Fear haunts the hearts of the town of Hope, North Dakota. Their already small community starts dwindling as citizens drop dead unexpectedly. Heart attacks are not unusual. But in teens? With a fever? Delusions?

Suspicion falls on the long since abandoned Helberg house. A home of misfortune and grief. Not knowing what to do, the town of Hope calls in the experts. The FBI is assigned to the case with Dr. Ryder Chase and his paranormal team in tow. They arrive expecting an easy case of misadventure and ghostly unrest, only to find the house is not all that it may seem. In this paranormal thriller by Seth Sjostrom, Dark Chase will take readers down the paranormal investigative rabbit hole and unearth the mysteries of the afterlife.

It is clear the author has worked very hard to showcase his extensive research and knowledge of ghost hunting. He uses lots of terms and jargon associated with paranormal investigation. For example, Sjostrom refers to the EMF device that picks up paranormal energy in a room often when his characters are investigating the Helberg house.

What most people expect from thrillers is suspense and built-up tension. Dark Chase goes between a mystery story and a thriller novel without committing to either. I think a good mystery story requires little hints dropped here and there, as though the author is scattering rose petals, trailing them up the stairs and into the bedroom where all the answers we have been waiting for are revealed. I feel that this story has a trail that leads all the way to the last chapter of the novel where we finally get some answers to the perplexing mystery, all the while readers will be spinning trying to piece together the mystery at the heart of this curious story.

While I thought the characters were interesting, I felt that at times the actions and words used in dialogue were a bit awkward; like “purge” which is used to mean “throw-up.” But otherwise, the dialogue is sufficient to keep the story moving. In chapter seven the story brings to light the only secondary female character in the novel, describing her as “feminine” and “soft”. This character has been in the background for most of the book but the story suddenly sexualizes her through the eyes of one of the main characters, Dr. Chase, using stereotypical “feminine” qualities to describe agent Sohn. I do not believe this is intended to be sexist; I believe the story is attempting to create a subplot romance between Dr. Chase and Agent Sohn, but I felt that the descriptors and setup could have been handled with more subtlety and literary finesse.

Dark Chase has all the hallmarks and potential to be a very good mystery thriller. With a bit of editing the fascinating ideas contained within this book can really shine. Readers looking for an intriguing paranormal thriller with realistic ghost hunting jargon and procedures will find it in Dark Chase.

Pages: 302 | ASIN: B087BNBV4B