This was a cute, quick read. Sammy Spector is a newly departed detective who has a mission to scare someone to regain his lost reputation when his colleague gets the credit for cases he solved. He settles on a young girl named Shayla who is fixated on *cough* glued to her iPad. It's not as easy as he thought it would be. In the process of trying to scare Shayla, he develops a bond with this young girl whose fixation on electronics is highly detrimental to her.

I liked the story and how Sammy would plot and plan to scare Shayla, but she'd continually outwit him.

The illustrations were lovely, mainly black and white with occasional pops of color. They definitely helped me enjoy this book even more.

This is super short, and it was nice to have something I could finish in a couple of short reads.

Advanced Review Copy provided for review by Netgalley courtesy of Jolly Fish Press.

Sammy Specter is not the public terror you are imaging. As he sets out to mark his place in the afterlife, Sammy encounters a human who needs more than a ghost to scare her out of her trance. And Sammy is just the guy to take on the challenge.

A fabulous book for emerging/new readers that will engage them and, hopefully, leave a lasting impression.

Sammy wants to get even with a former partner who on their last case took all the credit for solving the case. The credit should had gone to him. Sammy wants to become a member of The Society of Paranormal, Invisible, and Restless Imps and Terrors. The living are believing in ghosts less and less. To boost morale, SPIRIT is opening its doors to new members for the first time in centuries. But only the spookiest recruits will get to join the undead's most esteemed organization. Sammy is determined to be the worst nightmare so he will get to be a member. He finds a young girl — third grader and tech wizard Shayla Wilkerson, all his attempts at haunting fall apart. Shayla is always on her iPad. Will Sammy scare her so that he can become a member of “The Society of Paranormal, etc.” or not? Does Shayla believe in ghosts.

The author has written an excellent story about a ghost. The story was also about doing things other than always being on an iPad. Shayla discovers other things to play with and meet others her age. After all, there is more to life than always being on your iPad. I enjoyed Sammy trying to figure out who he was going to scare. It’s a delightful story.

An excellent children bool about helping a child and ghost in need. It was really cute. I loved the questions at the end of the book.

Thank you North Star Editions, Jolly Fish Press, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this great book! This is an adorable story about a ghost who tries to scare a girl and ends up becoming friends with her instead. A very quick read with great characters and fast moving plot. Definitely recommend for the elementary school aged children.

This was a short cute book about a PI ghost trying to get into SPIRIT by trying to spook a girl but it doesn't go the way he wanted.

This was a nice and fun story for the younger side of middle grade, that appears quite simple but also hints at some more complex characters and issues. However, there were some plot points that were never really followed up on so I would have liked the story to be a bit more pulled together. Then again, I am really not the target audience for this book. I can imagine younger kids could have a really fun time with this one.

A great short read with illustrations, the children enjoyed it and so did I. Nice twist with the ghost trying to be scary and then finding a friend instead. Loved the illustrations.

It's a nice story for young children. It's fun, and it has a heart. The plot is quite simple, as is the theme, though there are places where it's really endearing.
I still would have liked a more solid structure because there were places where events didn't really go anywhere. But on the whole, I find this a fun read for young children..

Sammy Specter: Private Investigator, Public Terror
by Avery Spooks
I thought this was a very cute book about a ghost that thought he was so scary. There was a contest with the ghosts to see who could scare the most unscareable! (If that's not a word it is now!) Sammy didn't want to scary easy ones like old people or little kids. Then he saw his challenge! This girl that seemed to live in her own world of science! She would be perfect. Boy, was that a mistake for him. This unflappable girl changed his life, or undead, I mean.
There was terrific illustrations every few pages that went with the story. Great job with the illustrations too! Kids will love the fun antics in here! Really cute with a great ending!
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book!

The Society of Paranormal, Invisible, and Restless Imps and Terrors has a problem: due to so-called "science," the living are believing in ghosts less and less. To boost morale, SPIRIT is opening its doors to new members for the first time in centuries. But only the spookiest recruits will get to join the undead's most esteemed organization.
For Sammy Specter, this is the chance of a lifetime-er, deathtime. In life, Sammy had been a famed detective until his partner stole the credit that was rightfully his. In death, Sammy plans to be your worst nightmare-and to put his old partner back in his place. But when Sammy meets third grader and tech wizard Shayla Wilkerson, all his plans seem to fall apart. Has this terror finally met his match?

I will say this… this book could have been soooooo much better because the characters and concept were BRILLIANT but it was just far too short and underdeveloped to enjoy. Full stop.

Perfect beginner book for a younger audience. It will keep the reader engaged with its quirky humour and fun characters. It's a very quick read so younger readers won't feel overwhelmed. A very unique and fun read, it will be great to recommend to kids.

This was a cute and well written story that had my attention after just a few pages. The writing style was witty and creative and i found myself giggling quit a bit. I would definitely recommend this to any one of my friends who want a fun quick read!

This is an important book pretending to be a silly, spooky one. Excessive tech use is addressed in a non-confrontational way.

Excellent for the 8 to 10 year old and any-aged person suffering from tech trances.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley and the publishers.