Eva ~ A Ghost Story by Mike Emmett ~ review

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Damnation Books, LLC (March 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1615726179
• ISBN-13: 978-1615726172

This book is also available as an e-book.

Publication Date: March 1, 2012

Eva was a playful little girl whose parents owned a small biweekly newspaper in Staf

ord, Connecticut.  Her parents hated her-they had Eva late in life and had no patience for children. Suddenly, in 2006, Eva is reportedly kidnapped while at the Bridgeport Mall with her parents. Hank and Mary Schulz live in Stamford, Connecticut. and work in the Big Apple. Mary's a book editor and Hank is an ad executive. Both are tired of the commute and rat race. So, they buy The Stratford Times from the Hergraves. Then, the hauntings begin. Mary learns a little girl's ghost inhabits the offices. She digs deep into the story and while being plagued by the spirit, she forges on and finds out a deep, dark secret the Hergraves are keeping. A secret which will nearly cost Mary her life, but solve the mystery of the missing girl, Eva.

My take on this book:

John and Edith Hergraves were selfish,horrible people that never wanted children, but after twenty years of marriage they have a daughter, Eva. Eva was often mistreated, forced to spend hours entertaining herself while her parents ran their small newspaper, The Stratford Times in Connecticut. When Eva turns six she is reported kidnapped from the mall while the Hergraves are shopping. Thing is her parents don't seem overly concerned, and barely mention it in their paper. A few years go by and they decide to sell the business, and move back home to Mingo, WV. Mary and Hank Schulz are unhappy with their jobs,so when they learn that the Times is for sale they decide to buy it. It isn't long until odd things start happening in the building, and Mary quickly comes to the conclusion that their building is haunted, and believes that the ghost is young Eva. Mary decides the only way to get the hauntings to stop is to figure out the mystery surrounding young Eva. When the Hergraves find out that she is poking around in what they consider their business, her life just might be in danger. Can Mary uncover the secrets without becoming a victim herself?

Mike Emmett certainly knows how to spin a ghost story! I found myself immersed in this story from the get go. While the reader is privy to the mistreatment of Eva it is interesting to see how the reporter in Mary figures things out. The paranormal element of the haunting adds an interesting layer to the mystery of Eva. It was easy to see that the author did plenty of research, not only in the paranormal area of the story, but I also learned quite a bit about how book publishing, as well as the newspaper business worked. Another positive for me was that parts of the story take place in Mingo, WV. He accurately portrays the small town feel  and gives the reader a glimpse of how money can influence justice in such small towns. It was interesting to see just how many people knew young Eva was abused but actually turned a blind eye to it. Overall, the author has the creepiness factor down in spades, but he also has the knack for creating interesting characters, a plot with suspense, mystery, and murder that moves along at a brisk pace,I was impressed that he tied in an end of world slant  adding another layer to the story, and the ending was just what I hoped for!  

reviewed for Readersfavorite.com