A review by trr51591
A Man Among Ghosts by Steven Hopstaken

4.0

 This book was bananas. My expectations weren't super high, just because I tend not to always vibe with stories that use the paranormal as an overarching explanation for shenanigans. This was different though, and definitely the best ghost-related horror book I've read by far.

It might be weird to start by saying this book was hysterically funny, and if you don't like gallows humor you will probably not be into it, but I was cackling the entire time. If you will find jokes about terminal illnesses, politics, religion, racism, sex, or drug use offensive, maybe steer clear. But good humor in horror brings levity and plays off of creepy so well, and this was an amazing example of that, IMO.

This book follows David, a 30-ish bachelor who buys and moves into his first house, which obviously turns out to be haunted. It's in the title. My biggest gripe with the haunted house trope is always wondering why the person doesn't just LEAVE. I won't spoil it, but David actually has a very good reason for not leaving and trying to just ignore his undead roommates. He explores every possible explanation for what he's seeing, and tries everything to get rid of them: police, ghost hunters, exorcisms, ouija boards, cameras, medication, hypnotism, etc. All create some eerie and snort-worthy situations.

I was really nervous about how this was going to wrap up--the ending is usually where paranormal books lose me a little, but this one got as close to sticking the landing as was possible, I think. It was wild, and I was glued to my kindle for the last 15% of the book, and may or may not have gasped and laughed out loud. This book was more creepy than scary, and it's only around 240 pages, so if you're curious but horror makes you nervous this might be a good option for you. It was just really fun and different, and I'll definitely read more from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, & the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review of "A Man Among Ghosts".