How to be a Ghost: A Libby Grace Mystery - Book 1 Paperback – April 10, 2014

Author Audrey Claire doesn't like to talk about herself so background information, other than the fact that she has two sons and lives in the South, loves to travel would love to live `overseas', is rather sparse. But then, too, this is her debut novel so perhaps she is waiting for a bit of public opinion before opening up about her resume. She has a heady start with her Libby Grace Mystery Series - if this opener HOW TO BE A GHOST is any indication.Claire ventures into tenuous territory - ghost stories. For a history of this choice of fiction the following information is pertinent: `A ghost story may be any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them. The "ghost" may appear of its own accord or be summoned by magic. Linked to the ghost is the idea of "hauntings", where a supernatural entity is tied to a place, object or person. Colloquially, the term "ghost story" can refer to any kind of scary story. In a narrower sense, the ghost story has been developed as a short story format, within genre fiction. It is a form of supernatural fiction and specifically of weird fiction, and is often a horror story. While ghost stories are often explicitly meant to be scary, they have been written to serve all sorts of purposes, from comedy to morality tales. Ghosts often appear in the narrative as sentinels or prophets of things to come. Belief in ghosts is found in all cultures around the world, and thus ghost stories may be passed down orally or in written form.'Audrey Claire takes this notion into a new realm. She has created Liberty Grace (best known as Libby), a plain Jane kindergarten teacher from Summit's Edge, North Carolina, divorced from Mason, a verbally abusive husband who has moved to Raleigh, NC for a better job in the health care industry and is usually tardy in his child support payments for their single child Jake. So far, so real, however Libby is a ghost - a transparent person who has lost her corporal self and wonders why she is a ghost (reasons unknown). Her neighbor, reclusive Ian McClain (who has existence problems of his own), sees right through her, makes unwanted suggestions on where to find her body - you get the picture. The book travels through her journey to find why she is a ghost and in the course of events she discovers `another corpse'. So we have an investigator ghost and how the altered state of visibility works out makes for an entertaining spin.Audrey Claire's fresh take on ghost stories is a bit of fresh air, and whether or not we will see further books in the Libby Grace Mystery will likely depend on public response. This is a fine fresh start for some light and warm entertainment. Grady Harp, April 14

I am going to address some of the complaints I have read. There are three books in this series. It is a continuing story. As soon as I read the first book I bought book two and three. Just like nothing is resolved in the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy this story has different levels of resolution. At the end of book one a murder is solved but other problems remain. As you may surmise I liked the book. It takes a rather stale premise and by looking at a ghost story from an unique perspective it allows the author to engage the reader in a new perspective. Libby is a pit bull with a series of problems to chew through. She is persistent with a bit of unorthodox genius in her.The characters, and there are a slew of them are developed incrementally as they interact with Libby. She starts with her immateriality being a crippling weakness and through the help of friends, persistence and innovation turns the disability into a valuable asset. She works with what she has and with whom she can get to help her.There is a bit of romance but nothing graphic. Just enough to keep some spice in her life. One of her relationships is with a vampire. Frankly if I had known there was a vampire I probably would not have read the first book. I generally don't like vampire or zombie stories. They have both been worked to death. But just as Libby is not a typical ghost the vampire is viewed as relatively human in a cold way.This story is fast, easy to read and it captured my interest in a few pages. I have read the second book and will be starting the third today. Buy it and read it.

What would you do if you realized you were a ghost but didn’t know why or how? Libby Grace is about to find out. She must figure out what happened and return to her body before she gets exorcised to the spirit world forever.And not only is she a ghost, but she is the prime suspect of a murder. Could this get any worse for her?Reader traverses through the story all through Casper’s eyes. Libby hones her ghost skills (holding her appearance to the living, possessing people, etc.) while trying to solve a murder and find her body. Some of the details as to how Libby can “phase through,” appearing somewhere else instantaneously was confusing. I also thought her being aided by a vampire was a little out of sorts. I mean, where do vampires play into all this? Well, we do have ghosts here.But the fact of the matter is: Where is Libby’s body? You want to find out. I liked the ghost idea and knowing what it’s like to be a ghost. But the ending was a little unsatisfying. It was nice that we caught the murderer (won’t tell you who,) but Libby stays a ghost, which means the series continues in the next book.There were also a few typos here and there, but, overall, this was a nice, little mystery.

How to be a Ghost by Audrey Claire is a fast reading book! The main character is a ghost named Libby. The book cover attracted my attention where the woman known as Libby looks like a shadow or ghost. The author has fun writing and has another book coming out soon. The books will be a set of series and not romance but take you on an adventure with Libby as a ghost. What is the book about? Divorced mom Libby Grace works as an elementary school teacher and has no social life to speak of. The most she has to worry about is finding a way to fix a leaky faucet without a budget for a plumber. The next thing Libby knows she’s standing at the foot of her son’s bed completely see-through! Libby can’t remember what happened to her. Is she dead? She doesn't know for sure because she can’t find her body, and the last place she remembers being, the local hardware store, instead of her own body, she finds the corpse of the store’s owner, husband to the mayor of her small town. In order to solve the mystery surrounding her disappearance, Libby must figure out who killed George Walsh. Along the way, she gets help from her reclusive neighbor, Ian McClain, who has a secret of his own. © 2014 Jackie Paulson

Captivated from the first page. Libby finds she is outside her body and must accept the help of the vampire who has been feeding from her to survive her new situation. The characters are brilliant. The story line is brilliant. The only downside is it's rather short and has a cliff-hanger which means you need to buy the next book if you want to find out what happens. If you can live with that, I can heartily recommend this book.

I enjoyed this, it was a neat little story, with a neat little trick to finding clues to the crime. The reason for 4 not 5 stars is that the author should have paid more for a better proof reader. Silly mistakes in grammar and word substitution made a pleasant read into a mild irritation. Kindle versions should have as much attention paid to them as paper versions. Other than that, it was fine, and I would read more by the same writer.

A good read as the story is a little bit different to others that I have read in the paranormal genre, I loved Libby she was very well written and inspite of being "handicapped" was an entertaining lady. I liked the way the story develops and was seriously annoyed with the cliffhanger and have to get the next instalment to see how she gets on. Well done to the author, very entertaining.

Gripes you from the start. Really enjoyed this book, looking forward to the second one. Beware you won't be able to put it down.

It was an OK read and a wee bit different from other "cozy" series and I felt really sorry for the main character. However, without giving the plot away, there were quite a few unanswered questions which kindof bugged me throughout the story. Maybe in the next one they become clearer.