Loose Ends

A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery, Book One

By: Terri Reid

Narrated by: Erin Spencer

Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Dying is what changed Mary O'Reilly's life. Well, actually, coming back from the dead and having the ability to communicate with ghosts is really what did it.

Now, a private investigator in rural Freeport, Illinois, Mary's trying to learn how to incorporate her experience as a Chicago cop and new-found talent into a real job. Her challenge is to solve the mysteries, get real evidence (a ghost's word just doesn't hold up in court), and be sure the folks in town, especially the handsome new police chief, don't think she's nuts.

Twenty-four years ago, a young woman drowned in the swimming pool of a newly elected state senator. It was ruled an accident. But now, as the senator prepares to move on to higher positions, the ghost of the woman is appearing to the Senator's wife.

Mary is hired to discover the truth behind the death. She unearths a connection between the murder and the disappearance of five little girls whose cases, 24 years later, are still all unsolved. As she digs further, she becomes the next target for the serial killers' quest to tie up all his loose ends.

©2010 Terri Reid (P)2013 Terri Reid

Interesting paranormal mystery

This is book one of the Mary O'Reilly paranormal mysteries. 'Loose Ends' Introduces us to an interesting set of characters-both dead and alive. At first, I was a little hesitant to continue reading with the appearance of the headless soldier showing up in Mary's bedroom as I was afraid this was going to be another silly paranormal mystery. I am glad to say this was not so. I was a little surprised by Bradley's fairly quick acceptance of the paranormal, but the rest of the story I enjoyed. I hope the other books in the series live up to this first addition.

Narrator ruined it for me

The book and story are actually really good. Unfortunately, the narrator ruined it for me. She made Mary sound like a giggly ditz, and the other characters all sort of sounded the same, or their voice didn't match their character at all. Skip the audio version for this one, but if you can take the time to read it, it's a fun and entertaining series.

Fun Series for Cosy Lovers!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I found it an easy to listen with a brisk plot. No lagging spots in this one.

What other book might you compare Loose Ends to and why?

The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Cute, smart, gutsy heroine with a cute, gentle but brave guy and a couple of funny friends. The paranormal talent of being able to communicate with the dead adds another element of fun and intrigue.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked the sub-story with the Civil War "unknown" vet.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The author and narrator were adept at portraying Mary's depth of feeling, despair, sorrow about the little girls.

Any additional comments?

The narrator sounds just like my good friend Beth, who is now starring in the movie-in-my-mind of Mary O'Reilly books. I'm in for the whole series.

Great mystery

I usually don't listen to mysteries because I am an avid fan of romance but I got this on kindle unlimited and figured why not it actually is a decent book to bad there was no romance or I would have rated it higher

fantastic book.

can't wait to enjoy the rest of the novels. I'm sure they're as good as this one.

Don't let other reviews sway you

What made the experience of listening to Loose Ends the most enjoyable?

The stories are addictive and the first book in the series hooked me - even though I really normally am not attracted to paranormal stories. Hearing someone narrate a story makes it much ore realistic than just reading.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Well, really! How can you predict what a ghost will do? LOL

What does Erin Spencer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I read some really bad reviews about Errin, but I found her to be really pretty good. Her range wasn't extreme, so you can't hear a 'definite' male voice and a 'definite' female voice change, but once I adapted, I was good with it. I'd like to see her continue with the series. She is a great Mary!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I could empathize with the ghosts being lost and a person helping them move on. I would hope that if this is true, a Mary would help me along.

Any additional comments?

I loved the series. It's not a 'fun' series, but a 'great' series, in my opinion. I loved the first (I'm up to the 4th) book and will hope to see more.

Great book

Kept my interest to the end. Ready to listen to the next one in the series

Good story kept me from canceling...

This is the first time reading a Terri Reid book. I enjoyed her writing ! The storyline was interesting and there was just enough humor added to make it a fun read. The only issue I had was with the narrator. Her mechanical delivery was difficult to listen to. Even more irritating were the voices she used to depict characters.....particularly the male characters. I finished the audio with tight jaw muscles from clenching my teeth . I will continue with Ms. Reid's series in book form rather than audio.

Decent book but the narration was bad

The pause that the narrator would put in a sentence before saying "he said or she said" drove me crazy. It really affected my ability to like the book. I had to decide whether I could take listening to that or just scrap the book several times. Pick a better narrator!!!

Very Enjoyable Book

If you could sum up Loose Ends in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, Fun Read

What was one of the most memorable moments of Loose Ends?

Mary O'Reilly's interactions with various ghosts, particularly the murder victim.

What about Erin Spencer’s performance did you like?

I really like the sound of Erin Spencer's voice, which I feel is important when you are listening to a book. The "wrong" voice can ruin an otherwise good book. I also like the way she pauses a little before saying "he said or she said" and she doesn't read too fast. Occasionally, I thought she put the wrong inflection or emphasis on some words/phrases. I sometimes found myself saying the words/phrases differently in my mind, but that's just my opinion. I think trying to use a man's voice for Bradley and other men in the story didn't really go over very well. It came across as a little silly. However, I would definitely listen to more of these books. In fact, I have put all of them on my Wish List. They are well-written, enjoyable stories and kudos to Terri Reid for keeping them pretty clean. Vulgar language and/or suggestive dialogue causes me to lose interest quickly, even if the book is good. I wouldn't call these books page-turners but they are interesting enough to keep me wanting more.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Do you know who your friends are?