Review: Only the Good Die Young by Chris Marie Green

Only the Good Die Young by Chris Marie Green

Jensen Murphy, Ghost for Hire #1

You know the theory that ghosts are energy trapped when someone dies violently? It’s true. I know it for a fact...

My name is Jensen Murphy, and thirty years ago I was just an ordinary California girl. I had friends, family, a guy who might be The One. Ordinary—until I became a statistic, one of the unsolved murders of the year. Afterwards, I didn’t go anywhere in pursuit of any bright light—I stayed under the oak tree where my body was found, and relived my death, over an over. So when a psychic named Amanda Lee Minter pulled me out of that loop into the real world, I was very grateful.

So I’m now a ghost-at-large—rescued by Amanda (I found out) to be a supernatural snoop. I’m helping her uncover a killer (not mine—she promises me we’ll get to that) which should be easy for a spirit. Except that I’ve found out that even ghosts have enemies, human—and otherwise…

I'm really not sure why but I just could not get into this book. It really had a heck of a time keeping my attention, to the point where I was easily distracted and kept putting it down. Despite being intrigued by the blurb, and knowing up front that the protagonist was a ghost, I think that was a lot of the problem. I just had a hard time getting attached to the threats didn't seem real enough as she was already dead. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely threats to Jensen, and due to some energy issues it does get a bit hairy, but I just wasn't "feeling" it, so it didn't affect me or suck me in like I would have liked. Another issue I had was that this story seemed to be much more murder mystery, which isn't really my genre of choice. Sure, it's technically an Urban Fantasy due to the premise of it being told from a ghost's perspective, but it just didn't have the same feel. There were just too many questions left unanswered, and instead of drawing me into the story, it turned me off.

Speaking of being turned off, I had a lot of issues with the way Jensen had no problem causing fear and manipulation to get to the bottom of the murder. She didn't care at all who she hurt or what stood in her path, and it just left a foul taste in my mouth, disconnecting me even further from the book. The way she would just "enter" into the people to get her answers instead of actually interaction, felt like a cheat, especially as the people could sense what she was doing. It just struck me as wrong, and I didn't care for it at all.

All that being said, based on other reviews/ratings I've looked at, it seems that the response to this book has been largely positive. So, maybe it just wasn't the right book for me at the time as like many I do seem to have reading moods, and will work better for someone else, particularly fans of a murder mystery type plotline. So if the blurb sounds good to you, give it a try and don't let me discourage you.

(Received a copy from the publisher)

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