Lost in the Light [NOOK Book]

Very engaging & interesting read that I got for free through

Very engaging & interesting read that I got for free through the Read2Review section of the Paranormal & Horror Lovers group. Fantastic idea & a great way to meet new authors. I'm glad I met this one.

While this is a ghost story, it's a mystery & has a true horror element to it, but most of that is what humans can do to each other, nothing supernatural about it & it's all the more horrible for that. The mystery is interesting, solved partially by flashbacks into the days of the Great Depression & Prohibition. There's also a strong romantic element running through the story - no explicit sex.

On the downside, I found the narrative a bit choppy at times & the motivations of characters didn't always ring quite true, but the latter could be me. I felt it was a bit a stretch to give this a full 5 stars, but I'll definitely look at some of this author's other books.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Review of Lost in the Light What a truly delightful explorat

Review of Lost in the Light




What a truly delightful exploration into a very realistic and believable Supernatural! An injured police detective attempts to settle in at the historic home she’s purchased, a real beauty but also a major fixer-upper. Avoiding antidepressants and stifling her emotions just as her Grampy always showed her, Dori is astounded to discover what she at first considers to be an elusive intruder, only to discover it’s a walking, talking, electricity-defying-ghost. A good-looking (when she’s not seeing his battered near death body) Hispanic male in his 30’s, Vincente comes to her from 1932, when as a rumrunner he was betrayed and beaten, left for dead in this house. He has unfinished business he wants her to transact (don’t all ghosts?), but mostly Dori just wants to be left alone, by her unlikable Mother, Mom’s boyfriend the pharmacist, and by Gavin, the contractor, who was one of Dori’s high school conquests (and betrayals).




“Lost in the Light” is a real page-turner, romantic, suspenseful, tension-building-and of course, Supernatural. I highly recommend it.




I received a review e-book copy from the author via Goodreads Group Paranormal and Horror Lovers.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Entertaining ghost story

This ghost story is more entertaining and romantic than having real chills, so if you're looking for a hardcore scary book this is not for you. Dori is a police officer recovering in her new home from an on-the-job injury. The house is haunted by the spirit of Vicente, a bootlegger during prohibition who was killed in the house in 1932. He implores Dori to find the love of his life, Anna and over time tells Dori the story of his life (and death). I found Vicente's tale more interesting that Dori's but liked both characters. Dori struggles with a lack of confidence and direction and during the renovation of her home also tries to figure out her feelings for the contractor. He just happens to be a former boyfriend from high school. Not all the characters came alive (no pun intended) for me, but overall I enjoyed this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best book I've read in ages!

I love Dori, our tough no nonsense....no, not so much. She's just struggling to keep her sanity like the rest of us. Which get's a little harder when resident ghost Vincent keeps appearing. His story is heart breaking, Lost love,murder, And Grammy is just a hoot.......Read it! You'll be glad you did.

Book exchanged for an honest review~ Detective Dori Orihuela is

Book exchanged for an honest review~

Detective Dori Orihuela is on leave pending an investigation into her actions. Now she's stuck at home with virtually nothing to do. When she sees a ghost of Vicente Sorrola her life and world are about to be turned upside down in ways she never expected. Dori's Grammy thinks the answers can be found if only Dori would listen to her advice. Grammy insists that Dori get her home repaired before it comes down around her ears. Grammy contacts Dori's high school ex-boyfriend Gavin as the contractor. Dori always feels like an outsider in her family but doesn't expect her family to understand who she is. Dori doesn't act as Gavin expected which surprises both of them. Dori sets out to help Vicente find the answers to how he died. Dori searches for traces of Anna Vazquez. Will Dori allow anyone in? What about Grammy? How will Dori handle Gavin? What will Gavin do? Can Dori find the answers that Vicente needs? Your ansers await you in Lost in the Light.

I really loved how the author crafted this cleaver story of hope, betrayal, passion, mystery, and su much more. I can really relate to Dori's character in ways that startle me to the core. I love stories that root for the underdog and succeed yet can fail too! The author has a gift in writing this book because everything is totatlly real and beautiful. I will definitely look forward to this author's next work.

**I was given a free copy of this book by the author for an hone

**I was given a free copy of this book by the author for an honest review**

No one remembers…
One October morning in 1932, Vicente Sorolla entered the white house on the hill and was never seen again .
Now, Detective Dori Orihuela helplessly witnesses his brutal murder in her nightmares.
Settling into a 120 year-old Edwardian mansion, Dori restores her dream home while recovering from a bullet wound and waiting to go back on duty.
But then one afternoon, Vicente materializes out of her butler's pantry and asks her to find a woman named Anna. Dori wonders if she's not only about to lose her badge, but also her sanity.
Dori and Vicente's unlikely friendship takes us back to the waning days of Prohibition in San Diego and the dusty barrio of National City.

I really liked this story. It was a very enjoyable read. The author tells a entertaining, and in my opinion, believable story. She switches characters from Dori to Vincente in a seamless manner that makes sense. Story was not only entertaining but involved enough to keep the reader engrossed and did not get bogged down in details or unimportant fact. Although were a few things, I would have liked to be explained. For example, what did Dori really do to Gavin all those years ago. It was not really needed for the story. I would also preferred a little more romance, but this is not a romance, so that is just a personal preference.

I would state again that I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this aurthor.

Lost in the Light by Mary Castillo  Book Blurb: One Octo

Lost in the Light by Mary Castillo 




Book Blurb:




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




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




Settling into a 120 year-old Edwardian mansion, Dori restores her dream home while recovering from a bullet wound and waiting to go back on duty.




But then one afternoon, Vicente materializes out of her butler's pantry and asks her to find a woman named Anna. Dori wonders if she's not only about to lose her badge, but also her sanity.




Dori and Vicente's unlikely friendship takes us back to the waning days of Prohibition in San Diego and the dusty barrio of National City. Mary Castillo's new novel, featuring the wild Orihuela family that first delighted readers in Names I Call My Sister, weaves romance, history and a mystery into a humorous, touching and unforgettable story.
My thoughts:
Lost In the Light is a simple, heart warming, book filled with history, determination and follow through.  It’s a parallel love story of 2 couples that centers around an aging  haunted mansion. 
The Author places this book in the paranormal, crime, mystery, suspense genre. I will agree that it fits the history portion very well, I guess because there’s a ghost the paranormal also fits , and a murder, that supports the crime portion, but I did not find the mystery, suspense or the amount of it  I was expecting.
I found that the writing was simple, descriptions, scenery, and events just enough to satisfy the plot of the story. The characters interacted well with each other but in many ways I didn’t feel the connections. Dori and Gavin had a history but it was only briefly discussed, Dori and her family had deeper ties, but I attribute this to the Hispanic matriarchal traditions. The story  line of Anna and Vicente was some of the better writing, showing the history, strife, hardships of the times, and compromises that had to be made during the 1930’s for immigrants.
The story is told by jumping  back and forth between the current to the 1930’s as Dori  remodels her home and seeks to find out what happened to Anna, at the request of her mansions ghost. The one big negative for me were character names, such as Dori, Grammy, Grampy & Megs, I had a hard time relating this to an adult book, as they made me feel I was reading for a much younger age group.
This book would be appropriate for readers 15 and up as there is minimal violence, nothing offensive and only a vague reference to any serious sex. The book has a happy ending, providing a conclusion to the story of Anna & Vicente, one that ties generations together, and a promise of a future for Dori & Gavin.
This book was provided to me  by the Author through the Goodreads  “Read to Review” program for an honest review

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