Review: Speak No Evil by Alexa Snow

Author: Alexa Snow

Publisher: Loose Id

Pages/Word Count: 266 Pages

At a Glance: Speak No Evil is a different ghost/mystery story. If you’re in the mood for a moody ghost story, pick this one up.

Reviewed By: Lana

Blurb: Jamie Kincade’s world is turned upside down when Sebastian, a young man who doesn’t speak and who shares the ability to see ghosts that Jamie’s had since childhood, enters his life. Jamie finds Sebastian fascinating on multiple levels, and is determined to help him learn to speak again. He can barely keep his thoughts–or hands–off Sebastian, who wants him and makes no attempt to hide it.

The age difference between them–Sebastian is almost 15 years Jamie’s junior–is a problem for Jamie, but Jamie’s reluctance isn’t the only thing keeping them from focusing on the potential they might have as a couple; the collection of ghosts Jamie has been living with in relative harmony for more than a decade has no intention of leaving Sebastian alone now that he’s here. Their desperate attempts to get Sebastian’s attention are a distraction Jamie would be grateful for if they didn’t upset Sebastian so much. Jamie is torn between wanting to send Sebastian away for his own good and wanting to drag him off to bed, and with Sebastian tempting him both deliberately and subconsciously, it can’t be long before Jamie’s self-control snaps…

Review: Speak No Evil is a very entraining ghost story that kept me engaged. The “I see dead people” story line has been done to death, but this book had a little twist which I think makes it stand out among the crowd.

We first meet Jamie, who’s a bit of a recluse. He lives alone in the country, he works as a writing editor with no human interaction, and he’s not close to his sister, his only remaining family. His last relationship was so long ago that it’s collecting dust. And, he also sees ghosts. He’s seen them as long as he can remember. After realizing that he’s not crazy, he accepts what he can’t change and deals with it in his own way, keeping away from the living. But, more importantly, the ghosts don’t see him.

As with most ghost stories, on a cold, rainy and windswept night, Jamie’s solitude is broken. Sebastian takes refuge in his shed and turns his world upside down. Sebastian is running from his tragic past. Because of it, he’s stopped talking. He can also see ghosts, but he can also hear them and they him in return. Sebastian sticks around, and together they try to figure out the mystery of their own interactions with the ghost. And there’s some loving on the side.

The subplot with Jamie’s sister was a bit slow, and I wasn’t sure why it was part of the story, but eventually it was cleared up. There’s a twist in the siblings’ relationship, and Jamie realizes that his sister is not that different from him, and their relationship grows stronger. There is also a mystery involving a strange ghost that both see, another ghost threatens Jamie, and Sebastian finds out that he can affect the ghost and help them move on.

While I liked the book, I did think it was slow in some parts, but it did pick up when Jamie and Sebastian played against each other. Their mutual attraction and interactions were very well written, and I really liked it. Jamie was a bit hung up on their age difference, but he got over it eventually. This was a very emotional story with not much humor. I wish it were a little lighter.

Speak No Evil is a different ghost/mystery story. If you’re in the mood for a moody ghost story, pick this one up.