REVIEW: The Soul of WBVR, A Paranormal Grievance Committee Chronicles novel by Elizabeth Andre

In the interest of full disclosure, I received an Advanced Reader Copy for the purpose of review.

Even if you haven't read a word of the Paranormal Grievance Committee Chronicles books, The Soul of WBVR makes getting acquainted with the characters a very easy task. Joyce is an aging disc jockey who is hearing a voice no one else can hear, and Ben, the station manager, wants to replace her with someone who plays advertiser-friendly tunes. Even Joyce's older brother, Alex, shows concern for his baby sister. The implications of advanced age combined with mental fragility are painfully clear, and makes Joyce a sympathetic figure. Thus, the stakes are set.

Enter Maya and Julie, and the Paranormal Grievance Committee to investigate Joyce's claims. What follows is a thorough examination of two women and a relationship which were both products of their time, regret over lost love, a life gone too soon, and how an unresolved past often shows up uninvited to our present.

Andre juxtaposes the clandestine relationship between Joyce and Natasha, which was necessary in the 1960s, with the way Maya and Julie live openly in the modern-day. The storyline moves deftly, ratcheting up the tension along the way, and the conclusion is exactly the one your brain likely picked up on. The pacing is perfect, the characters well-written, the story has the right amount of intrigue, paranormal elements and romance. This was admittedly the first PGC book I’ve read, but it will not be the last!

The Soul of WBVR is available here.