I'm not gonna lie. I read this book solely because of the pet skunk! :)

This was my first read as part of Angie Fox's Southern Ghost Hunter Series. It was pretty much as I expected. This book is a fun, fast-paced book that provides a delightful escape from reality. It's wholesome, no cursing or violence or blood or gore. Just a woman on a mission to save Christmas thanks to the help of three ghosts. It hits all the plot points you'd expect in this particular trope, moving quickly from one adventure to the next.

This is a great read on a snowy night when you're looking for something a little silly with a touch of holiday joy. I found the events leading up the mystery to be a tad unrealistic, but that's just my personal preference. But never having read a book from the series, I was able to jump right into the story world. There was enough background given to catch me up without becoming burdensome. Overall, it's a nice book, falling right in the middle of the scale. I wouldn't say it stood out in any particular way, other than the pet skunk, but that doesn't mean it wasn't enjoyable.

“The Ghost of Christmas Past” by Angie Fox

I was looking for a fresh and adventurous book to read for Christmas. “The Ghost of Christmas Past” offers just that! Ghost hunter, Verity Long, had been excited about going to a Christmas Eve party hosted by her future in-laws until an argument with her cranky mother-in-law-to-be just before leaving to go to the party left her staying home to spend the evening with her pet skunk, Lucy, instead of with her fiancé, Ellis. Before Verity had time to let this all soak in, a ghost who saved her skunk a few years earlier shows up to ask for a favor. Thankful to the ghost for saving Lucy’s life, Verity was more than happy to help Donna with her dilemma. After all, rescuing a family of animals sounds harmless enough – even with the threat of ghosts Donna had warned her about.
Resident ghost, Frankie, is hilarious and has to go on all of Verity’s ghost adventures including this one despite his own Christmas Eve plans. Yes, Frankie may be dead, but he still has a social life! Feeling confident with Frankie along, Verity tells Donna that she is free to go “visit” her new grandson.
Before long, though, the seemingly harmless animal rescue turns into a more dangerous situation than Verity could have imagined, and three visits from three more ghosts further threatens the rescue mission.
By the time the ghosts are finished showing visions to Verity, she gets a dose of self-discovery and also realizes how much Ellis’s family needs help to keep from being destroyed by the family’s grumpy matriarch – Verity’s very own mother-in-law-to-be. After a harrowing animal rescue, Verity sets out on a Christmas Eve mission to rescue a family tradition.

Reviewed by Patricia Wilson for Suspense Magazine

I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
This was a great book !
This time Verity is spending the Christmas with the in-laws.
How long will Verity last with the Wydells.
It is a good thing that she is super in love with Ellis.
Loved the characters + the storytelling !
It has all the ingredients that you need for a great book!
I can't wait for the next book in this series.

I love the Southern Ghost Hunters stories! This one, a short holiday novella doesn't disappoint. Verity Long is preparing to celebrate Christmas with her boyfriend's family, the Wydells. They are difficult at best, but Verity knows she has to make an effort to get along.

Verity can see ghosts since she accidentally dumped an urn of ashes into her rosebushes. The remains belonged to Frankie, a gangster ghost from the 20's. Since then, Verity taps into his energy to be able to see folks on the other side. This is a short story, number 8.5 in the Ghost Hunters series. Although most of the novels in the series are easily read as standalone, I think someone would have a greater appreciation for the story and Verity's history with her boyfriend's mother if even a few previous stories were read.

I thought this was a great story full of heart and an overwhelming feel good ending.

A fun take on the concept of the classic A Christmas Carol. Three ghosts, one night, and a future to change.
I will admit, the cute little skunk on the cover really caught my interest (her name is Lucy by the way) but it was Verity that kept my interest. Verity was about to go to a family Christmas dinner with her fiancé but his mother decided to try and ruin that for her. Just when Verity decides to stay home and call it a night, one of her ghostly friends come to visit and sets her on a path that can literally change her future. I don’t want to give too much away but let’s just say that there is an animal that she is trying to rescue, a gangster ghost from the 20s, and 3 ghosts that are related to her fiancé.

This was a very sweet cozy mystery. Verity was a sweet character and even though this was book 8.5 I didn’t feel like I was lost. Fox did a fantastic job catching you up on who everyone was and how they got to where they are. I mean, wow her future mother in law really did try to ruin her life before. Oh and I also got to find out the background on how she ended up with a pet skunk. It also helped you really get a feel for who Verity was, a smart and kind person. Her kindness is also what leads her to an old mill which is on her fiancé’s family property trying to save a sow and her babies. That is when she runs into the ghosts that help get Verity back on track. Just like in the original Dicken’s classic these ghosts end up representing the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.

Overall, this was a very sweet and wholesome cozy mystery. The author did a fantastic job creating her characters and making them feel like you could jump off the page. I loved the way each ghost manifested and how they each had an important message to share with her. Verity was a bit stubborn at first, but I really liked that about her. What I found to be interesting is that her stubbornness was making her character seem a little cold which is not how she started, but of course that was kind of the point. Another thing that I loved about the book was her ghost friend Frankie! He had a hard exterior but really was a softie inside. He seriously was one of the highlights of this book.

I was hoping that this book would leave me feeling the Christmas spirit and it really did accomplish that goal! There was not a moment where you didn’t get a reminder that it was the holidays. You were shown the Christmas parties of past and present. And most of all you were reminded that kindness and family really matter. The ending was incredibly sweet and I think I will need to check out the rest of this series!

A good novella, well written and entertaining.
It's a fun read and I was happy to meet again the cast of characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The Ghost of Christmas Past (Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries #8.5) was a cute short story and worth a read.

I have to admit that I was very confused by Verity's behavior at the beginning of this story. I know that every one of us has a breaking point but I truly felt that she could have handled herself more respectfully. Especially on Christmas Eve! For starters, she could have grown a backbone and refused to pay for the surprise from Ellis' mother, Virginia. Secondly, after Ellis made his wishes known about being with family that night, she could have agreed to respect that and choose to deal with her anger on another day. Ultimatums always backfire so they should never be made.

Ellis does need to grow a backbone and deal with his vile mother but Christmas isn't the time to do that. Christmas is a time for love not anger and hate.

I was very pleased to see the ghosts teach Verity a much needed lesson in a very Dickens way. As always, my favorite parts included Lucy. They always do. Lucy needs her own series.

The very best part of the story was the end with Lucy, Ellis and Verity. I would have been very cross if Lucy wasn't welcomed by Ellis since she is part of Verity's family. I hope that Lucy is invited to all their gatherings in the future. #MORELUCYPLEASE

I am hoping that Ellis and Verity both finally unite, and deal with Virginia in a respectful way in the new year, once and for all. Virginia is a character I could do without reading about in future books.
I deal with enough Virginias' in my real life, I don't want to have that stress while enjoying one of my favorite past times. Reading should be a fun escape not stress inducing.

I received a free, advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

ARC from Netgalley

3.5 stars

The Ghost of Christmas Past is the eighth and a half book in Angie Fox’s Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries series. Always on the hunt for a Christmas read this time of year, I didn’t let the fact that this was part of a series I haven’t followed deter me. I didn’t feel lost reading this, so you can start here, but I think if I’d read more from this series and was more attached to Verity, my rating would have been higher.

It’s obvious from the title of the story that this is meant to be a riff off Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and even as light-hearted as it was, it carried an important message. Verity’s Christmas Eve begins when her boyfriend’s mother, always ready with an insult for Verity, surprises her with an expensive delivery (that Verity has to pay for,) and when Verity finally gives the woman a piece of her mind, her Christmas plans go up in smoke. But as happens in fiction, another event soon presents itself, and off Verity goes. I thought this was a fun little novella where Verity gets to see the past, present and future, and I like that while she is finally able to get her point across, it’s in a bit of a softer way. I also enjoy the way this book highlights a sort of domino effect - how a seemingly passing conversation or confrontation can change everything, often for the worst. The addition of Verity’s pet skunk was adorable, and I’m sure it’s been in the series for a while, but as a new reader, it was a treat for me. I also really liked that while it was Verity who gets the opportunity to change the way things go, it wasn’t all selfishness, as the events she gets to witness affect others more than her, and she could have just chosen to walk away. But she didn’t, and I love that she is the kind of person to be there when the going gets tough.

As I mentioned before, The Ghost of Christmas Past was my first book of the series, and I found it enjoyable enough to want to go back and read previous books. The timing is perfect, because while I’m writing this review, the first book is free on Amazon, and the WhisperSync price for the audio is only $1.99. And BONUS - Tavia Gilbert narrates this series, and she’s one of my favorites! Overall, I think this was a fun Christmas read with a life lesson thrown in, and I reserve the right to up my rating once I know Verity better.

The Ghost of Christmas Past by Angie Fox is a “between the books” holiday story. It can be read as a standalone, but The Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries are an entertaining series of books that are not to be missed. I was instantly drawn into The Ghost of Christmas Past with Verity, Frankie, Lucy and Ellis. I like Angie Fox’s engaging writing style which makes for a pleasant to read story. The book has delightful characters (except for Virginia) with my favorite being Frankie the German. He is a ghost that was a gangster in the 1920s. I just love his snarky dialogue and he finds some new friends in this story that allows us to see Frankie’s softer side. Virginia is my least favorite character who decides to humiliate Verity once again. This is a humorous retelling of Charles Dickens classic tale. The Ghost of Christmas Past is a magical tale with surprising spirits, a grating gift, alarming animals, lopsided lights, a gangster ghost and one painful party.

This book is a light, quick, Dickensian sitcom of a story full of ghosts and visions and animals needing rescue. You’ll experience quirky ghosts and family drama mixed together to teach us a lesson on the important things of life. Thank you to NetGalley for an advance read copy.

This novella (most of Fox’s books seem to be on the short side) was fun, cute as hell in parts, and followed the path of the first book giving me all the elements I’d enjoyed so darn much.

The story continues with Verity, a down-to-earth southern gal and her freaking adorable pet, a skunk, called Lucy. Lucy is a rescue animal and her stink gland has been removed (we don’t have skunks in Australia so I don’t know how common that is or anything more about it). I can’t get enough of Lucy and her waddling about. Verity has a new life now, helping ghosts with problems, since she got saddled with one of her own. Frankie the ghost can’t leave Verity’s big old property except with her. He is a fabulous character himself, grumbly, sarcastic, and just a little loveable. Frankie is a great counterpoint for Verity. 

Verity also has a sweet boyfriend named Ellis and on the protagonist side there is Ellis’s mother, Virginia Wydell. Oh, how I love to hate her and she was at it again in this book, right in the first chapter. I won’t tell you in what fashion she causes trouble though. You can find out for yourself if you read it.

I was three quarters through when “future” was mentioned and the penny dropped. I realised Fox was playing with Dickens’s A Christmas Carol story. Perhaps it was obvious but in my defense I was engrossed in the drama and I haven’t read Dickens's book (it’s now on my list!).

I became confused with Verity experiencing vulnerability connected to using Frankie’s power at one point. The exact reason for it wasn’t clear to me but was it explained and I missed it? Or was it spelled out in an earlier book that I haven’t read? Who knows, but at any rate, it didn’t distract me from my enjoyment of the narrative. 

As every good cosy should, the story had a nice ending that wrapped things up satisfactorily. I love Fox’s writing style. She has a very down to earth, natural way of expressing the story and she can be funny, too. I LOVE this series. It doesn’t achieve perfection, but this is a cosy - they aren’t meant to be realistic- they should be fun and somewhat wholesome (:D). The Ghost of Christmas Past achieved that. 

Thanks to the publisher, Moose Island Books, the author, and NetGalley for my copy of the book, given in return for an honest review. It was a pleasure.

Note: A longer version with my thoughts on cosy mystery books in general is posted on my blog The Long Hot Spell.

I’m going to preface this review by saying that I had not read anything from Angie Fox before. So, of course I’m going to start with book 8.5 in the Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries Series. The thing that drew me to this one was because it’s November, Christmas is right around the corner, and I wanted a festive novel. And I have, in fact, obtained a copy of the first book of the series - Southern Spirits.

Christmas Eve. Verity Long, ghost hunter, is all ready to attend a Christmas party with her boyfriend, Elis Wydell, and his mother, Virginia - the very mother who ‘tried to ruin me and take my ancestral home’. Verity snaps at mama Wydell and refuses to attend the party. Lo and behold, before the night is through she is visited by three ghosts. Past, present, future. But of course, Verity isn’t the monster here. Virginia is! Why is Verity getting these ghostly messages, when she hasn’t done anything? And what will she do to save this family?

Though not necessarily original or in depth, the thing that kept me reading was - what did this have to do with Verity? Surely it was Virginia who should have been having these visits? But in the end it all wraps up nicely. Sure, a little too nicely, but that’s what I love about cozies. I don’t think I missed out on anything by starting with this one, and it left me with a taste of wanting to know the characters more.

Thanks Netgalley, Moose Island Books, and Angie Fox, for an ARC of The Ghost of Christmas Past in exchange for an honest review.

Charming and sweet. I absolutely adored this trip into Wydell Christmases past and present (with bears) and I've been dying to bake ever since I finished it.

The Ghost of Christmas Past is the latest Southern Ghost Hunter Mystery by Angie Fox. It is Christmas Eve and Ghost Hunter Verity Long has a serious dispute with her boyfriend, Deputy Ellis Wydell, and his mother, Virginia, which leads Verity to stay home from thE Wydell family gathering.

Soon after Verity is left alone, she is visited by the ghost of the dear lady that rescued Verity’s dear pet skunk, Lucy. Led to make a similar Christmas Eve rescue, Verity and her ghostly sidekick Frankie the German head to the old mill to do a rescue of their own. However, it is not only an animal rescue, but also a visitation leading Verity to a new position in the Wydell family.

With tones of the iconic Christmas Carol, this is a scary sweet tale of ancestral visitation in order to rescue the family for the future. As all of the books in this series, Angie Fox does a perfect job of meshing two planes in the efforts of settling spirits and solving crimes. Once again, Ms. Fox has crafted a lovely, and seasonal, story. I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

A while back I stumbled upon a book titled “Southern Spirits,” the first in author Angie Fox’s Southern Ghost Hunter series. Finding it enjoyable, I made a mental note to purchase the next book in the series, but never did get around to it. Perhaps this latest offering, “The Ghost of Christmas Past,” will set me back on that path.

I questioned the “Book 8.5” notice on the cover and wondered what that meant. The author’s main character, Verity Long, has more of a personal mystery to solve as the book centers around the people in her life rather than focusing on the usual case that she might have to solve. The story is a generous nod toward Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Ms. Fox handled it with such care that I didn’t catch on until the third spirit appeared (although the title itself should have been a big clue).

Even though I have not been what you might call a dedicated fan, it was easy for me to understand what was happening as Ms. Fox provided plenty of back story. This was accomplished through snippets here and there, eliminating the need for a gigantic information dump. This kept the story light and airy, full of fun and peppered with Verity’s quick and sassy thoughts and verbal responses. The author has a gift for keeping her character human rather than unbearably snarky, and the explanations of how Verity acts with the spirit world are original and entertaining. For me, this was the first gift of the Christmas season. Five stars.

You knew it had to happen…Verity gets her own Christmas Carol. Verity takes on three ghosts to heal her heart and start healing the rift between the Wydells. I absolutely loved this take on an old tale and am reminded that the greatest gift may be love but hope isn’t far behind.

The Ghost of Christmas Past by Angie Fox is the 8.5 book in The Southern Ghost Hunter Mystery series. Verity Long is a ghost hunter, who usually gets help from her ghost, Frankie, the gangster ghost. In this story, based on a Christmas Carol, Verity learns what it would be like without her boyfriend, Ellis. Perfect Christmas novella! I found this book to be a quick read, with a well developed plot and characters. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. If you love humorous paranormal cozy mysteries, I strongly recommend this book. This book can be read as a stand alone but you might want to start with book one Southern Spirits, you won't be disappointed if you like fun, paranormal cozy mysteries. Definitely one of my favorite series.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

Verity is one of my favorite characters with her ghosts, pet skunk, and boyfriend's crazy family, you never know what she'll end up getting into next. This installment doesn't disappoint, Love the Christmas Carol twist.

This is one of my favorite series. This is a short novella that is set during Christmas. I loved getting the backstory of how Verity came to own Lucy. This was also a nice look into more of Ellis' family. All in all a great little Christmas novella.

Verity and Frankie are back with a new ghostly adventure, but this time there is a lot more riding on her figuring out how to help the ghosts than she could have imagined. Her very happiness is riding on this one. With a drop of Dickens and the author’s own charming Southern Ghost Hunter world, I was dazzled as usual.

The Ghost of Christmas Past is a novella and is #8.5 in the series. It is standalone, but has more meaning and makes more sense when gotten in order.

Virginia Wydell, her boyfriend’s mother has gone her length. Verity always knew that Virginia detested her, but this latest snobby stun right on the eve of Christmas has Verity deciding enough is enough. Ellis does not disagree that his mother is out of line and has verbally challenged her before, but he is also stuck in a hard place between love and loyalty that is complicated because family is involved.

Verity’s anger is mixed with her vulnerability of feeling not good enough and lonely for her own scattered family so she pushes Ellis to go to his family party and she mopes alone feeding her bitterness and anger.

Fortunately, this is when gangster Frankie’s antics and the sweet love of her pet skunk keep her from going full on depression. A ghost of one of her past friends comes along with a request for Verity’s help and Verity can’t resist a plea for her help so she drags a reluctant Frankie with her out to a spooky cider mill and the ghosts take her on three fateful visionary journeys so she can do her part to save a family.

I knew in the last book that things were coming to a head when Verity’s feckless way of charging into danger would get to Ellis who is a natural protector and a trained responder to danger since he’s former military and a sheriff’s deputy, but he’s helpless against the ghostly danger. Verity knows they need to have that conversation and now, Ellis’ mother does a spiteful act that Verity just can’t smile away and won’t. I was startled by her vehemence at first and then it made sense as the story unfolded. The age old trouble with the cliched mother in law is a cliche for a reason. I do love how Verity, and Ellis, eventually handled Virginia.

The personal storyline and the romance running through the series along with the colorful and sparkling characters on their ghostly adventures make this an outstanding series that I can heartily recommend.