Review: Fancy a light read? Try `The Ghosthunters Club'
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 4, 2012
LK Jay's 'The Ghosthunters Club' was one of my summer reads this year, and I'm very glad that I found it. Creepy cover notwithstanding, this is a surprisingly light and funny novel that follows the adventures and misadventures of three thirty-something friends, Linda, Anna and Karen, as they take up the challenge of tracking down ghosts as a distraction from their ill-starred love lives.From the first page, when the three women endure a less-than-successful speed-dating evening, we're drawn deeply into their lives. The characters are vividly-drawn: sarcastic, smart Linda, the demoralized Anna, and Karen, who, despite running a successful business and being a martial arts master to boot, is plagued by insecurities. I'd defy any woman who's ever been exposed to the less attractive side of male behaviour - and that's most of us - not to identify with these occasionally poignant but ultimately resilient characters; they get knocked down, but they always pick themselves up again. Their camaraderie is also an uplifting depiction of female friendship at its best: men come and go, but the women's loyalty to each other is strong and unwavering. If you're a woman who has been dealt a rough hand in the romantic stakes and needs cheering up, this is the book for you.The action intensifies as the girls start looking for evidence of the spirit world. The spirits are unfortunately rather unforthcoming, but the ghosthunting experience turns out to be remarkably entertaining. LK Jay pokes gentle fun at the bad behaviour of many of the male characters, and yet there's no real acrimony here: we hope, along with the three friends, that somewhere out there they'll find their Prince Charmings. The most uplifting element of the story, though, is the enduring sense of hope and optimism that shines through, regardless of the characters' variable romantic fortunes. These gutsy, clever women really don't need men to validate their existence, and they know it.The only flaw I can really pick up on here is the occasional grammar lapses, as other readers have pointed out. I honestly didn't find that these interfered with my enjoyment of the book, even though I'm usually a bit of a grammar Nazi; I just skimmed over them and carried on reading, which is a testament to how spellbinding the novel is. This is a funny, absorbing and heartening read, and I thoroughly recommend it.