No matter what you believe, this book was really informative and well written. I learned quite a bit. Fascinating and I learned quite a bit. Thank you!

Informative but not pushy...
What I liked about this book was that the author states her opinions and a very matter-of-fact way however is not pushing you to believe one way or the other. In fact she mentions that certain noises that we hear and some of the bumps in the night have very plausible explanations. I really appreciate that from the author.
The stories of her experiences are very well written and paint a clearer picture for the reader to see exactly what the author was seeing at that point in time.
However, once again I have to ask Llewellyn Publishing what is going on with the formatting for the books? The Kindle version that I received from Netgalley was very scattered with misspellings and letters and words missing and the pages were scrambled. I really hope that once they go through the final draft that these errors are fixed. I'm almost certain that they are.
Besides that, this was an all-around good read and very informative. I'd be glad to recommend it.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I love learning about other peoples run in with the paranormal. I have been experiencing things about ghost so that is what drew me to read this book. Robin tells how she got into this genre and I was surprised that she did not have any experiences until she was in her 30s. I love the stories that are included into this book.

*thank you to netgalley and Llewellyn Publications for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.

Ok first I want to get this off my chest. The formatting/spelling errors where EVERYWHERE in this and it made it rather stressful to read so unfortunately I felt I couldnt fully enjoy it as much as I wanted to, but this did not change my rating. I get that it was an ARC but it still needs to be readable. I know that made me sound ungrateful, Im not, I do appreciate being given a copy. I hope that these are fixed though in the final copy, though im sure they will be.

Ok. So, the actual book was pretty good! The author does not come across as someone who is trying to push you into believing that the paranormal does/does not exist. Thats what I really liked about this. Plus the way the stories were told made it a really enjoyable read. I love books like this and this one did not disappoint. It was creepy in parts and had some pretty convincing scenes.

If you love paranormal, and want to be a bit creeped out or just read about others experiences, then this is a great book to pick up.

Interesting collection of stories straight from the experiences of a paranormal investigator! I enjoyed the no-frills accounts of Robin and her teams' investigations into hauntings and making connections with the other side.

An easy read for someone interested in or curious about the paranormal!

As a believer in the paranormal, I was excited to see this book and then be chosen to read and review it. It was every bit as interesting of a read as I hoped it would be. Any fan of the paranormal would definitely want to add this book to their collection. It is very well written and flows very well for the reader.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

My biggest complaint about this book was the formatting, and since this is the third book I've gotten from this publisher that had terrible formatting, I have to blame Llewellyn Publications and not the author.

The writing is solid, the stories interesting. The author doesn't pile on the "evidence" and declaim that everything is haunted. I'm still skeptical about dowsing rods, but found their usage interesting.

But the horrible formatting just made things so hard to read. I hope by the time they get to publication date that Llewellyn gets the formatting issues taken care of.

This is a look into the author Robin Strom's ghost hunting through the years. Most of the investigations are in Delaware or Maryland. My favorite chapter was Matt's House, he did not want help but just gave them the information of what happened in his house.
If you are from Delaware or Maryland you will especially enjoy these hauntings.

I would like to thank Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd. for providing me with a free – temporary – electronic ARC of this book, via Netgalley. Although I required their approval, the decision to read this book is my choice and any reviews given are obligation free.

As part of my open and honest nature I will state here and now that I am a bit of a TV junkie for shows like ‘Haunting Australia’ and ‘The Other Side’ from Canada. Heck, I am even a fan of the Canadian ‘Knock Knock Ghost’ and not afraid to admit it. This follows on from my childhood and teen years of loving to read any tales of “real life” ghostly encounters I could get my hands on. Remember folks, this was before the time of the Internet… so books on such topics were hard to find. Which is why I really wanted to read ‘On the Hunt for the Haunted’.

And I LOVED it! I think what I liked the most was the level of true scepticism that went into each investigation. As in, they were going into each house/ building with an open mind, but a rather large dose of logic and science. They wanted to find true supernatural interactions, but weren’t about to jump to a positive conclusion based on slim to no evidence. I have to admit that’s the part of the ghost hunting TV shows I don’t like. They are usually rather biased into proving there are spirits there as that’s what gets the ratings. So, by detailing these investigations in a book, the author has the ability be less biased and sensationalistic and add some good doses of reality and lack of evidence to even out their stories and, to me, make them more believable.

Oh, and yes, I do believe in ghosts and spirits. I have had too many odd encounters to NOT believe. But I am still a child born to science as well as fiction and so like to seek logical reasons behind such events. And I feel ‘On the Hunt for the Haunted’ gives some very sage advice and explanations that don’t rule out a spirit world… but also don’t ram it down the readers throat saying they have to believe it or else.

I will say, however, that I found the transcripts a little tedious in the end. I totally understand why they were used, but it would have been better if used in a book that was companion to a TV show of the same investigations. I also got a little frustrated in how the author would go off on tangent, mid investigation, to give the reader a minor lecture in studies into the afterlife and ghost sightings that weren’t always that relevant to the investigation. It seemed like padding more than in context information and I admit I almost nodded off at one point, as it detracted from the investigation so much.

But other than those very minor quibbles, I still found ‘On the Hunt for the Haunted’ a very interesting and enjoyable read.

Formatting and layout side of things, there were a few sentences that were a bit garbled and areas I feel the copyeditor may have also fallen asleep, as they shouldn’t have gotten through… but I was reading an ARC so I am sure they have all since been fixed up in the final edit. I also read this book as an ACSM and do not feel it was formatted for this, more to be a paper book. So the formatting wasn’t that easy to read in places, but again I felt this was just an ARC issue and the final book wouldn’t have these issues.

Would I recommend this book to others?

Yes I would. Anyone interested in paranormal investigations or insights to the spirit world trying to make contact with the living, or even those who are sceptical of it all and want a more scientific approach to it all – I feel this would be a good book to read and one I would recommend.

Would I buy this book for myself?

I might, but I’m really not too sure. I mean, I enjoyed reading it… but I can’t see myself needing to refer back to it or read again in a hurry. So it might be deemed more a library book for me. One I can borrow and read, then return for someone else. I feel I must emphasise it is a very interesting and well-written, well investigated book… I just don’t know if I feel a need to own my own copy.

In summary: A well-balanced and scientific look into paranormal activity in the USA.

I think this would be a more enjoyable read for someone who is serious about ghost hunting instead of a casual reader. The details and minutiae of the investigations (especially the verbatim transcripts of some of the sessions) bored me but may be just what someone else is looking for.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.

4/5

I read this one in one sitting. I am a complete sucker for any book that talks about paranormal experiences, investigations, or the history of paranormal investigations. So I was pretty excited when I saw this one pop up on Netgalley and it did not let me down.

On the Hunt for the Haunted is a collection of stories from Robin's career as a paranormal investigator. Each story details the history of the location, interviews with the current residents or owners, evidence gathered during her investigations and her follow up commentary on whether she believes the location to be "haunted" or not.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I really enjoyed how much detail Robin provided to explain her investigation process and how thorough she is with trying to explain the natural causes of some paranormal events.

This is one is a perfect read for a rainy day.

On the Hunt for the Haunted was a interesting read about a paranormal investigator who was open minded and objective. She will tell you not every site is haunted and not every noise is a ghost.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I will be very up front, I do not like the cover. It relates to a story within the book, but even so, I found it creepy and not in a paranormal kind of way. It is weird, I do not like it.

Even so, do not let it distract you from some of the compelling stories contained within these pages. I had not heard of the author before reading this book, but I found her to be both credible and knowledgeable about the field of paranormal investigations, the equipment, and the purpose for seeking out these experiences. I always have respect for those who can go into an investigation with an open mind, and can come away admitting there was simply no evidence, if that is the case. I find some of the reality shows on television silly at best and damaging to the legitimacy of the field at worst (looking at you, Ghost Adventures. Why do you think every "demonic entity" you encounter has it out for YOU SPECIFICALLY?! Ugh).

Here, however, Strom is professional the whole way through, going into detail about how she conducts investigations, what she does to guard against natural or man-made incidents being mistake for paranormal phenomena, and sharing her own experiences. There are no major overreactions, no immediate declarations that EVERYTHING IS A GHOST!, and there is thoughtful perusal of evidence collected.

I am a firm believe in ghosts, spirits, whatever you want to call them. I have been very lucky to have personal experiences in a variety of locations - The Stanley Hotel is Estes Park, Colorado; The Palmer House Hotel in Sauk Centre, MN; even my own apartment when I was in grad school. As such, with my experiences and investigations, I am pretty critical of books that seem frivolous or seem to sensationalize investigations. I did not get that impression from this author at all and I look forward to reading about more of her investigations in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of On the Hunt for the Haunted.

This was a fascinating and interesting read about Ms. Strom's paranormal investigations.

She details some of her most memorable cases and outlines the steps she and her crew take when performing an investigation.

What is really refreshing is that Ms. Strom is incredibly objective; she mentions that most of the odd noises and bumps we hear in the night have rational answers and it is up to her and her team to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Though she believes in the paranormal (as do I), she stresses how the more evidence she gathers (evidence layering), the more confident she feels that the paranormal activity she and her crew are registering is solid evidence before she presents her findings to her clients.

Ms. Strom remains open minded and observant when she takes on a case, never assuming there is supernatural activity to be discovered.

Instead, she remains objective, rational and practical and this book is a fine representation of her career as a ghost hunter.

I just wished she had more spooky stuff to report.

#OnTheHuntForTheHaunted #NetGalley
I actually thought this was a book of fiction, but it read more like a non-fiction or documentary type of book. I’m not a fan, I love my fiction. That being said, it was an interesting read.

I find the paranormal fascinating, and I was thrilled to receive an ARC of this book. Because of the format on my Kindle, it was a little difficult to read, but that did not distract from the interesting subject matter. Filled with personal insights and stories, I didn't want to stop reading well into the night, even when I freaked myself out a bit! Definitely a must read for any fans of the paranormal, or just anyone with even a fleeting interest in ghosts or the "other side".

Right off the bat, the author built up some solid respect in my eyes by discussing her own paranormal experiences and going into some detail regarding the equipment she'd be using and her own fail-safes in place to avoid false readings, etc. I like that you could see she took it very seriously, and that feeling continued throughout the book—there were some cases in which she even readily admitted they didn't find any conclusive evidence, and in one case, she explained that she could only detail the homeowner's explanation as the homeowner had asked her not to investigate the property (for risk of stirring up trouble).

All in all, I thought it was solid on the technical aspect. As someone who strongly believes in paranormal phenomenons, some books of this type have left me feeling annoyed or belittled, as though the author didn't really believe in what they were saying, and was just looking to make a quick buck. Robin Strom never makes the reader feel as though she's anything less than sincere, though.

Overall, if you enjoy nonfiction about paranormal events and investigations, I strongly recommend picking up a copy of On the Hunt for the Haunted, and I know I'll be recommending this one to friends for a long time to come.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Robin doesn't try and big up her findings at any point during this book. If all she heard was a sigh, then she states that's all she heard. There are no over-dramatics of made up parts to try and capture the reader's attention more (at least, that's the impression I got). The investigations she's chosen to include are really attention grabbing for me. I especially like the one that the cover depiction is based on; I feel like that investigation in itself has movie potential.

I usually read in bed at night, lights off. But I did find myself having to put the book down a couple of times as my mind would start to wander, and I would get chills down my spine.

On The Hunt for the Haunted: Searching for the Proof of the Paranormal by Robin Strom was received direct from the publisher. The paranormal has always interested me but no matter how many “haunted” places I go to, I have NEVER had any experiences. I went into this book wanting to learn more about this topic by an unbiased person and not the ones with television shows. The author has several stories of searches for proof, which starts out with history of the location, the investigation and the conclusion, as most of us envision a story of a search should be written. I also learned the age of the house makes no difference and that “ghosts” could be recently departed. I always see the houses and the ghosts as “way” old, which is apparently not true. I recommend this book for the start or seasoned prop reader of these type books.

5 Stars

This was a good mix of paranormal investigations. I always appreciate an investigator who doesn't find every location to be haunted. The stories seemed very realistic to me, although "A Dangerous Soul" was really out there, but also extremely creepy. I hope this author continues to investigate and writes more books. I enjoyed her writing style.