Dana reviews Rattling Bone (OutFoxing the Paranormal Book 2) by Jordan L Hawk (Published by Widdershins Press LLC, March 17, 2023. 206 pages) A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
To read my review of The Forgotten Dead (OutFoxing the Paranormal Book 1) click here.
Blurb:
Some secrets won’t stay buried.
Oscar Fox grew up suppressing his psychic gifts. Now he and his ghost-hunting team, including his boyfriend parapsychologist Nigel Taylor, travel to Oscar’s hometown in hopes of learning more about his legacy.
A trail of family secrets lures them to an abandoned distillery, still haunted by the ghosts of Oscar’s ancestors. A curse lies upon his bloodline, and if the team can’t figure out how to stop it, he might be the next to die.
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My review:
In the first book of this series, Nigel and Oscar worked together to investigate and end a haunting that was tied to Nigel’s past. They also managed to develop feelings for each other. In this book, the two men are going to Oscar’s family’s home for the holiday along with the rest of the OutFoxing the Paranormal crew, Chris and Tina. Things are a bit awkward with the visit, because Oscar is hiding something from his parents, especially his dad. He’s a medium.
Oscar grew up believing that he was just crazy or imagining things when he saw ghosts even at a young age. I don’t 100% blame Oscar’s dad for his fear of Oscar’s gifts. His mother, Oscar’s grandmother was placed in a state run psychiatric facility because of her own abilities. I have to say, the conditions of her placement didn’t sound like something that could have happened just as far back as the 1970’s. It sounded abominable, and it made me think it had to be earlier when medicine wasn’t as advanced. But then again, maybe I just want the 70’s to be more progressive than they were because I was born in that decade. Regardless, seeing his mother in a place like that made Oscar’s dad worried that his son was losing his mind when he said he saw people who weren’t there. It set Oscar back a lot and it creates a lot of tension when Oscar admits that he is a paranormal investigator and that his boyfriend is a parapsychologist.
Oscar finds an ally in his mother, and with the help of his friends he looks through his grandmother’s possessions that were kept in storage and discovers she was making paranormal videos a lot like he does. The last haunting she was at, was at a distillery that belonged to distant family and for the last 125 years it has been killing members of his family. The time has come for another death, and Oscar has to stop it, with the help of his friends.
This book was really good. There was a lot of family drama as Oscar and his dad had to work through their problems and Oscar to get the support he needs to use his gift safely and wisely. The haunting part of the story was sufficiently creepy without it being too scary for someone like myself, who is kind of a chicken. Oscar and Nigel’s relationship is moving along smoothly, aside from a few moments of jealousy. The supporting characters are all awesome and I love the different representations present in the series. I look forward to seeing where this series goes in the future and what the intentions of their wealthy benefactor are.
9/10 Pots of Gold (90% Recommended) – Compares to 4.5/5 Stars
Jordan L. Hawk is a trans author from North Carolina. Childhood tales of mountain ghosts and mysterious creatures gave him a life-long love of things that go bump in the night. When he isn’t writing, he brews his own beer and tries to keep the cats from destroying the house. His best-selling Whyborne & Griffin series (beginning with Widdershins) can be found in print, ebook, and audiobook.
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