Review: Past Midnight (Past Midnight #1) by Mara Purnhagen

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear. All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive…

My Thoughts: I read this series completely backwards and the one thing I kept coming back to with the short story and book 2 was that the events in Charleston were skirted around but really explained.  Well, as it turns out, if I had managed to read the books in order I would I have had all those niggling questions answered.  In fact, there wouldn't have even been questions because all the answers would have already been offered up before the questions even formed.  It would have been magic!

This was a fast, fun read that follows Charlotte as she tries to deal with being the new kid at school (again!), sorting through a deadly event that is haunting her newest friend, and a series of ghostly manifestations that are starting to take their toll on her family.  Several of the minor events that are set in motion here are picked up in book 2 and expanded on in a big way.

I definitely recommend reading the series in order because you don't want to be lame like me.  That said, this was a good start to the series.  It lays out the characters nicely and the plot moves along at a quick pace.

Other reviews in this series:
Short story 1.5: Raising the Dead
Book 2: One Hundred Candles

More books by Mara Purnhagen

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