BOOK REVIEW:

‘Ghosts: Minnesota’s Other Natural Resource’ by Brian Leffler (2007 Schiffer Books)

Review by Scott Lefebvre [Scott_Lefebvre@hotmail.com]

     I usually don’t pay much attention to the design of the cover of the books I read.   Some are designed better or worse than others, but the difference isn’t usually that significant.   The design for the cover of this book is actually exceptional in that it was part of what attracted me to the book.   I received this book as one of many regional paranormal books published by Schiffer Books that I picked up for review when I stopped by the publisher’s facility in Atglen, Pennsylvania.   The cover, a full-color reproduction of one of the author’s photographs is nicely rendered with the title in white letters across the relative darkness of the photo.   So when I was leafing through the stack of regional paranormal books, I selected this one before another possible selection.

     I was prepared for an anthology of Minnesota’s regional paranormal stories of haunted houses and urban legends.   Instead I was pleased to discover the book refreshingly different than the miscellany of regional paranormal books I have been reading.   The author is a member of the Northern Minnesota  Paranormal Investigators.   So instead of presenting a collection of stories broken down by location, the author’s material reads more like the case-files of the Northern Minnesota Paranormal Investigators.   That the author participated in the investigation of the phenomenon adds a personal intimacy to the tales which I found engaging while reading.

     More than your usual collection of stories about derelict hospitals and historical buildings with lingering residents, the author provides a refreshing variety of stories including many private residences, although there are three cemeteries covered in the collection.  

     The author and I seem to have different approaches to our interest in the paranormal.   I’m more of a midnight creeper, going out to abandoned buildings under the cover of night with a small group of friends and touring the places by flashlight.   The author seems to prefer visiting locations when his paranormal investigation group is called in to perform an investigation.   Despite this minor philosophical difference I was able to enjoy this book as an excellent example of its type.

Available from Schiffer Books at www.SchifferBooks.com

About the reviewer:

     Scott Lefebvre has probably read everything you've read.

     Mostly because when he was grounded for his outlandish behavior as a hyperactive school child, the only place he was allowed to go was the public library.

     His literary tastes were forged by the works of Helen Hoke, Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Edgar Allan Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft.

     His reviews have been published by a variety of in print and online media.

     His first book, 'Spooky Creepy Long Island', a collection of paranormal stories about Long Island, New York, is available from Schiffer Books. [ www.SchifferBooks.com ]