The Summoning starts out as a slow burn and opens with readers meeting Kit, a widow as a result of 9/11. It does take a while to get in to this book, but once I did I enjoyed the murder aspects, the paranormal, the spooky aspect of the story. It really draws the reader in. This is a great book to release around this time of year, for the spooky season. The ending of this book has twists, and the climax is surprising and I was questioning Kit's sanity throughout.

New York is a city full of life, full and deaths too, and especially full of living people missing the dead. Kit understood that and made the best use of her actor skills to help people with their griefs and put them in touch with their loved ones who passed away. Or so she says. She is getting enough money from her clients to survive honestly and take care of her hospitalized daughter. Only, her acting soon get mixed into reality and it seems that the dead are not so far away after all.

This novel is thrilling, mixing some suspense with mystical and drama. It is quick paced, sometimes too quick to fille understand everything going on, but I suspect it is done on purpose to confuse the reader about what is true and what is not, what is in Kit’s head and and what is really happening.

I was completely absorbed in the last half of the book. The first half does not have this “thriller” vibe as we are more settling into the story and building the background. But I enjoyed it as much.

All the characters are shady, and we mix we can only trust Kit (and even her it is not sure), I mean that we know that she is not going to get away with is easily and that troubles will follow her. So there is not much surprise here, we could think, and yes it is true, but the beauty is in how everything is linked together, nothing is left unthought, and the ties just get tighter. The unfolding, like in an old thrillers, is mind blowing.

I am really glad I had the chance to read this book and I would recommend it for everyone living soft drama thrillers, and honestly it is not that scary so don’t be afraid.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sharing a digital copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

This. Book. Was… insane! I slightly skimmed a review before starting it and I read about how if you found this book slow at the beginning to give it a chance and keep reading because things were not as they initially seemed. From the moment I started this book though, I was immediately hooked.

A dead husband, a daughter in a coma, & a very much struggling actress getting by just barely by pretending to be a medium and offering psychic readings to bereaved people who’ve lost someone to 9/11 attacks… it sounds crazy doesn’t it? But this isn’t where the crazy ends. After months if not years of Kit (lead character) tapping into a world that the living should not have access to, things start to get a bit paranormal.

After finding out that she’s being investigated by the police for “scamming” people with her psychic readings, after meeting two people who just have something about them that makes Kit wonder what is going on. Then just when she thinks can’t get any weirder, she meets Dave/David, one half of the detective duo investigating her.. now, Dave a widower himself who just seems to be so charming & quickly endears himself to Kit.

But when things start getting weirder around Kit, when the apparition of a woman keeps appearing to her begging for help Kit truly wonders if everything is actually happening or if she’s going mad.

Halfway through this book and as a reader you can’t help but be swayed into thinking that maybe just maybe, the main character is going nutty but.. who is this woman who keeps appearing to Kit? What did Zoe her daughter see that made her go into a coma for so many years from the trauma? And.. is David truly what he seems? This book will for sure leave you biting your nails through the end, wondering just what the heck you’re reading and the ending? Is one you will so not expect!

The temperatures cooled off and feel fall-like just in time for this creepy, chilly story. I really felt for the main character and her grief, but the supernatural aspect was what hooked me. I enjoyed this one.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

👻 Book Review 👻

👻 The Summoning by JP Smith

👻 Publication Date - September 7th 2021

👻 This slow-burn psychological thriller about an out of work actor who stumbles onto a terrible and brilliant idea to make ends meet. The anniversary of 9/11 is fast approaching—armed with the obituary section of the New York Times, Kit Capriol is going to act as a medium to “help” people find closure with lost loved ones. 

👻 I thought this book would be a great horror story to start off my Halloween reading but it was more suspenseful than scary!

👻 I loved that the book kept me questioning what was happening and what was going to happen next. The book drew me in straight away but it wasn't until about 50% through that I found it hard to put it down!

👻 The story has elements of grief and loss, ghosts and a psychological twist. I would recommend this book, it's a great start to any Fall/Halloween reading !

The summoning by J. P. Smith is a story made of grief, loss and how it impacts all of us.

The plot sounds promising, Kit is a widower who holds seances for people who have lost their loved ones. Her own husband was lost during 9/11 and more tragedy has struck her since then.

This book really made me think. Usually these things were big years ago but what would this look like in the 21st century? Here was have a version of it.

I liked Kit. She seemed such a gentle caring person, helping people despite the fact that she needed the money. Her sense of isolation and that she accepted it so readily speaks volumes about her grief and how she deals with it.

I liked the secondary story put in there but won't say what it is so as not to spoil it. It added some suspense to the story.

This was not spooky or scary for me but haunting in the way that it's so real. This could be any of us. It had to much of a slow pace for me and the chapters were short.

I give this 3 stars. Unfortunately it just did not hold my attention and I struggled through but this is my personal opinion. The writing is clear, descriptive without over doing it. Definitely give it a try if your intrigued.

Twisty mystery/thriller with supernatural elements. It's hard to know who - or what - to trust, and seeds of doubt are planted throughout the story. Ultimately not really my taste, as the supernatural doesn't have a strong appeal for me, which made the plot harder to swallow. The pacing was also somewhat off for me - a lot of build up, and a fairly quick and ultimately unsatisfactory resolution.

In The Summoning, Kit is a fraud.

Kit’s tale is tragic. Her husband is missing after 9/11. Her teenage daughter has been in a coma for three years. As an aspiring, rather than working, actor, Kit is barely covering her bills by pretending to be a medium. The NYC police are trying to make a case against her. But now, Kit has a more difficult issue. It seems that real dead people are interrupting her fraudulent seances. Could Kit really be psychic? Or is she just becoming schizophrenic like her mother?

I was swept from emotion to emotion by this powerful book. I was invested in Kit and sorry to have the book end. The Summoning is one of those books that I will remember for days, if not years. 5 stars and a favorite!

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Kit Capriol lost her husband when the North Tower went down on 9/11. Over the years she has scraped by as an actress, barely supporting herself and her daughter. But now her daughter, Zoey, is in the hospital, bills are due, and the acting work has dried up. Becoming a medium is almost too easy for someone used to pretending for a living. Kit scans memorials published in the New York Times looking for individuals who call to her. It’s a simple thing to look up a name and phone number, to reach out to surviving family members who still might be yearning for connection with their lost loved one. She wants to offer her assistance. In the past it has always been easy , but now the seances Kit holds in her apartment are starting to feel unsettlingly real.

I love when mystery books succeed in incorporating a paranormal aspect into their storyline and that’s exactly what THE SUMMONING accomplished. This is a slow burn surrounding the life of our main character, Kit, and the odd happenings that occur during her seances. She has started to hear voices and visualize the final moments of those she is trying to commune with. These seances aren’t cheesy or unrealistic, which is sometimes how paranormal elements can come off when not done right.

What I loved most about this book was the way the paranormal aspect aids in driving the story forward. There’s a lot going on in Kit’s life and at first it wasn’t clear how everything would connect, but I really enjoyed the way Smith tied everything together. THE SUMMONING would make an excellent addition to any spooky season TBR!

A huge thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for my gifted copy!

For someone whose dad was involved with 9/11 as a firefighter, this book might have been a little much. And that's on me. The writing was good = no complaints there. I just couldn't finish it because of how it was triggering my anxiety. I have only good things to say about this book, even though it wasn't meant for me!

This was an interesting take on psychic mediums. At times I questioned the protagonist's mindset but in the next chapter I was questioning the antagonist's. Constant flip-flopping of who is reliable. It was a fun book to read and wasn't what I was expecting at all -- in a good way!

I'm not quite sure what I just read. The premise and title of this book sound so spooky and intriguing, I expected creepiness, atmosphere and a dark slow burn. But, this was just bad, I'm sorry to report. There was no coherent plot, the characters were two dimensional at best and the writing felt wooden and stilted. Poor, unrealistic dialogue, strands of storylines floundering desperately without any sort of tether. There may be an audience out there for this, but I didn't connect with it at all.

The Summoning, J. P. Smith
Pub date: Sept 7/21

Kit is a widowed actress and single mother barely making it through each day. After her husbands death in she has struggled to make sense of her world. Her acting career is in the toilet. And, her daughter is in a coma from hitting her head moments after witnessing a woman falling to her death at the subway.

With mounting medical bills and no bookings , to survive, Kit puts her acting skills to work as a psychic medium. Researching daily obituaries and profiles then offering her services to summon the dead.

It’s all an act - until it isn’t.

While I figured out the main plot-line bits and underlying elements, I still enjoyed the ride. For me, that’s really key.

Even if I have an inkling, can the storyline and characters still hold my interest until the final pages?

The answer - yes.

In The Summoning, J P Smith did a great job of keeping you engaged, even when the characters were rather unlikable. I really wanted to see just how it all fell into place. The Summoning had just the right tension and complementing atmospheric backdrop to come to life.

Breakout your Ouiji boards, candles and feathers for this fall thriller out on Sept 7/21!

My thanks to @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress

Thank you #netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for this gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this one! Its the perfect book to start off the spooky season. I really urge you to pick this up if you’re into ghosts and mediums.

This is the story of Kit, an actress and widow who struggles to make ends meet, after her husband was tragically killed in the 9/11 attack.
To be able to pay her daughter’s hospital bills, she resorts to her acting skills to contact the dead and bring some peace to the people who have lost their loved ones. Until one night the hoax becomes reality and she no longer seems to be alone in her apartment.

The atmosphere was superb and the mystery surrounding Kit’s new love interest was very intriguing.

I had a couple of issues with the writing which was a little confusing at times, especially at the beginning of the book. I also felt that the end was a little rushed leaving us with some loose ends that could have been further explored.
But I loved the idea of this book being a sucker for anything involving mediums….and the scary moments during the night, when Kit would suddenly wake up, were priceless.

Great twist on a typical ghost/seance story. Full of creepy bumps in the night and the ever present unreliable narrator. The MC was well written and very flawed.

Kit Capriole has lost everything and she’s desperate for money. She puts her actions skills to use and works as a medium helping others find closure. Even though what she does is morally questionable, I still felt for her and loved her character.

I was a little ambiguous about the character of Dave. I didn’t like him right away and wasn’t sure what his role would be.

The overall narrative was really engaging. I read this in only a few days because I wanted to know what would happen to Kit and Zoe. I also found the side characters to be written really well. The various clients who came for readings.

Well written, full of surprises and a lovely main character.

I had no idea what to expect for a book categorized as a mystery and involving 9/11 in some way. But I was really sucked in by Kit, this story, and J.P. Smith’s writing style. ⁣ Kit should not have been likable but I was still drawn to her and her story. I was kind of worried going into this book that it would be disrespectful to 9/11 and those who died and their families, but my fears were quickly alleviated. This book simply tells a fictional story of a 9/11 widow who can possibly converse with the dead.
⁣
It was my first book by the author and I really enjoyed the paranormal touch that this slow-burn kept increasing. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 will have you turning pages to find out how Kit’s story ends!

This isn’t at all what I was expecting, but it ended up being even better (and much creepier) than I had hoped.

There are a lot of thought-provoking parts here, and it would be great for a book club. (I don’t know how I feel about Kit’s seances, for example.)

This is both good and fun, perfect for this time of year.

Life has not been kind to Kit Capriol. Her husband died on 9/11, weeks before she discovered she was pregnant with their daughter Zoey. Zoey has been in a coma for the three years since she hit her head in a fall. Kit is an actor and that helps with her second career. She’s a medium. She does thorough research on her subjects, then contacts relatives about a session. She’s careful and intuitive and asks only for “donations”. Still, the police are interested. But then something happens. As the police investigation draws closer and more personal, she starts hearing voices. Voices inside her head. Are they real? What are they trying to tell her?

Breathless. Heart pounding. That’s how reading The Summoning left me. I read it nonstop in one afternoon. You’ll wonder what’s real and what’s not. Who is telling the truth and who isn’t. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and J.P. Smith for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

Wow! What a fun ride this was. I was thinking it was going to be more on the supernatural side of things but once again it really proved what monsters people possess inside them. Kit was so fun to get to know. I even doubted her sometimes. The ending was a nice tie up but also shocking and definitely didn’t see it coming.