Book Review: The Ouija Board Mystery (Penny Lane, Paranormal Investigator Book 1) by David J. Cooper

When a group of teenage schoolgirls fool around in the school break, they accidentally injure one of their friends. She dies as a result. They try to contact her by using a Ouija board. They believe that they have contacted her, but release an evil entity instead which threatens their lives. They contact Penny Lane – a paranormal investigator, for help. She tells them what they have to do to destroy it. They follow her instructions but four of them die mysteriously. The two terrified remaining survivors return to see Penny, but is it too late for her to save them? A story that will make you think twice before dabbling with the occult. 

My Review

I chose to read this book after receiving a free e-copy from the author. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

I expected this book to be about a paranormal investigator but she only plays a small part in the story. All of the characters, including Penny, are poorly developed. There are several books in this series so hopefully Penny and her aunt have been more developed as the series continues.

The basic idea of evil being released by a Ouija board is not a new concept, but it can be compelling. The warning about Ouija boards at the beginning was unexpected. My mom and I used to play with a Ouija board when I was young and we had a lot of fun with it and we came to no harm. On the other hand, I had some friends who had one that started to spell words on its own! They got rid of that one pretty quickly.

Although I read the entire book, I don’t think I would have stuck with it if it were longer mainly because it needs to be edited. I did see that there’s a newer edition than the one I have, but noted in a review or two that it still has issues.

I really wanted to like this book because I’ve always enjoyed reading about the paranormal. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

About the Author

David J Cooper is a British author. He was born in Darlaston, West Midlands, to a working class family. After leaving school he had jobs ranging from engineering to teaching. He got involved in local politics and became a local councillor in 1980.

His novels incorporate elements of the paranormal, horror, suspense, and mystery.

He is featured in the Best Poems and Poets of 2012 with his first and only poem God’s Garden.

He currently lives in a small town in Mexico with his three dogs, Chula, Sooty, and Benji.

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