Lost in the Light

By: Mary Castillo

Narrated by: Mary Castillo

One October morning in 1932, Vicente Sorolla entered the white house on the hill and was never seen again.

Now, Detective Dori Orihuela witnesses his brutal murder in her nightmares.

Drawn to this tough but tender woman, Vicente materializes out of the butler's pantry and asks her to find his lost love, Anna. Dori wonders if she's not only about to lose her badge, but also her sanity. Dori has always been drawn to the mysterious Queen Anne Edwardian house in her hometown. But after a devastating injury that puts her career on the line, Dori isn't sure if she made the right decision purchasing this rundown old mansion.

Her wisecracking Grammy Cena has waited too long for her independent granddaughter to return home. She hires a kooky psychic to banish the ghost and a handsome contractor with whom Dori has an unhappy past. With a promise to Vicente, Dori may solve a forgotten Prohibition era murder. Or she may exhume secrets someone died to protect.

A modern gothic mystery woven with suspense, ghosts, and romance, Lost in the Light was nominated for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Paranormal Mystery/Suspense.

Fans of Susanna Kearsley, Simone St. James, Diana Gabaldon, Mary Stewart, Kate Morton, and Victoria Holt will want to curl up with Dori on her journey to love, past and present.

©2012 Mary Castillo (P)2016 Mary Castillo

An Haunted House/Ghost Story

Dori is a police officer who's recovering emotionally and physically from from an officer involved shooting, where she shot and killed a crazed gun toting young mother.

While Dori is on leave she buys an old historical house that she is drawn to. The house is haunted by Vincent a probation era gangster who was brutally murdered in the house. Vincent appears to Dori and implores her to investigate what happened to the love of Vincent's life, Anna.

Dori has a zany, quirky grandmother, Grammy Cena who really makes this novel and adds comic relief.

The story is an okay listen and has promise for an entertaining series. The narration is also well done.

I received this audiobook at no-cost from Audiobookworm Promotions. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

Lost in the light

This was a good book.The story was good.Mary Castillo was a good narrator as far as voices but the sudden stops and starts,repeated words and phrases,etc were irritating.A good editing may be what it needs. Dory moves into a haunted house then hires her hig school boyfriend to rehab the place.The ghost tasks her with finding someone. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great story

Lost in the Light (The Dori Orihuela Series) by Mary Castillo Lost in the life is paranormal mystery. Yep you get all the great things we red for. There is touch of romance, Ghosts, mystery, and the coolest sounding Granny on the planet. Dori is a police officer who was shot in the line of duty. While home recovering she decides to buy a old house and remodel it. Shorty after buying the the resident spirit Vicente steps out of the butler's closet. Not only does he introduce himself he also tells Dori what he wants from her. He wants her t find Anna, who was the love of his life. Vicente was murdered in 1932. While trying to find Anna, Dori also decides to find out who murdered Vicente so he can rest in peace as well. This story is basically 2 stories in one. You have present day as well as the story of Vicente and Anna in the 1920's and 30's during the prohibition. So you learn about the present and the past. And like I said you get the coolest Granny on the planet as well. I have to say she was my favorite character int he book. She is full of vinegar. She brings a lot of humor to the story. She is never short on smart comments. This was a very interesting story. I did really enjoy my time with Dori, her family, ad the ghosts. Ghosts are my favorite form of the paranormal genre, and Mary Castillo did not let me down. The ghosts are not scary. There is very little cursing and no strong 4 lettered words, nor any sex in this book. I would call it a clean read.

A fun escapist read

Would you try another book from Mary Castillo and/or Mary Castillo?

Yes, I would. I think she's a talented storyteller.

What other book might you compare Lost in the Light to and why?

The mirroring storylines kind of reminded me of "The Longest Ride" by Nicholas Sparks if there'd been bootlegging and prohibition.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Mary Castillo?

Yes, but I think she needs to check her editing a bit closer. Her storytelling ability is wonderful, but the recording had repeats, feedback, and background noises.

Could you see Lost in the Light being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes. Justina Machado as Dori and Diego Luna as Vicente.

Any additional comments?

I received this book from the author as part of a blog tour. The opinions are my own.

This was a really fun story. I like the mystery, the characters, and even the two romances. Dori was a fun main character, and I thought her unintentional friendship and kinship with ghost Vicente was fun in a Ghost and Mrs. Muir kind of way. Finding out the truth of what happened to Vicente was heartbreaking. I loved all of Dori's friends and relatives. They were all easy to tell apart and added so much humor to the story.

I got the audiobook via Audible, and it was read by the author. She did a good job telling the story, but the editing of the audiobook left something to be desired. There were moments where she repeated herself, there was background noise, and sometimes weird static that was very jarring. But overall, it was a great read, and I really enjoyed it.

Nice Light Read

This book is more of a Cozy Paranormal Mystery.
Dori is a police officer on leave while she recovers from a shooting in which she killed a woman. She returns home and buys run down Victorian mansion. Her Grammy Cena decides she needs help fixing it up so she hires a contractor who happens to be Dori's former boyfriend Gavin. Dori soon discovers that her house has a ghost. Vincente was a bootlegger in Prohibition era San Diego who was murdered in her house and he wants Dori to help him find his lost love Anna. The book is told from alternating points of Dori in the present day and Vincente in the 1920s.
This book has mystery and romance with some history of California in the Prohibition. The characters were pretty well develpoed and interesting, especially Grammy Cena whom I loved It was an interesting light read. I want to thank The Audiobookworm for gifting this audiobook to me in exchange for this review. I enjoyed it.