And now for something completely different…
Code Name Verity was a great book, but man, what a
kick in the feels. So today I come to you with some much lighter fare. Today’s
review is Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman, the first book in Jim
Bernheimer’s Ferryman Series.
Protagonist Mike Ross is born to lose. Growing up poor and eventually
fatherless, his fortunes don’t improve in adulthood. His stint in the US Army
is cut short by an Iraqi IED, but his troubles have barely begun once he
arrives back home. To repair his damaged eye he’s given a cornea transplant,
and he’s rather dismayed to find out his new eye allows him to see the dearly
(and not so dearly) departed. Mike eventually learns he’s a Ferryman, someone
who can see, speak to, and interact with the dead (and “interact” in this case usually
means “get his ass beat”). Some of these spirits just want to cross over, and
Mike is happy to help…for a small fee. Others just want to cause trouble, and
trouble seems to follow Mike wherever he goes. Along the way he collects an odd
assortment of allies (and enemies), from battered housewives and dead Army
buddies to Union Army Generals and Supreme Court Justices.
Pennies is a fairly straight-forward story with a few
good plot twists sprinkled throughout, and it’s a very fun read. Mike has a very sardonic sense of
humor, and it’s always easy to cheer for an underdog, which he’s been his whole
life. He’s a Ghostbuster on a shoe-string budget; no fancy proton packs here,
just a trusty pipe wrench, some iron filings, and a mean right hook. History
buffs will enjoy the historical characters, from the Poe family to Union Army officers
and soldiers like John Reynolds and Strong Vincent. I really enjoyed this book
(and it was a nice palate cleanser after Verity), and if you like adventure
fiction with a dose of the paranormal, you probably will too.
I got the audiobook for the second book in the series, The
Skinwalker Conspiracies, so stay tuned and I’ll post a review of that one
as well when I finish.
Pennies for the Ferryman is available on Amazon for Kindle, in paperback, and on Audible.
-Mike, out
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