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The Curious Life of Ada Baker Paperback – September 27, 2022

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 49 ratings

Ada Baker is a gifted psychic, who shares her home with three very bored ghosts. Spending their days roaming around Ada's house offers little amusement, and so the three of them convince Ada to help them investigate the mysterious death of local beauty Mary Watts, who is found naked and strangled in her bathtub. This begins a series of exciting adventures for Ada, as she draws on her unique skills to help solve this heinous crime. Along the way, she must convince a sceptical detective of her aptitude for channelling the abilities of the dead, avoid the unwanted attentions of a sinister stalker, and try to enlist the help of a squadron of ghostly spitfire pilots to save her own life.

Can the dead really bring justice for Mary and help save the living too? Will Ada solve the mystery of her murder? Or will Ada's curiosity lead to her own demise, causing her to end up as a ghost herself?
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cranthorpe Millner (September 27, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 324 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1803780436
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1803780436
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.06 x 0.73 x 7.81 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 49 ratings

About the author

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Karen Hamilton-Viall
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Karen has been writing stories since she first learned to write, but the Curious Life of Ada Baker is her first published work. Her love of history came from decades spent teaching children history in schools and at historic sites. Her love of ghosts developed after sharing her home with an unexpected ghostly flatmate, at the age of 19. It would stomp around her flat, moving things and setting off the fire alarm. Since then, she has encountered several more spirits and it has become a life long obsession. The Curious Life of Ada Baker combines both of these loves in one novel, and the poltergeist eventually inspired the character of Dennis.

She spent her youth reading Agatha Christie novels and watching murder mysteries, which were a great influence on her writing, but she also loves a mix of other authors, such as Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Alison Uttley and Adrian Bell.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
49 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2022
    The Curious Life of Ada Baker is a book that surprised me and became a new favorite. I went in not knowing what to expect, but was hooked after the first few chapters.

    The story follows Ada, who doesn't just talk to ghosts - she lives with them. In fact, ghosts are her only friends. When she begins using her skills to work on a local murder case, though, she risks totally upending her low-key, peaceful life.

    This book is like if you did a mashup of:

    a) a Criminal Minds episode

    b) The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu

    c) a cozy mystery

    How do all these things mix together when a) and b) are the opposite of cozy? I don't know, but they do. The effect is a story that feels cozy, focused on building friendships, and also holds all the suspense of hunting a dangerous murderer.

    I really liked Ada and I loved her ghostly friends. The plot held me interested the whole time, and honestly I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the whole experience of this book.
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2023
    3.5 stars

    This book was a spooky ghost mystery, it is definitely a good read for halloween time or if you like a scary read, but not looking for something more in horror. I think the combination of the writing style and the personality of the main character made it have more of a young adult feel to it. Aba came off as very introverted, shy and naive. Her powers to communicate with ghosts were fun and interesting and I liked this supernatural story, even thou some things were predictable, but still enjoyable. Overall, I would recommend this book.
    Trigger warnings: assault, graphic content, blood
    I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2022
    I really enjoy the book. It had the sense of mystery and suspense. I don’t really do mystery and a sense of haunting but I really enjoy this book. I didn’t read at night haha. The packaging of the book was also very considerate and mysterious. It gave a haunting sensation that you were entering in a haunted book and a haunted world.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2022
    This is the first in a series and I thoroughly enjoyed it as it's original, well written, and compelling.
    The mystery is solid, the characters are likeable and fleshed out, and I appreciated the interesting world building.
    I hope there's going to be a lot of other books.
    Highly recommended.
    Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2022
    I had never read this author before, but this book seemed interesting. It didn’t take long for me to get invested in the book, and I was enjoying myself a lot. Ada is an interesting character and rather independent. She seems a little too easily swayed by a character, but we’ll see how she is in the next book. The only thing that was a minor fly in the ointment, speaking of swayed by a character, was that the writing at times seemed a little too emotionless. I felt more told about things as opposed to showing. It wasn’t bad, and I still really liked this book. I’m looking forward to finding out what’s coming next with this series. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2022
    The Curious Life of Ada Baker is the first book in what is sure to be a smashing series of paranormal crime novels about the titular psychic. Ada is a relatively normal woman, except for the whole living with ghosts and allowing them to use her body thing…it’s not what it sounds like!

    With the help of her ghostly friends, a skeptical detective, and a hermit librarian who possesses paranormal skills of his own, Ada Baker is on the hunt for a killer in this “supernatural cozy crime novel.”

    Perfect for fans of dry British humor and the Riley Thorn series by Lucy Score!

    What I liked about the book:
    1. I can’t say that I’ve read a book where a human could not only hear and see the dead, but could also channel the abilities they had in life too, but I found this super interesting! For example, one of Ada’s ghostly roommates, Mrs. E, was a cook when she was alive, so Ada could simply let her in her body and Mrs. E could cook a five-course meal using Ada’s body to prepare it. I loved this concept and was sure some bad ghost was going to take control of Ada at some point.

    2. I loved that the ghosts had different abilities. For example, most ghosts could not touch or move things, but some, who were called poltergeists, did have that ability. I loved watching Dennis hone this ability of his and help Inspector Jolly learn as well! Their ghost friendship around this was just the sweetest thing to me.

    3. All of the main characters were fantastic.

    Ada – I liked how Ada really owned her interesting abilities, wasn’t afraid to claim them even in front of skeptical people, and she really was just a normal woman. Ada could have come across as a real weirdo, but she came across as someone you would definitely want to be friends with, which was great.

    I especially loved Ada and her roommates! They really had the feel of a true family, even though Ada was the only living one. I totally saw Mrs. E as the mom with her prim ways and always wanting to cook a decent meal, Dennis as the dad with his advice and always wanting to watch his Old Western television marathons, and Rose as the spunky sister who always wanted to be involved in whatever Ada was doing. I also loved how Ada always set them a place for tea or dinner, despite them not being able to consume, just so they felt included. This was one hell of a found family and I loved it!

    Matlock was my second choice for Ada, after Jian Lee, her Kung Fu classmate. After I quickly realized that Jian was not going to be a large part of this story and we were then introduced to Matlock, I fell madly in love with the idea of her with Matlock. Matlock and Ada were complete opposites in personality, but they had a lot in common with their backstories and their view on the world. When it came down to it, they were both caring people who liked to help others and who would take a bullet for those they love. I can’t wait to see these two come together, because why wouldn’t they!?!?!?

    Inspector Jolly was so confident and trustworthy that as soon as he said Matlock was a good person, I instantly believed him. Inspector Jolly was definitely one of the good ones in life and I laughed so hard when he came up with the ghost police force. Of course a career inspector like himself couldn’t just give it up, even in death!

    Neville, Neville, Neville. I totally thought you were going to be involved with the murder because you were jealous of anyone else who showed affection towards Ada, you also had paranormal abilities, and you wanted to be right by Ada’s side solving the mystery. Because of this, I didn’t really give you the time of day, despite you being as awkward (read: adorable!) as the most famous Neville, Neville Longbottom. I guess you were alright after all. I kinda want you to end up with Astrid Starlight, the owner of the crystal/energy reading shop who was introduced and helped Ada at the very end of the story. I want to see more of her and I think you would be adorable together as the awkward dude and sunshine lady.

    William Kent was the right amount of creepy that you wanted to know just what the hell his deal was! He was interesting and totally gave me the unsettling feelings similar to Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. I want to know more, but at the same time I don’t…

    4. I liked how the story wasn’t simply a murder mystery. Even when the mystery of who murdered Mary was closed, there were still so many things the author can, and likely will, expand on. We still need to know who killed Inspector Jolly and what the hell William Kent is doing!!!

    5. I liked how there is no way in a million years you could have seen coming who the killer was. I wildly oscillated at first between this being aggravating and fantastic, but I have made up my mind that it was great. I liked not being able to solve this one…but just this one.

    6. Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

    “It wasn’t that Ada didn’t believe in God, it was only that she’d never felt the need to go to a special place to speak to him.”

    – Couldn’t agree more, sis.

    “All it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.”

    – So true!

    “I bought you some chocolate bars. I’ve heard hospital food is pretty bad.” Neville certainly knew the way to a girls heart.

    - 10 points to Gryffindor!

    What could have been better:
    1. I didn’t like any of the side characters really, they all fell a bit flat. I’m not sure if it’s because I was on the hunt for the murderer so I trusted none of them, or if they really were very dull, but I couldn’t really get to a good place with any of them. The good news is, we will probably not have to deal with them going forward!

    2. I didn’t love all the love interests floating around and Ada going heels-to-Jesus with, in my opinion, the wrong guy. He totally had a creepy Jeff Goldblum feel to him (which I will never forgive as I love Jeff Goldblum) and I hated it.

    Special thank you to NetGalley, Cranthorpe Millner Publishers, and Karen Hamilton-Viall for the opportunity to read this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

Top reviews from other countries

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2023
    An utterly delightful supernatural thriller, full of humour and charm. The world of Ada Baker is inhabited by a trio of friendly ghosts who interact with her on a daily basis.

    When a murder happens in her neighbourhood she feels obliged to investigate using her unique talent. Being able to talk directly to the victim gives her an edge over the police and she finds herself being dragged deeper into a dangerous situation.

    As a debut novel I am impressed with the quality of writing. The characters feel real and fully developed.

    I hope that Karen is already working on her second novel, as I am keen to explore more of the curious life of Ada Baker.
  • Mike Ross
    4.0 out of 5 stars A great read from cover to cover
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2023
    I don't normally read stories about the paranormal, but this book has a great plot line and was easy to read. I greatly enjoyed reading about Ada and her relationship with ghosts that help her solve the crime.
  • ms t a salmon
    5.0 out of 5 stars intriguing
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2023
    What a wonderful read ! You couldn’t help but to see this story in your mind as events unfolded . I would like to think more books will be written as the characters and their stories leave you wanting more .
  • Louise Thain
    5.0 out of 5 stars An amazingly captivating read! I couldn’t put it down!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2023
    Every character is so real that you are part of the story with them. I honestly couldn’t stop reading. I hope that we will be hearing more about Ada very soon.
  • Eve Bacon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Suprisingly good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2023
    I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this, but I was in for a surprise. Not too gruesome and light hearted in parts and, in one bit, quite moving. Well written and very imaginative. Recommended.