A down-on-his luck detective accidentally runs over a woman in her shower. She returns to haunt him as, together, they attempt to find who actually caused her death. Only he can see or hear her, but she, otherwise, has a rich and full
Assessment:
Plot: Johnny’s Ghost is a fun, genre-bending take on the private eye story. The novel slowly unfolds a compelling mystery with a lighthearted delivery.
Prose/Style: The writing echoes the hardboiled detective in the narration, while blending some compelling sentences with tinges of overwriting.
Originality: The premise of a detective crashing his car into a house and killing a woman in the shower, then being haunted by her ghost until he can solve the true cause of her death, is about as original as it comes. Later revelations add to the book’s uniqueness.
Character Development: The characters are fun and fit the setting, tone, and scope of the book nicely, though they are largely one-dimensional.
Date Submitted: May 28, 2020
