3.5 Stars

I was hooked by the hilarity of Dr. Ribero’s agency team member on Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost and is fortunate enough to be given an early copy of this second book. In the first book we learned Kester first found out about his father and his unique ability - which is similar to his late mother. And his adventure on supernatural beings continued in this second entry to Dr. Ribero’s Agency of the Supernatural.

Following the last development on previous book, where he decided to join his father’s agency - albeit focusing on research - Kester also got to know his father better, including his unfortunate condition and Dr. Ribero’s wish for the future. The father and son relationship between them is awkward, touching, and funny at the same time. The agency’s reputation was put in a test when they were assigned a tricky case and had to team up with the rival agency and the bane of Dr. Ribero’s existence.

Compared to the previous book, here Kester was all out and really involved in the case they handled. Especially when the rising body counts forced the team to cluster together near the location the case took place. At the same time, young Kester also juggling a budding relationship with someone out of the supernatural sphere while keeping his real job from her.

As always, the clash of personality among team members were the source of entertainment (even if sometimes the teasings bordered on cruelty and meanness) and exasperation. All the more with additional unique members from Higgins agency. Case-wise, tricky as it might be to solve, was not really impressive. I guess sort of hoping for some sort of big bang, but perhaps there’s still long to go with this particular series.

While it’s interesting to see Kester showed his investigation skill (through research and sheer determination) I did wish he also worked on mastering his supernatural ability. That saying, his dodging it and anything supernatural-related made him a regular young lad and lend ingenuity to the story’s continuation. Especially given the way the book ended, there are endless possibilities to look forward to. I’m still game to continue following this series, for the enjoyment and entertaining aspects it gives me!


Advanced copy of this book is kindly given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an amusing concept that sees a band of strange ghost hunters working for a handsome Argentinian sleuth Dr Ribero, whose son Kester is now taking the lead in discovering why pensioners are being killed in strange circumstances in Lyme Regis in Dorset. All the victims see themselves in horrific spectre reflections leading to a doppelganger theory and strangely they have all been involved with the local Ancient History Group. Who said retirement was boring!
Kester and his chums are somewhat like the Scooby Doo crew. There is mad Mike the drunk, Serena in high heels with a useful water bottle and Miss Penny Wellbeloved who keeps them all in order!
Not having read the first in this series by author Lucy Banks I was at a bit of a disadvantage and had to pick up hints further in the novel about why the group were together and why Kester, who had been brought up by his mother in Cambridge had only recently met up with his father. He has a great skill though - he is a spirit door-opener even though he seems quite scared of ghosts and is wondering whether to take his father's advice and take a degree course studying with a Jinin (a genie).
If it all seems a bit manic - it is- but also quite funny and the dialogue between the team, especially when they have to take on the Lyme Regis job working with arch enemy Larry Higgins is very amusing. . Kester also has to leave his new girlfriend Anya and is working hard to resolve his own unhealthy lifestyle to keep up with the running around chasing weird Celtic spooks.
If you have read the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronvitch about ghost hunting in the London Underground I think you will like this book. However I'd recommend reading the first in the series'The Case of the Green Dressed Ghost' to get a heads up on how Dr Ribero's Secret Agency came into being. But saying that I have now got a copy as it is a fun read and can also sense there will be others telling us more weird spook cases for Kester and Co arriving on bookshelves very soon.

The characters are different as in a weird different but they work. The book contains a bunch of characters that I never thought would be seen together but in this they not only are but they work really well. The characters and the plot play well with each other in the sense that both of them was the highlight of the book for me.

This is the second book of the series and I do have to point out that I have not read the first one. But the curiosity of the plot weighted heavily and I read it and finished and am glad I did. Though, it would have been great to have read from the start it was not overly dependent on the first book. The author did try to make sure that the first time readers of this was not left out in the cold.

One of the things I loved was the budding romance between Anya and Kester. As well as the animosity between the two agency.

The Case of the Deadly Doppelganger was a mystery that drew me in while the characters ensnared me in their web until the end.

The Case of the Deadly Doppelganger is a genre outside of my usual wheelhouse, but I loved it! While it's the second in a series (Dr. Ribero's Agency Of The Supernatural), reading it as a standalone was easy enough. (I will be adding the first one to my TBR pile though!)

The characters are quirky and relatable, although some follow some very stereotypical norms, and it was lovely to see the inclusion of some you don't often get to see in mainstream books. I also absolutely loved the humour - it's not often you get to laugh out loud at a book with such a serious subject, but Ms. Banks makes that absolutely possible. I'll definitely be waiting for more!

The Case of the Deadly Doppelganger is the second book in a series from Lucy Banks. While I didn't read the first book, this could work as a stand alone read.

While the idea of this book is nice, I found the twists and turns a bit predictable. Everything resolves much quicker than I expected and things were explained away far too simply. There was a lack of real chemistry in some of the characters while other characters fell within well worn/written stereotypes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Really funny and enjoyable. This book is well written, funny, enganging and with very interesting and likeable characters.
I look forward to reading other instalments in this series and I will go and look for other books by this writer.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy Banks is quickly becoming one of my favorite paranormal fiction writers. I recently read book 1, but you could have easily picked up with book 2 as a standalone. The book picks up shortly after book 1 leaves off, but there are only a few references made back to the information of book 1 and it is fairly well summarized so you aren't left feeling completely confused or like you are missing something. I highly recommend book 1 because I loved it, and I loved book 2.

The team of Dr. Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural again finds themselves on a mission to extinguish a supernatural being back to the spirit world, but there are plenty of complications. They find themselves working with a rival agency, and the interactions with the owners, Dr. Ribero and Larry Higgins are hilarious. Kester, our main character, is finally settling into his role at the agency, though he still can't control his own supernatural gift. He is starting to find his own way as an adult by living on his own and dating. His roommates provide comic relief throughout the book, as do his co-workers Mike and Serena. Kester is once again left to dig through the clues behind what is really going on in the small seaside town of Lyme Regis where several people have ended up dead. Strange things are afoot and with Kester's ability to research and uncover information. I really loved the history and mythology in this one just like the last one. I felt like I was there with the team as they were walking around, and I want to be a member of their ghost-busting team.

Totally unrelated to the plot but something I really loved about this book was the interaction of the team with the transgender character Lara/Luke. We are introduced to Lara, from Team Higgins, as a female, but Kester sees her out in town and notices that she wears male looking clothing. Eventually Serena calls Lara out for looking manly, and Lara tells the team she has always identified as male. The Ribero Team is so welcoming to this information and immediately asks how they should be addressed going forward to make them feel more comforatable. This is when Lara becomes Luke, and she becomes him. Naturally the team slips up from time to time, but they make every attempt to make Luke comfortable. Luke also is very open to questions to make the team feel comfortable. I like they way this was handled and there were so many sweet moments between the team and Luke, especially Pamela, Ms. Wellbeloved. I will say that I feel like Kester could have spoke out to his father about his narrow minded thinking towards transgender people, that is out of character for Kester, and the inner monologue addressing it was more in alignment with his personality.

Adept, masterful with real characters experiencing horror in midst their ordinary lives .. humorous write deployed expertly .. the ambient is not getting but the horror is creepy in extreme... it got slow for me but I did want to know how this 'virus' would end up being squelched .. good fun

This is the second in the series by Lucy Banks and I can’t wait to read the first one after being so entertained by The Case of the Deadly Doppelgänger! This series will help to fill the void after the end to Victoria Laurie’s Ghost Hunter Erie’s with MJ and Gilley. Great characters, interesting case, and I really like how the supernatural aspect was feasible. Wonderful writing! Very enjoyable read that was hard to put down!

Interesting cast of characters in this supernatural , paranormal story. First book from this author.

https://bookstalebyme.wordpress.com/2018/01/13/the-case-of-the-deadly-doppelganger-arc-review/

A wonderfully written and engaging story full of the strange and the supernatural-- I loved it.

This is the second book about Dr.Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural and it is hilarious! My attention was held from the first few sentences and it just continued to get better and weirder, I loved it !! An enjoyable read with quirky characters,who possess unusual skills, psychic readers,spirit door openers, all set within a chaotic office belonging to the over the top Dr Riberio.
Elderly people are dying in Lyme Regis on the South Coast( AKA Gods waiting room!) and the connection seems to be,as reported by the survivor partner or friend, they apparently saw their own reflection or mirror image,looking at them. Creepy!. General consensus is that it is the work of a doppelgänger , but the degree of the murderous intent and the general ' wrongness' of the air, leads the team to consider another option. Throw in some Celtic graves and unauthorised grave robbery leads to a satisfying conclusion.
I liked the interactions between the characters. Kester is the son of Dr Riberio,who hates the spirit world,but is being raised to take over one day, Mike is a slob,Serena is sarcastic,Jennifer is the calm one running the office and the other person I liked was Lara,who is making the transition toward becoming male,and wants to known as Luke. I found it to be quite a sympathetic portrayal of this process and still fairly unusual to be discussed in a book.
So, the book ends with a definite/ maybe there will be another book in this series,I do hope so!! A deserved five star read.
I have posted this review to Goodreads today.

In a sentence? Story must go on. Story will go on. This story finishes with an open ending letting the reader know that there will be more to come. Is there a need?

Yeap. I’d like to see where the story takes main characters. Will Kester take over his father’s ‘stolen’ business. Will he complete his BA in Spiritual Intervention and Business Studies? Will he be a boyfriend? Will Mike and Serena… Nope, I’ll stop right there.

If you are looking for supernatural mystery well grounded in reality in terms of dangy hotels, lack of money, rave parties and young man’s ache for love and acceptance, this is the story for you.

The Case of the Deadly Doppleganger is as much about spirits, fetches and everything to do with dealing with them as it is about father-son relationships, love lives of the main characters and old wounds that would not heal.

Lucy Banks has done a great job weaving real human problems together with spirit-catchment and psychic sensoring.

Have a rest after holidays, have a read

Every so often, but not regularly, I pick up a new fiction book, and immediately the characters seem like old friends. It makes me feel comfortable, happy, and a little nostalgic. I felt like this when I read The Case of the Deadly Doppelganger. I can't quite put my finger on what it was, and obviously, as readers, we all bring different prior experiences to our reading endeavors, but for me, this book was an automatic comfort book.
I'm so happy that there is a previous book that has the same group of characters in it that I can read next! And hoping that this will be a long-running series so that I can revisit my "old" friends and their new adventures.
Good setting, good plot, highly recommended.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC of this book, which I may not have come across otherwise!!!

My first thought on finishing this book was, “well crap, now I have to read the next one.” This is the second in a series about a supernatural detective agency in England. Perhaps if I’d read the first installment I would have liked it better. Unfortunately, I did not. The characters were flat, the handling of the gender-nonconforming character was trite, and the plot lacked pacing. Only the set-up for the next book held any excitement for me,

I enjoyed this book. It’s a fun supernatural mystery with quirky characters. The agency was hired by the government to find the spirits killing senior citizens in a small town. They have to keep it from the general public and this causes problems.

I recommend this book. Thanks to Amberjack Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book certainly has an interesting cast of characters and made me laugh out loud more than once. The author is creative and the mystery was fun to solve, but there were also a lot of stereotypes involved and some of them were downright cringe-worthy.

Most of the humour in this novel I appreciated, there were some awfully funny one-liners and so forth, but there were also a few really gross things that I felt the book would have been better off without. I have mixed emotions on how to feel about the main character. Sometimes he's the sorry sort of sap that you just want to hug because he needs it, but other times he made me want to wring his neck. I was particularly annoyed with the way he talked about the girl he's getting involved with in the story, as if she was simply good enough because she was the only thing he could get. Boo!

Still, the mystery was interesting and I got a kick out of the way they wrapped it all up. The group of people working together made for a lot of drama that kept the story moving forward and there were some vibrant dynamics amongst them as they were so different.

Overall, I thought this was a decent story and I appreciated the good laughs I got from it. I would read another book by this author and recommend this to those who are looking for something fun on the lighter side of the supernatural.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This book is the second in the series, Dr Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural but I haven't read the first one, hence it took time to get into this world. However, I'm deeply immersed in this well written spiritual setting.

Kester Lanner is a new member of the Ribero's supernatural agency and the agency copes with spirits in secret. The team are given the job to solve the murder that the elderly people are dying in Lyme Regis and they saw double of themselves right before they die. Is the malevolent Doppelgänger raging there? The team gets another task not only deal with the spirit but the rival agency, Larry Higgins, as it's a joint investigation.

I enjoyed reading this supernatural mystery book, story moves very fast and the setting is interesting. This is the world in which have the supernatural being, but people doesn't know about. The members of team have their own individual ability to cope with spirits and Kester, himself is a gate opener, who succeeded only once, to spiritual world to send them back. Although the plot is predictable, the setting is gripping enough!

The quirky characters are likable. The team is like a cozy family, they enjoy pulling each other's leg all the time. Full of bitter sarcasms though they are wittyly fun and making the story more amusing.

This story ends on the cliff-hanger, I already can't wait to read the third one to know what happen and what sort of spirit is involved in next

The Case of the Deadly Doppelganger by Lucy Banks

I enjoyed reading this book, is well written and the story moves fast. To my taste it has too many stereotypes. I understand the use of them, they are helpful, but this resource, even if it’s well-used, creates flat characters. In the case of Ribero, doesn’t bother me as much, is funny to see the Argentinian stereotype, but almost every character is somehow a stereotype, therefore, they are predictable.

The supernatural mystery works great, however, it will add value to the book if the author shares some interesting information about the supernatural. Even if it’s fiction, there is always useful information, facts and data that can be employed to enrich the book and the reader experience.

I give this book 3.5 / 5

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.