The Curious Life of Ada Baker is the first installment in what promises to be an engaging series of paranormal crime novels featuring Ada Baker, a psychic who collaborates with ghosts to solve mysteries. Ada is a relatively normal woman, except for her ability to allow ghosts to use her body to channel their abilities from their past lives. This unique concept adds a fascinating layer to the story, particularly when one of Ada’s ghostly roommates, Mrs. E, who was a cook when alive, prepares meals through Ada’s body.

The differentiation between regular ghosts and poltergeists, who can move objects, enriches the paranormal elements of the book. Dennis, a poltergeist, and his interactions with Inspector Jolly are particularly heartwarming. The main characters are well-crafted and endearing. Ada’s ghostly roommates—Mrs. E, Dennis, and Rose—form a delightful found family, each bringing unique traits and abilities to the table. Ada's relationships with Matlock and Inspector Jolly add depth and humor to the narrative.

The murder mystery at the heart of the plot is engaging and full of unexpected twists. The story’s conclusion leaves room for future developments, maintaining interest in the series. The identity of the murderer is genuinely surprising, adding to the novel’s appeal.

However, the novel’s transition from lighthearted, comedic moments to darker scenes of violence and kidnap felt jarring. This inconsistency disrupted the overall flow and diminished my enjoyment. While the main characters are charming, some, like Neville and Astrid, could benefit from further development and screen time in future installments.

The Curious Life of Ada Baker offers a refreshing take on the paranormal crime genre with its unique premise and charming characters. Despite some tonal inconsistencies, the novel is an enjoyable read for fans of supernatural mysteries and dry British humor. The series shows great potential, and I look forward to seeing Ada and her ghostly companions in future adventures.

he Curious Life of Ada Baker is a paranormal cozy mystery by Karen Hamilton-Viall. Released 27th Sept 2022 by Cranthorpe Millner, it's 324 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

Definitely one for modern paranormal mystery fans. It's thankfully not very scary at all and there's a definite cooperative/Scooby-Do gang type vibe. Ada and her (ghost) friends decide to investigate a local murder with the expected complications and dangers inherent in the task. I liked the author's world building and the subtleties of Ada's psychic abilities; she gets a boost to certain aspects of her abilities by allowing her ghostly flatmates to inhabit her body partially.

There's quite a lot of "telling" instead of "showing", but the very direct style of writing is less obtrusive as the story develops into a satisfying resolution. A series in the offing? The potential for future adventures is foreshadowed.

Three and a half stars. Definite potential.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

DNF

The premise for this was certainly intriguing and drew me in, and I was interested initially as I started to read but I ultimately really struggled with the writing style and couldn’t make it through the whole book.

3.5 stars

This book was a spooky ghost mystery, it is definitely a good read for halloween time or if you like a scary read, but not looking for something more in horror. I think the combination of the writing style and the personality of the main character made it have more of a young adult feel to it. Aba came off as very introverted, shy and naive. Her powers to communicate with ghosts were fun and interesting and I liked this supernatural story, even thou some things were predictable, but still enjoyable. Overall, I would recommend this book.
Trigger warnings: assault, graphic content, blood
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

I sadly had to dnf the book around the 100 page mark. The writing style felt so childish and so did the characters. The permiss of the book was actually interesting but the implementation was really bad. I'm really sad because this book seemed to be right up my alley

I throughly enjoyed this novel. In fact, it’s one of the few lately that has held my attention throughout the entire story. While I could see a few things coming, I never felt like rushing though it. I would definitely recommend it to friends.

Ada Baker has been able to see ghosts all her life, and with the help of her ghostly best friends she lives a comfortable, quiet life full of good food and interesting company. However, she and her companions love a mystery, and when a local woman is found murdered, they suggest that Ada could put her talents to use by speaking to her and helping to find her murderer.

I enjoyed the cosy mystery vibes of this book, and the interactions between the main character and her friends both alive and dead! Her ghostly companions were interesting, and I liked seeing how all the characters - and the mystery - developed as the book went on.
I especially enjoyed the dynamic of Ada being able to channel the talents of ghosts if she let them into her body, and felt it added an extra level of interest to her psychic abilities.
I’m intrigued to see where the series goes next, and interested in more shenanigans with Ada and her friends!

Thank you to NetGalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

What's new, everyone? The Curious Life of Ada Baker by Karen Hamilton-Viall follows Ada Baker, the eponymous protagonist whose psychic talents have helped her befriend three ghosts who've taken residence in her house. She shows off the handiness of her powers some more by using them to solve a murder case, with a few human allies joining in to assist her alongside her supernatural buddies. There's an eerie whimsy that runs through the book, turning darker at certain points, and it reminds me of the paranormal tone in Coraline. I couldn't get enough of the banter that Ada exchanged with her friends, and it helped to make the story even more engaging. I must say, though, that one or two of those darker beats did get a little too grim in my opinion. Most of the time, I felt like this was the sort of book you could hand over to a 12-year-old if they wanted to get a little spooked but not face off against anything too frightening. However, the aforementioned darker moments take a tonal shift that I found to be jarring. I wonder if any kids would think the same thing or if they'd be perfectly okay with it.

Overall, I had a good time with The Curious Life of Ada Baker, and if a sequel were to be released, I'd certainly come back for more of Ada using her psychic abilities to untangle mysteries.

This was HIGHKEY enjoyable.

The cover of this book projects quirky, creepy, atmospheric. It is a little bit quirky and creepy, but NOT atmospheric.

Imagine "The Library of the Dead" by T. L. Huchu, except if it were a cozy supernatural mystery instead of a dystopian one. It's in modern suburbia, the ghosts are mostly nice, and there are zero money troubles.

Ada Baker can talk to ghosts. She and her squad of friends (who are ghosts) get involved in a local murder mystery. The whole thing is an odd mix of "Criminal Minds" topics (sexual assault, kidnapping, murder, abuse) and cozy tone.

I had a lot of fun. I also was a little creeped out, but I'm also a soft touch when it comes to creepiness. Definitely recommend.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

DNF 21%

This isn't a bad book but I wasn't finding it interesting to follow this woman's life and the ghosts solving crimes, because I know that as surprising as this mystery is going to be I'm not going to give this book more than 3 stars, so I decided to to abandon.
But I recommend if you like more monotonous stories that follow the character's day to day life solving mysteries.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this very strange book

i was drawn to this book and had high hopes for it....

ada baker sees ghosts... and the fact that she lives with 3 ghosts tells you a lot about her....

but its when people start dying around her that causes the most trouble

have to admit i am still puzzling over this one, not really sure what age range its aimed at but there was enough there to keep me reading and entertained at times

This book had a really interesting concept and a beautiful cover, both of which drew me in to request a copy.
However, the writing style really jarred with me and it distracted me from the rest of the book.

DNF

I wanna start with saying thanks for letting me read this book in the beginning but I had to DNF it.

I have tried reading it a few times but it really didn't spoke to me so I give up.
The description was okay but it was the cover that made me wanna read it.

Ada can see, hear and interact with spirits. When she hears of a case about the murder of Mary Watts, she decides to investigate how she was murdered. Ada has friends, the spirits she lives with but not many ‘live’ friends. The more involved in the case she becomes, she meets interesting people. Some are good and some not so good. She gets into all kinds of sticky situations and relies on the live and departed friends she has to help her get through. There is danger, suspense and a touch of romance in this delightful story. I highly recommend if you’re looking for a light paranormal book.

This is the first in a series and I thoroughly enjoyed it as it's original, well written, and compelling.
The mystery is solid, the characters are likeable and fleshed out, and I appreciated the interesting world building.
I hope there's going to be a lot of other books.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a very interesting read and was very compelling.

dnf on page 10

Not only is Ada able to <i>see</i> ghosts, she can ask them nicely to share their abilities with her. She shares her house with three of them, constant companions, when she reads of a murder case where she and her dead friends might be able to help.

Yes, I did not get far at all.
Do you know when you start a book, and the writing tells you immediately that you won't get along? I had this here. You see, I could not shake the feeling that the author just started out in their journey and I say many things people new to the hobby/ craft make, while not being able to sense the author's own voice because they're simply not there yet. You saw what they wanted to get across, but every single sentence felt clumsy, and I knew that I would be annoyed till the end.

Which is a shame, because the concept, which reminds me a lot of Legion by Brandon Sanderson, is great.

Read this if you really like the premise and you don't care about the writing.
I might peek in a few books further down the line to see how the author grew, but right now I am not interested at all.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

Ada Baker is a gifted psychic, who shares her home with three very bored ghosts. Spending their days roaming around Ada’s house offers little amusement, and so the three of them convince Ada to help them investigate the mysterious death of local beauty Mary Watts, who is found naked and strangled in her bathtub. This begins a series of exciting adventures for Ada, as she draws on her unique skills to help solve this heinous crime. Along the way, she must convince a sceptical detective of her aptitude for channelling the abilities of the dead, avoid the unwanted attentions of a sinister stalker, and try to enlist the help of a squadron of ghostly spitfire pilots to save her own life.
Can the dead really bring justice for Mary and help save the living too? Will Ada solve the mystery of her murder? Or will Ada’s curiosity lead to her own demise, causing her to end up as a ghost herself?
I liked the idea behind the novel and the execution of that idea was impressive. The writing style was simple and effective and the overall flow of the story felt very smooth. I read this book in one sitting. as I really wanted to get to the end.

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read The Curious Life of Ada Baker.

I loved this book. I was hooked from the first sentence and couldn’t stop reading after that. I loved that this was a cozy mystery but also morbid? This is the perfect fall book, I can’t wait to read it again and I’ll probably buy the physical copy. This story has such a unique take on ghosts and human interaction: Ada not only can see/hear ghosts but she can also channel their essence through her and essentially utilize the ghosts qualities as her own (eg if the ghost was good at cooking in their past life, Ada is now able to cook well when channeling that ghost). This book was really unique and I loved Ada’s relationships with the ghosts and how they were all flatmates. I cannot recommend this book enough for a fun spooky read.

I had never read this author before, but this book seemed interesting. It didn’t take long for me to get invested in the book, and I was enjoying myself a lot. Ada is an interesting character and rather independent. She seems a little too easily swayed by a character, but we’ll see how she is in the next book. The only thing that was a minor fly in the ointment, speaking of swayed by a character, was that the writing at times seemed a little too emotionless. I felt more told about things as opposed to showing. It wasn’t bad, and I still really liked this book. I’m looking forward to finding out what’s coming next with this series. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.