Review of The Ghosts I Knew at Home

[Alexander C Schmoock]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Ghosts I Knew at Home" by Ian "Rosey" Frost.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The Ghosts I Knew at Home is a book about the life of Tommy Morningdale. Growing up, Tommy’s best friend had always been his grandfather, as they did many things together. He was such a patient teacher, and Tommy learnt a lot from him from childhood. After the unexpected death of this important figure in Tommy’s life, he began to experience and see things only he could see. He would dismiss them as hallucinations or just thoughts resulting from stress until he could no longer ignore them. The ghosts Tommy saw would go on to do many things for him while he grew up and protect him from the dangers he could not sense. His father’s company grew much larger along with the family's social status, but Tommy had ghosts plaguing his existence, and the family was being targeted by a group of terrorists seeking to destroy the Morningdale name and growing empire.

I always love when an author’s writing style is easy to understand, and the story is equally easy to follow. Rosey Frost chose words that would best communicate the story efficiently and didn't overcomplicate the storyline. Every part of the story was explained clearly and concisely, and the storyline progressed smoothly through the years of Tommy Morningdale's life. I particularly liked that the author sometimes narrated the story in explanatory terms. That narration style was a perfect fit for the theme of the book and was the best bet for describing the ghosts Tommy saw and certain politics involved in the book. The epilogue that finished off the story was such a brilliant way to end the book as well.

I found it difficult to understand why the author wrote so much in future participle when referring to the malicious intents of the gang, specifically Stirling, who was after the Morningdales. For the earlier part of the story, I struggled to find the manifestation of those intents, yet the author wrote them as though he was narrating the future. That made it difficult to tell if I was reading the narrator’s words or if Stirling was thinking aloud at those times. The paragraph spacing in the book felt a little disoriented, but it was still very much readable nonetheless. I found a few errors in the book, but I believe it was professionally edited.

I rate this book 4 out of 5. I really enjoyed the story, but owing to the hitches I mentioned above, I couldn't give it a perfect score. However, this is a unique and well-written story. Rosey Frost really knows how to end a book; there is not much else to say.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller story spiced with some educational conversations. It’s hard to place it in a genre because sometimes the book feels like a novel and other times like an educational discussion; nevertheless, it is a great read.

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The Ghosts I Knew at Home
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[Amy Luman]

Thins aren’t always what they seem, are they? Who would have guessed that a member of such a prominent family would be seeing ghosts? Also, I wonder what caused the Morningdales to become targets.

[IdealistPhoenix]

Can you please tell me the you felt while reading this book? I mean, was it scary? Or tense? Maybe thrilling?

[NetMassimo]

A mix of thriller centered around terrorist activities and someone who sees ghost is quite original and makes me curious. Some polishing might make this novel more readable. Thank you for your great review!