Review: Otherwise by Jennifer B White

AN ENGAGING AND INTRIGUING TALE OF THE PARANORMAL

Overview

When 26 year old Delilah returns to the town she was brought up in, she discovers that some things never change. Her old grandmother is now dead, but the ramshackle cottage that she lived in is still full of all the junk that had accumulated over the years, and Delilah despairs of the task ahead of her in clearing the place out to make it habitable.

But strange things begin to happen to her, and gradually she becomes aware that this town has two sorts of inhabitants – the living, and the “otherwise”.  Within the town is one woman – living – who is able to speak to the spirits that are “otherwise”, and gradually during the telling of the story, lies and secrets from the past are revealed culminating in a dramatic and surprising climax.

Plot, characters and pace

Otherwise is a well written novel by a person who one can only believe has some real affinity with the paranormal. Her characters are real, believable, and human (even when they are not!).  It is difficult to write a review of this book without giving away its secrets – but it is more than just a tale about spirits. It is a story about how spirits might want to cling on to the world, because at the time of their passing there were still issues to be resolved. It’s a story of love, but also of murder and deceit. The final outcome was a surprise, and one which felt slightly uncomfortable to me, as the normally astute Winnie had totally misread one situation.

Although I don’t normally read novels of this kind, I found it very engaging. I had no trouble finding the story highly credible, although there were one or two points that my naturally logical mind struggled with when the lines between living and dead seemed to be unnecessarily crossed. But they were very minor issues for me in an otherwise highly enjoyable read.

Quality of the experience

I always comment on this aspect of Kindle books – because I have read many where little attention has been paid to proof reading or formatting. That can spoil the enjoyment of the reading experience for me.

But this novel was well formatted and I don’t recall any errors at all. Clearly a very professional job.

Rating – 4 stars