Book Review: South of Salem by Janni Nell

South of Salem by Janni Nell is a paranormal mystery with strong aspects of family conflict and a dash of frustrated romance thrown in for good measure. This e-book is scheduled for release on May 30 2011. It is the second book in the Allegra Fairweather series, but stands up well on its own. I had not ready the previous book, and felt that I did not miss anything. However, I do plan on going back to read the first one, Allegra Fairweather: Paranormal Investigator, simply because I enjoyed this book so much.

Allegra is a paranormal investigator with two secret weapons. First, her toe itches a crazy warning when anything paranormal is nearby. Second, she has a hunky guardian angel that she has dubbed Casper. Her family tries to ignore the paranormal, but recent events have caused them to ask for Allegra's professional help. Something paranormal seems to be out to get the family, and it is up to Allegra to save her step-father, brother-in-law, sister and unborn niece or nephew. The only problem is that her normally dependable backup, Casper, is wrapped up in something of his own that might mean the end of their complicated relationship.

I found South of Salem to be a great, fairly quick, read. Allegra and her family do not have a perfect relationship, there are tensions and personal perceptions involved that add a special conflict to an already trying time for everyone in the story. The conflicts and issues among the family are all realistic, and make the reader sympathetic to the characters. The level of detail of paranormal research and the use of things that are different from what others are writing about simply make the book even better. I hope that Nell continues on with the series, because I am eager to see what happens next. My thanks to NetGalley for my free review copy of this fun novel.