One more book to read and review this month. I only have one more book to finish by Thursday, so I’ll have another review for you on Saturday. In the meantime, Sandie Herron has a review of Juliet Blackwell’s audiobook, The Last Curtain Call. Thank you, Sandie!
The Last Curtain Call
Written by Juliet Blackwell
Narrated by Xe Sands
Series: Haunted Home Renovation, Book 8
Unabridged Audiobook
Tantor Audio (6/30/2020)
Listening Length: 9 hours
Mel Turner may be head of Turner Construction, a leading historical renovation firm in San Francisco, but she is on the other side of her own home renovation. This time she is doing her best to balance her taste with that of her fiancé. She needn’t wonder long about when and where her ghost busting skills will be needed, when she and her foreman pry open an attic closet door to find the ghost of starlet Hilde Hildacott waiting to don one of her gorgeous, now vintage, dresses to go to the picture palace.
Mel can’t resist the opportunity to renovate the Crockett Theater, a once elegant Art Deco movie palace complete with Wurlitzer organ that rose from the floor. Despite some irregularities with the previous renovation company and permits, Mel wants to see the architectural treasures inside. On her first tour of the theater, Mel meets the many human squatters living in the huge space. Part of her work is to remove them from the grand palace. First she must confront the ghostly audience waiting for the show to begin. This time as the organ rose, it carried the body of one of the squatters.
Despite the ghostly usher wanting to help her to her seat, Mel needs to figure out what treasure might be hidden in the theater to warrant killing someone. The squatters include a widely diverse set of characters. As Mel moves between home and theater, we learn more San Francisco history, well researched and presented. We even get to meet Juliet Blackwell’s character Lily Ivory from another of her series. Lily owns a vintage clothing store and helps Mel interpret her vision of Hilde in the dress she now owns with a knife dripping in blood. This leads Mel to begin speculation on whether Hilde is connected to the Crockett Theater.
Steeped in history and San Francisco lore, this ghostly tale is grounded in Mel’s steadfast home life with her dad, stepson, and even Dog providing support and concern. Mel’s renovation skills are evident, but this tale focuses more on her ghost-busting efforts to bring normalcy back to the theater and to her home in the making. Journals from her mother give her even more insight into those abilities and circumstances.
Narrator Xe Sands keeps the story moving at a steady pace with her empathic reading. She would be perfect to tell ghost stories around a campfire. I was equally frightened and then grounded by her dulcet tones. Definitely an excellent entry in this approachable series.
