Ghost Detective: A Myron Vale Investigation

It's very rare that find a novel that's funny and sarcastic and poignant and scary, all at the same time. In GHOST DETECTIVE, Scott William Carter pulls all four off with amazing aplomb. Ostensibly, this is the story of a private detective who sees dead people. Myron Vale was shot in the head five years before GHOST DETECTIVE takes place, and the bullet - which the doctors were unable to remove from his brain - somehow enables him to see the scores of walking dead that inhabit the world with us. Since he's pretty much the only living person to be able to see the ghosts among us, he has earned a reputation among them as the "Ghost Detective," and many of his clients are actually dead. This novel, the first in what will undoubtedly be a series, begins in classic noir detective fashion when a gorgeous blond walks into Vale's office with a case she hopes he'll take - she wants to find out whether her husband, Tony Neuman, was responsible for her death three months earlier in a suspicious car accident. Tony has disappeared, and Karen hopes Vale can find him and prove his innocence - she really wants to believe he was (and still is) a loving husband. Vale, who was a day away from a Hawaiian vacation with his wife, Billie, doesn't want to take the case. Even Karen's promise of a big paycheck can't sway him. That is until she shows him a photo of her missing husband. Tony Neuman, it turns out, is a dead ringer for the man who shot Vale five years earlier. And although Vale is warned by several well-meaning people not to get involved in this case (including a dead priest who says, "The need for revenge is an inferno that consumes all, leaving nothing and no one unburned"), the chance to solve his own personal mystery is just too enticing.

What makes GHOST DETECTIVE such a fascinating read is the world Carter has created, a world in which the dead far outnumber the living. When Myron Vale walks down the street, he can never be sure whether those he sees are living beings or ghosts. For example, it's only when he realizes that no one else can see the old guy trying to hand out bibles outside an office building that he understands the man is actually dead. Vale sees these ghosts everywhere, and he sees them all the time. As in Shyamalan's "The Sixth Sense," they come to him for help, they seem to gravitate to him because he alone among the living knows they're there. But it can be exhausting. Some of the ghosts he encounters don't know they're dead. And more than a few times Vale has appeared insane when he finds himself in conversation with someone the rest of the living world can't even see.

This is a world that seems to have rules and bureaucracy of its own, although Carter only drops hints of these in this first Myron Vale novel. There's an organization called the "Department of Souls," which keeps track of the so-called "dead census," and the "Immortal Living Adjustment Bureau" works to help the dead acclimate with their new "non-corporeal" condition. As Carter explains it, ghosts are somehow able to create whatever they want, including clothing, jewelry, food, and drink. The dead fat guy with the hot dog cart, who calls himself Elvis, may or may not be the real thing - his hot dogs smell fabulous to Vale, but he can't touch or taste them. And Karen, the gorgeous blond with the bodacious chest, is nothing but thin air when he reaches out to touch her.

While GHOST DETECTIVE is definitely a noir-style mystery novel (with all of the expected sarcasm and witty repartee), and the case of the missing Tony Neuman is at the heart of the plot, it's also a romance (Vale's relationship with his wife is bittersweet and deeply affecting). Billie is a fascinating character, and she becomes even more fascinating as we learn more about her. She plays a central role in the novel's final act, which is both satisfying and unexpected.

Beyond that, GHOST DETECTIVE is mind-bogglingly fascinating on a philosophical level. What if the dead really do move among us, sitting in the backseats of our cars, watching us as we work, walking beside us, visiting us in our homes? How would it affect our belief in God, or in Heaven and Hell? Vale is a self-proclaimed atheist, but he does believe in ghosts - he has no choice but to believe. One of the ghosts, the would-be bible peddler, tells Vale that he still believes in God, even though death has brought him no closer to any real proof. "Have you ever met him?" Vale asks, and the dead man admits that "nobody has." Vale asks him, "Why do you believe in [God] if you've never met him?" The man responds, "Well, I hadn't met him when I was alive either. I believed then. It just took a little faith. Why should I stop now?"

It's fair to say that GHOST DETECTIVE is a novel about faith - faith in possibilities, faith in surviving, faith in forgiveness. It wouldn't be easy to live in a world that so openly reveals what happens to us after death, as well as how few answers we are likely to find in that afterlife. I understand how hard it is for Myron Vale to keep himself sane. That he is able to help the dead resolve the mysteries in their lives has given him a purpose that his own near-death experience almost took from him. I found GHOST DETECTIVE to be a gripping, wonderful read - and I definitely look forward to the next Myron Vale novel. Highly recommended.

[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]

This is my first book from S.W.Carter. I bought it on a whim and it proved to be everything it promised and more. I like the noir detective genre and this fits nicely without being a retread of the classics. The "seeing ghosts" angle makes it unique. The usual wise-cracking humour is exploited to a new level.

A scene where Vale's questioning someone while a ghost is asking Myron questions at the same time is precious anhd well written.

The only quibble I have is the alternating time frame of the chapters: Now, Then, Now, Then...
Can be confusing, but not insurmountable. Perhaps a date/time header at the beginning of each chapter?

I'm looking forward to more Myron Vale Mysteries.

This is a tough one. So I guess the best way to do this is point by point giving both the good and the bad. So let start with the location: I know Portland, I have lived in the area for 23 years and Mr Carter does an excellent job of capturing the personality of both the "types" that live in the city and the city itself. The bad news is that the characters are all whinny and self absorbed jerks. None of them seem to be able to see past their own belly buttons to see some pretty obvious clues because they were to busy feeling sorry for themselves. This is especially true of the main character who refuses to help people or do the right thing at no cost to himself simply because it would cut into his brooding time. The world is built very nicely, but there are way to many unexplained points in the story regarding the ghosts and in fact some of the points contradict each other. I will try another book in this group to see if some of these issues are corrected. I hope they are because I really like this world and I do hope to spend more time in it.

GHOST DETECTIVE by Scott William Carter is one great read with sarcasm, humor and twists and turns that make you stop now and then and go - what's next. A former cop - one Myron Vale is shot in the forehead and retains the .38 bullet and the gift or blessing of being able to see ghosts, which is fortunate since his wife Beth, the wife he dearly loves who is brooding and dark is a ghost. Alesha, the very much alive former partner with whom sparks could fly if only he could accept the fact his wife is dead adds spice and an allure to the story.

I have always liked the noir fashionable novel - a story filled with tough, cynical characters and bleak settings. The blonde walks in - Karen - in this case a ghost of a blonde - who is seeking the answer as to whom killed her and she really hopes it is not her husband, Tony, who has disappeared, and Karen hopes Myron can find him and prove he is not the cad and con man that everyone else thinks he is.

This is a captivating read because the author has created a unique and strangely delightful world in which the dead outnumber us. Poor Myron has great difficulty telling the living from the dead. He is often caught between having to try and decide who is real and who is not. Fortunately for him, his wife, whom you will recall is a ghost, helps him in his service to mankind and the deceased. The ghosts appear in the forms of Elvis, a bible thumper and even a group of Native Americans, who eventually help Myron find Tony. We also find out that Tony is also the man that shot Myron and placed him in this purgatory.

If you have ever loved a woman as deeply as Myron loves Beth, you relive the anguish he suffers in this book. Beth becomes a central character, one who is very complex and even twists the tale towards the end of the story in a much unexpected way. There is mystery, romance, great witty conversation and a great tease of the mind throughout.

Although a delightful mystery with more twists and turns than you ever can anticipate it is also a story about faith and the tests we all must face in life.

Mr. Scott William Carter offered me the opportunity to read and review this novel and I am grateful he did. I found it to be a round-trip airplane read that kept me focused on a gripping tale unlike many I have read.

I give this novel and the characters the highest possible rating. If you like to read mysteries and be challenged to think about those things in life that often times we might try to avoid - issues about love, faith, devotion, betrayal, redemption and the after-life, you will want to read GHOST DETECTIVE.

Thank you Scott for asking me to review this novel. I look forward to reading many more Myron Vale adventures.

(3.5 stars) I really enjoyed this book. Obviously, it had some problems related to grammar, wrong word, punctuation, etc., as others have mentioned. One glaring error I remember was Meriwether Lewis saying he had "a following out" with William Clark. I think the word you were looking for was "falling" out. There were a couple of other places where the wrong word was used. Mr. Carter needs a better editor or beta readers; a spell check does not reveal all errors.

I have read all of his Garrison Gage books. (Write another Garrison Gage book please!!!) That series is a lot better than this one although, of course, I have only read this first book in the series; maybe it gets better. I will read the next one ("The Ghost Who Said Goodbye") because I like the quirkiness of the characters/ghosts, and I also like his writing style and pace. (He also wrote a "prequel" short story, but I don't particularly like short stories and will pass on that one.)

I read a lot of mystery books and loved the storyline of this series. I thought the characters were well done. This book did have a lot of missed typos that threw the sentence off almost like someone relied on spell check only but the second book is better.

Story was good with a few twists, but author seemed unsure how he was going to get there. First novel in series trying to get a bunch of
lines established. Stay with it, it gets better. Liked the ideas in his world.The dead never leave, they are always with us.
Interesting hook, and a spiritual/metaphysical poke.
I bought the further book to see what happens next..