCleod is our intrepid hero. Having suffered a devastating personal loss, she’s back to living her life and working as a Zephrytte. It means being a hostess on a train that runs from Oakland, CA to Chicago and back again. Now the book is set in the 50s, so what she’s doing is a pretty gutsy thing to do. No doubt, independence like this is indicative of an adventurous spirit … maybe a little too adventurous for the twenty-four-year-old swears she saw a shimmering light in the middle of the night The light came from a Pullman where a man had recently died. While certain members of the staff believe what she saw was the result of an overactive imagination, others believe the light is the ghost of the man that may not have died of natural causes as stated in the autopsy—a man that might be communicating that he was murdered. But Jill is feisty and knows what she saw and is unwilling to let the matter go. Her determination to uncover the truth of what occurred sets the stage for her delving into secrets better left alone … secrets that lead to danger.  

It’s against that backdrop of investigating the supernatural, Dawson does what she does best in weaving an incredible wealth of information into some mighty good storytelling. The pace is unhurried which goes along with the decade. Not everything was moving at supersonic speed, so the story unfolds, inviting us to go deeper and deeper into the mystery of what is going on. Because of all of the above, I’m giving this book five stars. Ms. Dawson really is a wonder and the book such a pleasant surprise, I decompressed while reading it and returned to when things weren’t so highly pressurized. I have to confess that I totally get and appreciate what she’s putting out there. I do hope her writing captures a new generation of young readers. It would be nice to pass on the excitement and love affair many had (and have) with trains … decades gone by … and wonderful mysteries like these.

 

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