Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper

Publisher's Summary

Ellie Jordan's job is to catch and remove unwanted ghosts. Part detective, part paranormal exterminator, Ellie operates out of Savannah, Georgia - the most haunted city in the United States. When a family contacts her to deal with a disturbing presence in the old mansion they've recently purchased, Ellie first believes it to be a typical, by-the-book specter, a residual haunting by a restless spirit. Instead she finds herself confronting an evil that is older and more powerful than she'd ever expected. The dangerous entity seems particularly interested in her clients' 10-year-old daughter. Soon her own life is in danger, and Ellie must find a way to exorcise the darkness of the house before it can kill her, her clients, or their frightened young child.

©2014 J. L. Bryan (P)2015 Tantor

Creepy and Compelling. Perfect Halloween reading

Would you listen to Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper again? Why?

Absolutely. I was looking for something spooky for Halloween and I hit the jackpot with Ellie Jordan. I live in the Savannah area and am fascinated by the history and stories here. I especially enjoyed the tidbits of local color. The mention of restaurants, libraries, locations and other details really allowed me to put myself in the story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper?

Too many too count. I made a huge mistake and started listening before bed. I lost that night sleep and expect to lose another as I am halfway through book two of the series.

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved this entire book. It was the perfect combination of spooky (not horror), and realistic enough to make me happy that our home is not on the historical register. There were no romantic elements at all in the first book and while that is my favorite genre, I liked the book enough that I didn't miss it.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended this book, I also appreciated the fact that the narrator did not attempt a southern accent. Thank you Ms. Mercer-Meyer. If that accent is not done well, it totally ruins the book. I do wish that the rest of the series was on Audible, but, Kindle will have work for now.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Slow at first... but, then!

...the story picked up and I had a great time. I love paranormal stories, usually romances, but I was tired of romance and wanted to listen to a good story. The reason I gave it 4 stars is because it did start a little slow, with a little too much information regarding ghost hunting that most people (at least those who watch ghost hunting tv shows) would normally know. Obviously, that's a very subjective point of view. Later, though, the story began to gather speed and became very interesting, so I bought the second book with its Audible edition to enjoy during my commute.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Enjoyed

Good story with likable characters. The audible version of this book is well read. I look forward to reading or listening to books from this author in the future.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Gem

I liked Bryan's style of writing, and Meyer just made it more interesting. Kudos because combination managed to keep me entertained throughout the entire audio. I recently listened to another similar audio-Ghost Seer by Robin D. Owens and was happy with that one but realize now that this one was better. Ghost Trapper was packed full of mystery, action, a slew of well rounded characters AND a narration that was a pleasure to listen to. I can't wait to see how the rest of the series measures up.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

New exciting series!!

***spoilers***
This is a series I will invest time in reading. Ellie Jordan is a paranormal ghost exterminator. She is very dedicated about her job. Ghost exterminating is very serious business. Stacy, a trust fund baby and Jacob who can communicate with ghost are force upon Ellie by her boss. Ellie’s boss, Calvin, a former cop who is confined to a wheel chair, hires Jacob and Stacy, against the wishes of Ellie.

Ghost are very real and Ellie is very aware of the derision, which people view of ghost. From personal experience Ellis knows the truth. That is why she resists anything, which can be viewed as a gimmick. Stacy and Jacob are “gimmicks.” Stacy has options and a family. Stacy can walk away from the job. Yet, Ellie cannot. Ellie considers Jacob to be a charlatan. He is either someone who cannot really see ghost or if he can see them he is so addled that he cannot communicate to people.

This current assignment is the point for Ellie to realize that she cannot do it alone. On one level she is aware, that is how Calvin became wheel chair bound.
The story is engrossing. The first part of the book is a little slow but by the time that you meet Calvin the story will pick up. Ellie does not have any special characteristics for the job. She has her intellect and ability to find information about the possible specters. Basically to banish a ghost you must know the ghost.

Stacy’s contribution to the team is the ability to document the paranormal experience and to convince the client with her smile and bubbly demeanor to concede to Ellie’s request. Jacob’s ability to communicate to ghost takes their hunting to a new level. I don’t know how Ellie and Calvin were able to work without someone like him.

The action centers around Ellie and Stacy being used as punching bags for ghost. After Stacy’s first ghost butt whopping, she decided the reality of ghost was too physical for her. By this time Ellie had begun to appreciate the value Stacy added to the team. Their motto becomes “we face the danger for the other people don’t have to”
Sometimes a first novel in a series cannot provide enough depth/action to encourage the audience to buy the next book. I have downloaded the next book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I'm surprised! It was both gripping and amusing.

A little slow to start, once the foundation was mostly in place the story took on spooky momentum and sassy internal dialogue and kept the pace increasing. I kinda wish all of the equipment and ease of photographing anomalies was so easy in real life. I guess that's why we get to read it in fiction! Nicely done and a great first in a series.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Loved it!!

I wasn't sure what to expect but it sounded interesting so I thought I would give it a chance and I am glad I did!! A murder mystery with Ghosts that was well told, well written and scary enough to give me the chills! I didn't want it to end!

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Get.Your.Spook.On!

I own both the kindle and audio versions of this book. I read/listened to both and the narration was quite enjoyable!

I am writing this review of Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper after I have already binge read five books in this series, hmm, enough said, right? I picked up this book a while ago, and I have been saving it for a possible reading challenge read. After several disappointing reading attempts to get a paranormal/horror fix, I decided to give this story a try. I was hooked from the start. Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper was a lot spookier than I ever expected and was everything I ever wanted in ghost hunting fun.

At the start of the story Ellie was investigating a possible haunting. She has brought along her apprentice Stacey to see if there was a true haunting taking place at an older mansion in Savannah, Georgia. Ellie was not too thrilled about the prospect of having Stacey around because she did not want an assistant to begin with but Ellie’s boss was looking to retire and he wanted to make sure Ellie had all the support she needed before he was gone.

I love how Ellie approaches the ghost haunting business. She is very thorough and knowledgeable in spirits and how to manage them. I seriously felt like she could have been a real person who was a ghost hunter. As it turns out the house was indeed haunted and it was a case for Stacey and Ellie. What they thought was going to be a simple specter trapping turned out to be a much bigger deal than they ever expected. With a family’s life at stake and time running out, Ellie would have to solve the mystery of who was responsible for haunting the estate.

There was a mixture of spirits in this story but yay, there were no Casper the Friendly Ghost type of specters. There was true evil in that mansion and plenty of suffering to go around. I loved the twist in this story that took the story from spooky to the type of stuff that could cause you to have some bad dreams. It was extremely entertaining and as soon as I finished Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper I immediately picked up the next book in the series to read. I couldn’t get enough and I read books one through five in three days. I would have read the entire series if I didn’t have other bookish commitments to turn to. I loved every book that I read and I recommend the Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper series to anyone who wants to get their spook on!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ghost, Excitement, Great Read

Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper
Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper Series #1
By: J. L. Bryan
Narrated by: Carla Mercer-Meyer
This is an excellent ghost hunting book! Much better than ghost hunters. Lots of exciting stuff goes on, great characters, and great plot! I was hooked right away! Nothing like listening to a haunted ghost tale at night!
The narration was spot on! Great job! On to buy book 2!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fun Read

What made the experience of listening to Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper the most enjoyable?

Very well thought out book, a lot of action, good characters

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper?

When I realized there was still 4 hours left in the book...and you thought they had trapped the ghost!

Which scene was your favorite?

When Ellie had to make a decision to let a ghost take her over...to win over the really evil ghosts

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

No...not really. Just really had a hard time putting it down

Any additional comments?

Really enjoyed this book! I'll read more from this author.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Spooky and mysterious read

Anyone who follows me knows I am a big fan of these books, and each new installment gets devoured as soon as possible. I love being scared and Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper has the perfect blend of paranormal, some humour, and story line. When I saw Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper on audible I knew I had to have this. Even though I have read the series so far, I like getting to hear the story through someone else.

I went into Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper knowing what to expect, but when I began listening to it I realised I had forgotten a few little bits of the story near the beginning, but I was able to piece the bits together quite easily. The plot to this story is just as good the second time around, but with someone else doing the reading it somehow made it just that much better.

Audiobooks are what I listen to at night, and looking back Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper probably wasn't the best option, especially when I continued to hear noises which I thought was my cat, only to look around and have no cat in the room. I loved everything about Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper, and although my review queue is long for audiobooks, I still can't believe I have to wait another month to get my credits back to pick up the next installment in this series.

The Narrator
Carla Mercer-Meyer narrated really well for Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper. I was really drawn into the story and I fell in love with her interpretation of Stacey.

Final Verdict
I think I love the audiobook more than the book itself, it has a way of drawing you in and really feeling the environment and atmosphere of the hauntings. I can't wait to add to my collection and jump into this series again via audio.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful