Ghost Gifts (A Ghost Gifts Novel Book 1)

An Audie Award winner, Paranormal Fiction.A RITA Award finalist, Paranormal Romance.All Aubrey Ellis wants is a normal life, one that doesn’t include desperate pleas from the dead. Her remarkable gift may help others rest in peace, but it also made for an unsettling childhood and destroyed her marriage. Finally content as the real estate writer for a local newspaper, Aubrey keeps her extraordinary ability hidden—until she is unexpectedly assigned the story of a decades-old murder.Rocked by the discovery of a young woman’s skeletal remains, the New England town of Surrey wants answers. Hard-nosed investigative reporter Levi St John is determined to get them. Aubrey has no choice but to get involved, even at the terrifying risk of stirring spirits connected to a dead woman’s demise and piquing her new reporting partner’s suspicions.As Aubrey and Levi delve further into the mystery, secrets are revealed and passion ignites. It seems that Aubrey’s ghost gifts are poised to deliver everything but a normal life.

RT Book Reviews (4.5 stars)

“An engaging writing voice, realistic characters, and a compelling mystery make this a must-read! Aubrey and Levi are compelling and likable, both individually and as a team, and the way their stories intersect increases the appeal. Just the right blend of emotion and humor combine with captivating suspense for a paranormal mystery that is sure to delight fans. The flashbacks heighten the tension and deepen the poignancy, and the romantic angle has a great slow-burn passion.”

Fresh Fiction

“A wild adventure of a mystery, brimming with layers, secrets, and more than one person who should feel guilty…Paranormal mystery/romance fans will find a gem of a story in Laura Spinella’s Ghost Gifts.”

Tracy Brogan, bestselling author

“Thoroughly entertaining!”

David Ellis, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Ghost Gifts transcends labels like ‘murder mystery’ or ‘love story’ or ‘ghost tale,’ giving readers a masterful plot that weaves effortlessly between past and present, sharply pivoting whenever you think you’ve put your finger on it. The characters and setting come to life so vividly that you forget you’re reading a book. Laura Spinella’s Ghost Gifts is an absolute treasure.”

Karin Gillespie, author of Girl Meets Class

“Ghost Gifts will stir your emotions, spook the bejesus out of you, and keep you furiously turning pages until the cows deign to come home. Clear your calendar, stock up on the candy and caffeine, and prepare to get lost in Laura Spinella’s intricate and layered narrative. A singular and wickedly satisfying storytelling experience.”

Barbara Claypole White, bestselling author of The Perfect Son

“Laura Spinella skillfully weaves plot twists from the dead with secrets from the living, and adds sparks when psychic Aubrey Ellis and reporter Levi St John are assigned to uncover the truth about a decades-old New England murder. An adrenaline rush from the first page to the last, I devoured Ghost Gifts.”

From the Publisher

Aubrey Ellis, the main character in Ghost Gifts, has a unique ability, but it’s not something she talks about—in fact, it’s not something she’s entirely comfortable with. Connecting with other people is challenging enough without attempting to convince them that ghosts sometimes speak to her and leave her small tokens, mementos of their lives that they wish to pass on. And yet, Aubrey is tempted to help when she’s drawn into a decades-old mystery, even when revealing her gift means risking alienation and ridicule, and potentially inviting the rage of malicious spirits more intent on doing harm than serving justice. Like author Laura Spinella, I’m not sure I believe in psychic senses or premonitions—at least, not entirely. But I’ve experienced a few uncanny moments in life—that gut-dropping wash of dread in the instant before the phone rings bringing bad news; the convergence of abnormal delays in my morning routine that ends up putting me in just the right place at the right time to run into a friend I haven’t seen in years but whom I’d been reminded of just the day before—and can’t simply dismiss the idea of the otherworldly. There’s a deep-rooted appeal in the idea that the world isn’t entirely logical, that there are some mysteries we may never solve. And in Ghost Gifts, Laura skillfully blends that sense of the ineffable with the tragedy of a young life cut short, the allure of a new romance, and a heroine who seeks answers, no matter whether her source is living or dead. - Alison Dasho, Editor

About the Author

Laura Spinella is an East Coast author, originally from Long Island, New York. She pursued her undergraduate degree in journalism at the University of Georgia. The southern locale provided the inspiration for her first novel, Beautiful Disaster, which garnered multiple awards, including a Romance Writers of America RITA nomination. She’s also lived on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and in North Carolina before relocating to Massachusetts. She and her family currently live in the Boston area, where she is always writing her next book. Ghost Gifts is Laura’s third work of romantic fiction. She also writes sensual romance under the pen name L. J. Wilson. Visit her website at www.lauraspinella.net.

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