The Unhappy Medium

by TJ Brown

A Hauntingly Good Time!

This is an interesting and fun book, although it is heavy on background information at first.  It was interesting and vital to the story to understand where Dr. Newton Barlow came from and his familial background.  Otherwise, his new profession would not have been so interesting or funny.

Dr. Barlow comes from a long line of males that are narcissistic physicists to one degree or another.  When Newton fails in his career and his marriage, he discovers to his horror that he has an ability to see and speak to ghosts … this is when it becomes interesting and fun. 

He discovers that the deceased may continue on earth to wreak havoc if they have left artifacts behind with bits of their soul – much like a horcrux!  Newton has to track down the artifacts that have allowed him to return in human form (possession) and battle the human followers at the same time.  When an ambitious and evil inquisitor returns, Newton has to use his wits to defeat him and retrieve his new girlfriend and daughter from the evil cardinal’s clutches.

TJ Brown does a solid job of building the story, moving it forward and bringing it to a climactic end.  It is not a chaotic adventure nor is it action-packed.  It is a story that moves at a steady pace with twists and turns that can be funny and eventful.  The dialog is clever and realistic.  I enjoy hearing Newton talk to himself; probably because you get to see the character more deeply.

TJ Brown creates characters that one comes to enjoy and others that you love to hate.

The narrator, Marston York, was a delight to hear.  He is English with an appropriate accent.  Each of his character voices were nearly perfect for the characters (as with most he struggled with a realistic female voice) but at least they were distinguishable.  I thought his performance was solid and he moved the story along.

It is a very enjoyable and fun book. I hope to see what trouble Newton finds himself in the next book.

There were no issues with the production or quality of this audiobook.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.