Emma's parents go missing then her legal guardian, Bennett, shows up and takes her to Boston where she sees ghosts and other things that go bump in the night. She does not quite trust Bennett nor he her. How will she discover what is going on?

Wow! I really liked this story. It took me a little while to get into it but when I did I was wide eyed with wonder about what was going to happen. There are a lot of questions I want answered so I will read the rest of the trilogy. The world building is good. The storytelling is good. I liked the characters and I like that Emma can communicate with the ghosts. I also like that she has a line she does not want to cross. I hope the rest of the story will be as good.

Boogerman's House, A Haunting Novella by Dax Varley is a frightening story. I gave it four stars.

A group of young people are going to "Boogerman's House, one of the most haunted spots in America and Thornback, Texas's famous landmark." They are there on the anniversary of the first murder-suicide. Teagan is writing an article for The Paw Print, her high school newspaper. Ryan and Will are with her. They have a competitive 'eyerolling' type of relationship with each other.

There is something unsettled about Boogerman's House. It's isolated. It infected you with despair. There were multiple murders and suicides over the years.

I received a complimentary kindle copy from booklikes. That did not change my opinion for this review.

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1507605021

This novella takes place in Cairo in 1912. Agent Hamed Nasr and his new partner, Agent Onsi Youssef, work for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities. Their newest case appears, initially, to involve a haunted tram car. However, they soon realize that there's something else going on. Unfortunately, knowing what they're dealing with isn't the same as actually solving the problem, considering the shoestring budget the Ministry has given them. The agents find themselves having to get a bit creative, with the assistance of some local women.

This was decent, and featured a few aspects that made me want to read more by this author. It's steampunk that, for once, isn't set in London. In fact, London didn't even come across as being particularly important - magic first entered this world via the work of a Sudanese man, who used a combination of alchemy and machinery to open a doorway to the world of the djinn. And although the book starred two male agents, women's suffrage was constantly in the background, and women played an important part in dealing with the being in the tram car. The few appearances of "boilerplate eunuchs" (robots) also fascinated me - some appeared to possess this world's version of artificial intelligence.

I'd happily read more stories starring Hamed, the experienced and somewhat grumpy agent, and Onsi, his shinier and more cheerful new partner, although I'd really love to read a full novel set in this world. From what I can tell, there's currently just one other story, "A Dead Djinn in Cairo," which stars Fatma el'Sha'arawi, the one female agent in the Ministry.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)