Paper Ghosts

*Post contains affiliated links. Book acquired on Netgalley.com* 

*This is an early review. The book releases on May 15, 2018* 

A suspect serial killer who was acquitted and now may or may not be suffering from dementia? A woman masquerading as his daughter in order to take him on a road trip to encourage him to confess to his crimes, including the kidnapping of her own sister? 

YES! Let's do this! 

Blurb for Paper Ghosts from Goodreads:

Carl Louis Feldman is an old man who was once a celebrated photographer. That was before he was tried for the murder of a young woman and acquitted. before his admission to a care home for dementia. Now his daughter has come to see him, to take him on a trip. Only she's not his daughter and, if she has her way, he's not coming back . . .

Because Carl's past has finally caught up with him. The young woman driving the car is convinced her passenger is guilty, and that he's killed, other young women. Including her sister Rachel. Now they're following the trail of his photographs, his clues, his alleged crimes. To see if he remembers any of it. Confesses to any of it. To discover what really happened to Rachel. Has Carl truly forgotten what he did or is he just pretending? Perhaps he's guilty of nothing and she's the liar. Either way in driving him into the Texan wilderness she's taking a terrible risk. For if Carl really is a serial killer, she's alone in the most dangerous place of all .

I have been waiting since NOVEMBER to discuss this book. NO.VEM.BER!!! 

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Partially because it is a well-written suspense, but also because the characters take a road trip through Texas. There's something special in reading about a place that you love and thinking, "I know right where that is!" 

When I requested Paper Ghosts, I wasn't sure I'd ever like a suspected serial killer as a character, but I did grow fond of Carl. I actually dated a guy named Carl on and off through high school. He's the red-headed dude in the pictures from the Prom Style Friday Plot Swap.  Last I heard, he wasn't a serial killer, but I bet the Carl in my head looks very different from what the author intended. 

Paper Ghosts is a very slow burn to the suspense, but it reflected the more classic suspense stories where you are just WAITING for something to happen because it's coming, you know it is.

Toward the middle, I did feel some of the plot was disjointed and that kept me from fully immersing into the main character. The focus shifts from Carl's guilt or innocence to the "daughter's" own inner conflict and personal battles with the guilt and sorrow brought by her sister's disappearance. It all falls in place at the end with a twist. 

I would DEFINITELY recommend this book for those who look for a dark suspense without the normal fast-paced-run-for-your-life thrills. 

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