Although there are ghosts to deal with and relatives, long lost and otherwise, I love how these stories dealt with the relationship between John and Nick. I love the characters and relatives, ghosts and the other isle inhabitants thrown in to round out the stories.
Laying A Ghost
This story starts out very slowly, but builds from there. It seems to mostly deal with the building up of the relationship between John and Nick. It gives you some background about Nick. What has happened in his life, and how he came to deciding to live on the island. John has lived all his life on the island. He’s never said out loud that he’s gay. He’s not sure the people he’s known all his life will accept him. John is conflicted, knowing he’s lied to people all his life and to himself for never having had the courage to come out. But he doesn’t want to make Nick lie or hide either. But the matter is taken out of his hands. This story lays a great foundation for the rest of the books to come. For me, it has more of a HFN than HEA.
Giving Up the Ghost
I'm not sure where this story is going, since it opens with the guys in the States. You already know that Nick doesn’t know who his father is. And that his mom didn’t want him to ever settle down or stay in one place. But Nick did settle down, in his Uncle’s house in Scotland. He did fall in love with John. In this tale, it’s the father he’s never dealt with before, who shakes up his life and John’s life as well. The start of this second story is, wow, I can’t say a whole lot more, spoilers. But the ghosts get more physical, there is more suspense and intrigue in this story. There are reporters and gold diggers and surprises from Nick’s father as well. I think this might have been my favorite of the three books, but it’s close with number three.
Waking The Dead
This story is ten years down the road from book two. Josh is a big part of this story. He’s visiting Nick in Traighshee for a couple of weeks before heading off to college. Peace and quiet, right? Wrong, there are ghosts and possessed people and all manner of the mayhem. Then there are the interactions between all three of the main characters in this story. I'm not real sure I like how John treated Josh, but I kind of understood him being the odd man out in regards to the ability to see ghosts. But it still has the beautiful relationship between Nick and John. I thought this is a wrap up to the series, and well enough done to be okay ending here. But I see that a fourth book is coming out. And I’m happy about that, I still have a few questions that need answering. And a few plot point that need wrapping up to my mind.