The Spookshow by Tim McGregor

The Spookshow Reviews

• 
  Carol [Goodreads Addict]

  The Spookshow is book one in the Spookshow series by Tim McGregor. I read this book as part of the ten book anthology, Powers, Spice, and Not So Nice.
  
  
  
  Billie Cullpepper had an ordinary life, she was an ordinary woman, until the accident. Now she can see dead people. Does she want this, no way! But there doesn’t seem to be anything she can do about it. Two of her best friends are determined to visit a house that is slated to be torn down dubbed “The Murder House.” It is said that unspeakable things happened in this house and her friends want to see inside before it’s gone. Billie doesn’t want to go, she knows it won’t be pleasant but she can’t let her friends go alone.
  
  
  
  The visit to The Murder House uncovers a long hidden secret and unleashes a series of events that will change the women’s lives. The police need to be called and who does Billie call but Ray Mockler, the police detective that caused her accident in the first place.
  
  
  
  This book was surprisingly spooky. It was a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There is an obvious attraction between Ray and Billie. The issue I had was that the accident that caused this new ability in Billie is never explained nor is the way that Ray was involved. Perhaps the author explains more about this in the following books. I did find myself wanting to know more about that though. I didn’t get to know Ray well in this book but did like him and have hopes that things might develop further between he and Billie.
  
  
  
  I did enjoy this and look forward to more with Billie, Ray and Billie’s friends.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  Lyn

  I have a friend who works at a funeral home. He called once and said, in mock seriousness and in cryptic tones: I see dead people.
  
  Tim McGregor’s 2014 publication Spookshow features a protagonist that, like the little boy in M. Night Shyamalan’s 1999 film The Sixth Sense, sees dead people.
  
  Unlike that little boy, who was born with the ability, Billie Culpepper’s power seems to have come about after a recent near death experience. McGregor wastes no time getting to Billie’s ability, making off stage allusions to earlier events that led to the present narration.
  
  Fast moving and creepy as advertised, McGregor has crafted an urban fantasy ghost story that draws from many paranormal influences to make a good start to a series.
  
  
• 
  Montzalee Wittmann

  The Spookshow, Book 1
  By: Tim McGregor
  Narrated by: Caitlin Gallogly
  This book is pretty good for a haunted house story. One of the gals can see ghosts and gets talked into going to a house that is supposed to be haunted. The house is scheduled to be demolished so the want to sneak in and have her see if there really is ghosts there. What happens next no one expected! The one complaint I have is that the author kept referring back to something that happened in the past but never made it clear what it was. That was frustrating. Should have been a prequel.
  Narration was good.
• 
  Latasha

  I probably would've loved this book when I was 12. But not so much now. The characters are absolutely awful. The story might've been ok but I just can't handle anymore from this series.
• 
  Lozzi Counsell

  I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. First of all I think the character ages should be made more clear. As the group of friends were going to visit a haunted house, I figured they were about 14, but then I found out that they live with their boyfriends. Due to this I added on a few more years to possibly eighteen or nineteen, but after finding out one of them has her own business, I'm now guessing early twenties. I liked the idea behind the story, but I think it could have been started from the memory of her waking up in the coma, rather than going to the house, as I would have been able to understand the back story a lot more then. The detail in the story was really good and I especially like the little twist at the end about the identity of the dead body!
• 
  Crystal Lemonds

  I really liked this book. It was free so , I gave it a read. It was short & I purchased the second for $0.99. Little did I know that the second one was a prequel to this one. Started to buy the 3rd one but decided to read the description. GUESS WHAT? The 1st book is just PART of the 3rd book. It just missing another characters story & they want you to pay $4.99 for it!! WTH! I am not going to buy a book That I have already read 2/3 of. That is just ridiculous. I would love to see where the story goes but I am not going to skim through all of that book just to read the parts that were left out. So disappointing. This book is a good book. I want to give more stars but I cant based on this knowledge.
• 
  Angela Dossett

  I have to admit that I've never read anything by this author before...With that being said, it makes me wonder what other books he has out that would capture my interests.
  
  I picked up this book on Amazon for free...In fact just bought it today and was totally mesmerized by it. Before I knew it, it was over. A word of caution, this book is the first in the series, and many things pertaining to the past will be discussed slightly, and present situations/obstacles are portrayed. You will not get solid answers regarding past situations. Knowing the second book is out and reading the book description those answers about the past will be answered in the second book.
  
  I rather enjoyed this book. I was so engrossed that I didn't realize that I was at the end...and what an ending...My curiosity is piqued wanting answers to the many questions that I have in regards to the past: why did the detective throws her off the harbour, how can she see the dead, what is her purpose, and what happened to her parents.
  
  The pace of the story was fast and steady. This author has the unique ability to simplify his world and characters with few words. The characters were made realistic, though I found myself questioning the main character in her choice of friends.
  
  I want go through the story, but if you like spooky, I think you will enjoy this book. I've added the second book to my wishlist already. I want answers for my questions. A girl who sees the dead and dealing with the apparitions as she goes along. Especially since she doesn't want this ability.
  
  Happy Reading!!!!!!!!!!
  
• 
  Jaimy

  Life used to be normal for Billie Culpepper. Drab even. That all that changed after an accident left her in a coma for three days. That's when the spookshow really began, when Billie realized that she could see the dead.
  
  And the dead could see her.
  
  Now, they won't leave her alone.
  
  Accompanying two friends through a haunted house, Billie uncovers a terrible secret that brings, not only the police, but the homicide detective responsible for putting her into the hospital in the first place. He's also the one man she sworn to stay away from.
  
  
  
  I actually really like this one. Billie wasn't as, for a lack of a better term, "psychicy" as I'd hoped. I mean, you see people getting famous all the time for having apparent "psychic abilities" and here you have young Billie, who actually CAN see and feel ghosts and behold, no one believes her! Except for the crazy chick, but I don't want to get into that.
  
  
  
  All in all, I really enjoyed this story, it was a rather quick read, but it was fast paced and eventful. However, the whole backstory between Billie and the homicide detective are a little iffy. It was a great book though. It was delightfully scary and it made me want more. I give this book a 5/5 stars.
  
  If you liked my review, check out my other ones on my blog, itsnotjustabookbro.blogspot.com.
  [Source: Amazon.com]
• 
  Brandi ;)

  Fabulous! It's no secret that ghost stories are my favorite, they hit my paranormal 'sweet spot' juuust right. And if they are good ghost stories then I'm over the moon in happiness & bliss. Yeah, a little over dramatic there, but seriously, I'm a ghost story ho, I can't help it, don't deny it & happily embrace my ghost loving self.
  This story was a lot of spooky fun. I was a bit confused at times because there wasn't a lot of backstory about the characters, but as I've found out while reading book 2, that's exactly what book 2 is about. It's like the prequel but only it's after the first instead of before it. Kind of like it this way because now I'm going 'ohhh, so that's why....' & 'ahah! That explains that!'
  I'm excited I found this book & excited to keep reading this series.
• 
  Catherine McCarthy

  This is a quick read that does exactly what it suggests on the cover. To me it felt like the start of a TV series and I could easily imagine it as such. If you're looking for paranormal activity, a character who can communicate with the dead, and spooky shenanigans, you won't go far wrong. It's pacy, action-packed and very well written.
• 
  Abbie

  Actual rating - 3.5
  
  The main character in this was okay, although some of the other characters annoyed me a bit.
  
  This was a decent read, which I enjoyed. It started off quite good, and it managed to hold my interest throughout.
  
  Overall, A decent read.
• 
  Tina H

  Cute little read. I am not sure I will continue on with the series but it was interesting. I'll keep it on the back burner for now
• 
  Whitebeard Books

  Tim McGregor is a pretty good storyteller. The circumstances of this tale are first rate and even if a bit past belief, good solid entertainment. The unfortunate situation with the book is that it was either not edited at all or at best very poorly done. Word selection is a bit strange as well. For example, he repeatedly overuses the word or variations of the word "clock", applying varying meanings from 'seeing' or 'noticing' to 'socking'. I'll still read the next in the series for the entertainment. But it could be so much better with a proper editing by a professional.
• 
  Jagged

  Quick read
  
  It was okay. Fast paced and easy to read. I read it in a few hours.
  
  Definitely could use an editor due to wrong words, poor grammar, and odd sentence structure.
  
  The back story was hinted at but never elaborated, this hurt the story.
  
  Overall, it's a decent read.
• 
  Courtney

  This book started off really slow for me, but as soon as Kaitlin went missing is started picking up. The parts where Billie and the detective were together or probably some of the weirdest parts of the story. Although, how Kaitlin was reintroduced into the story was quite interesting. The twist at the end is really making me consider continuing on with the series.
• 
  Adrianne

  Awesome Thriller
  
  
  This book was exciting to say the least! It was a very fast read that ends with a crazy cliff hanger! I loved all of the characters and how they were made and I can not wait to see them grow in the rest of the series!!! It was really nice to be able to download the second book for free for taking a chance on the first book! Read this series!!!
• 
  Jamie (The Kansan Reader)

  What is with me this year?
  
  I have DNFed way too many books.
• 
  Natasha du Plessis

  I love a bit of paranormal reading. This book had me hooked from the start. I enjoyed every moment reading this and look forward to reading more books by Tim McGregor
• 
  Kathrine

  not really sure what i read. felt like it was missing some backstory. and the jumping around from person to person. i think maybe 2,5 stars.
• 
  Amy

  Mysterious and interesting with a dash of romance
• 
  Page

  I held off rating this book until I read book #2 in the series. This one was like being dumped in the middle of sentence. You can figure out what is going on by syntax but it isn't very satisfying. I knew from the reviews that book 2 would answer all my questions and it did. The problem was that it didn't read like a book 2 with answers. It read like a book #1 released out of sequence. There were so many grammatical and spelling errors, instances of the wrong word being used. I am by no means perfect but I'm not publishing a book either. Billie read like a teenager but she was pushing 30. She was unlikable for me but I wonder if I would have liked her more if she actually was a teenager. Her responses would have been more understandable. The other thing that put me off was the wording. Was the author going for an old school detective type book by using words like Hooch? It didn't really work since the detective wasn't an older, hard boiled type. Sadly, I really liked the premise of this series. They were free which is a good thing. I'd like to know what happens next but I spent so much time annoyed throughout these two books I don't know that I want to pay for it.
• 
  Tiffany

  A very good read for the thrill seeker in everyone! Since I am a wuss I had to read this during the day when my son napped as opposed to night time. Quick, intense read.
• 
  T.D.

  I really liked the premise and it was spooky enough to give you that fun-scary chill without being scary enough to give me nightmares - great balance! But it was confusing because everyone (in the book) kept referring to events in the past like I should already know what had happened. I felt like I had missed something, but figured it out as the story went along - I thought that the author must just be kind of a minimalist when it came to backstories. The story was absorbing and kept me interested to the conclusion... which left me hanging! But when looked up book 2 on Amazon, it appears to be going back and detailing all those backstories I mentioned instead of moving the story forward; like I said, confusing. That being said, I might read the 2nd book because the author is a good writer with just the right level of creepiness for my enjoyment... if it goes onto Kindle Unlimited or a free promo deal, I'll definitely grab it.
• 
  Anita Hargreaves

  Going to downloads no 2
  
  This author has great respect for the paranormal and could imagine the Ghost Adventures studying the Murder House the plot was based. America seems full of abandoned buildings and could picture the creepy house due for demolition
• 
  Christa Mcdermott

  This is a quick read with potential. I say potential because as a stand alone, it fails. There is little character development. I spent a bit of time trying to figure out how old the characters were, and why they were mostly riding bikes around instead of driving. There's about zero development or background given. Also this is part of a series, but instead of it being it's own story in a series, it is incomplete. There is no resolution and in order to find out what happens you have to read the other 3 books in the arc. Thus left me frustrated and not wanting to go get the next book. This is more my opinion though. Overall I think this author has talent and would like to see future works if they aren't partial stories.
• 
  Tracy Trixy

  Interesting start to the story :)
  We meet Billie and her friends Kaitlin and Tammy, who are heading to an abandoned house aptly named "the murder house" ... As the name implies, it's a little spooky, but Billie can speak and see the dead. Maybe not a good idea for her to be there but she couldn't let her two friends go alone.
  I'm hooked... And I don't even know how!
  I want to know what happens to Katlin, i want to know about the accident of Billies and how Detective Mockler is involved....
  Brilliantly written, and this author seems to keep just enough details out to get you wondering what's going on, and what's going to happen! Definitely worth a looksie