Haunting Jordan: A Port Chatham Cozy Mystery

I liked P J Alderman's books about the Columbia River and the woman who was the barge guide a little better. This one is sometimes just a little patronizing to the reader's intelligence by repeating what the main character felt and her actions as a therapist from LA and not some small town in Washington State. She seemed often naive and unobservant to human nature and castigated herself for seeing and conversing with ghosts. The main character seemingly could not decide how she would approach various situations and then would rigidly establish behavior plans for herself that she had no intention of keeping. I felt that although the book was entertaining in many aspects it lacked insights into the psychological make up of people and as such the main character became wish washy and unfocused. Her romantic interest was a similar character and all of the people in this book seemed only two dimensional and lacking in complexity. So I would say check out other authors that have mystery, intrigue, and have their main characters better defined with more insights into the human condition, because both this and it's companion second book seem simplistic. Marina Fiorato, who writes about strong female characters with settings in Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries combines excellent historical figure research of actual people, some embellishments on details, a good story line and even some romantic connections.

I bought this never having read paranormal romance before and thoroughly enjoyed this story and the authors writing skills. I read it in one sitting. Great story and humorous characters an enjoyable read. This is a well written book. The characters are developed and I fell in love with them. I now have this author on my favorites list and purchased all of her other books all of which I have enjoyed.This book is set in 2 different time periods. The book travels between the present and the past.Jordon a psychologist is the main female lead has been accused of killing her husband, The LA cop is out to prove her guilt but can't, but won't let it go. She leaves and buys a beat up Victorian home in Port Chatham to get away from his harassment . She meets the towns historical welcome committee dressed in 1890's garb. The towns female cop comes to visit you to check to see what you're about. You hit it off and become friends. You tell her about your visitors and she is envious that you met 2 ghosts Hattie and Charlotte and who use to own the house both of whom were killed . Being a psychologist you think your losing your mind and at first reject the idea of ghosts thou the town is in awe that you can see them. I love this because she sees horse drawn carriages and gets out of the way she's not sure if their ghosts or real people. She is asked by Hattie to find out who killed her. You end up trying to solve her murder and who killed your husband with the help of the towns people and ghosts. I didn't know who the killers were until all was revealed. Be sure to read the follow up Ghost ship A Chatham Port mystery for Charlottes story.

I have just finished reading P.J. Alderman's "Haunting Jordan" and immediately went and ordered the 2nd in the series, "Ghost Ship"! The author has managed to weave two storylines in this first book in the series; one taking place in the present, and one in 1890. Both storylines occur in a small coastal town on the Washington State coast. The main character, Jordan, has just purchased an old victorian house in dire need of restoration. Jordan discovers the house is haunted by ghosts who want her to solve a murder from 1890. At the same time Jordan stands accused of murdering her husband and must find the real murderer to clear her own name. The author takes us back and forth in time with vivid descriptions and multi-dimensional characters in both time periods. My only problem with the book was a jarring bit of inaccurate historical fact from the trail in 1890. In this book, a bloody fingerprint was one of the key pieces of evidence that convicted someone of that long ago murder. Unfortunately, I know that the first time a criminal was convicted of a murder using a fingerprint was by Juan Vucetich who made the first criminal fingerprint identification in 1892. The murderess was Francis Rojas who murdered her 2 sons. And it was not until 1900 that even england threw over the Bertillion measurement system in favor of the new fingerprinting for purposes of criminal identification. The United States did not come along quite as quickly with A Dr. Henry P. Deforrest pioneering US fingerprinting beginning in New York. A quick look on google provided all these facts even if I had not already been aware of the time-frame for use of fingerprinting in criminal law. I do hope that this author will do a little more factual research in the future since her writing style and ability to pull the reader into her story are truly commendable! It is a trifle hard to swallow the townspeoples' complete across-the-board acceptance of ghosts in their town (with not a single scoffer in the town!), as well as everyone to whom Jordan mentions the existance of ghosts! But, I figured "in for a penny..." and went along with the premise. But when all is said and done I couldn't put the book down and found I was invested in the outcome and had developed an emotional tie with the characters. I loved the book and enjoyed the characters, plot and descriptive scenery! Interestingly enough I enjoyed this book far more than Carolyn Hart's "Bailey Ruth Mysteries" despite the fact that I highly respect Carolyn Hart as a mystery writer. I love Ms. Hart's "Death on Demand Series". But the Bailey Ruth Series was just too hard for me to swallow and continue with...and me a lover of plenty of supernatural-themed mysteries! P.J.Alderman pulled me in and left me wanting more of this engrossing new series.

Fast shipping, the book arrived in very good condition.The book presented a very intersting plot with likeable characters.My only remark is regarding a little detail that wasn't fully explained at the end of the mystery, but it wasn't directly related with themurder so it didn't have any influence on the finale.

A really nice read. You get involved with the characters and it is amusing. i have gone on to buy her other books and I think the sequence to this one is even more entertaining. Nice to read in bed!

Loved the Columbia River books. This book is rubbish. Silly ghosts and characters , very disappointing. Will not buy more.

Ayant eu le coup de coeur pour une vieille maison, Jordan découvre que celle-ci est hantée. Pire: les fantômes ont truqué le rapport de l'expert qui a évalué les défauts et les travaux à effectuer pour la remettre en état. Pourquoi? Pour que Jordan découvre qui a tué les anciens habitants de la maison.Le problème de Jordan: elle ne croit pas aux fantômes qu'elle est seule à voir, dans une ville qui considère les fantômes comme faisant partie intégrante de la population.Le passé et le présent se répondent harmonieusement dans ce roman, jusqu'au dénouement final. Les personnages sont attachants, l'histoire fascinante. Un excellent début.