The roaring twenties - fun, frolics and ...spiritualism. A sceptical academic, Alex, and an unusual flapper. Savannah, who is contacted by the dead come together to prevent more deaths of a group of WW1 veterans who did something unspeakable, by one man's account, during the war. That man's spirit is back in the body of one of the group to murder and avenge in rather gruesome ways. An unlikely combination of main characters but they work. They chase around the world trying to reach the surviving members before the evil spirit does and this predominantly brings in the first flight across the Atlantic and the rise of German Nationalism. There is a lot of thorough and interesting history and feels as if the reader is there with Alex and Savannah who obviously are not short of a lot of cash with all of the travelling that they do. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

An enthralling murder mystery set in the Roaring Twenties. Jim Lester obviously knows his history and brings the settings to life with lots of period and background details. At the heart of the story is the evolving relationship between Alex, a dyed in the wool sceptic who delights in exposing phoney spiritualists, and Savannah, a glamorous flapper who wants his help investigating murders she claims she is being told about by the actual victims from beyond the grave. This novel gets things off to a promising start and I look forward to reading future instalments in this series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this lightly supernatural story sensitively seen through the lens of WW1 soldiers and the horrors that they experienced, both physical and mental. It also explores several different parts of Europe just before the second WWI when German nationalism was beginning to flicker into life and Paris was still a haven for both shining and lacklustre talent. Jim Lester has a real knack for using genuine events and people from history and encouraging them to push the novel's narrative simultaneously giving a fascinating glimpse into what they may have thought about the world changing so quickly around them.

It was a quick read, which is a positive attribute and I had a great time trying to imagine where the plot would lead next. A couple of notes to make the review balanced. I struggled with the multiple heavy themes in this book. Spiritualism and WW1 battled it out for the spotlight mostly getting the balance right. One line almost ruined the whole book for me. It was a lazy political dig and seemed completely at odds with the sophisticated plotting and characterisation. It felt as if 'good ole boys and let's make Germany great again', was just chucked in to make a point. And for a writer of historical fiction, and an accomplished one at that, I thought it was odd that Lester was trying to make a clumsy analogy between the Nationalist Socialists of Nazi Germany & Trump's presidency. Those 'darlings' should have been 'killed' off by the editor. But I absolutely recommend Call To A Nightmare and thank Netgalley and Jim for the opportunity to read his novel.

I enjoyed this one a lot. Seeing the way the people acted in Europe in the late '20s is fascinating and terrifying, Quick read and loved the real life events sprinkled in

Call to a nightmare is a thriller, paranormal mystery that is set in ROARING 20s. Dr Alex Gabriel - one of the famous debunkers of spiritualism, who is committed in proving that there is no such thing as talking to people from World Beyond.
Savannah Bishop - A medium who receives messages from the Land of Dead.
Miss Bishop meets Dr Gabriel with the help of a spirit from the world beyond. Both set out to solve a series of brutal murders that was happening from the glitz of Hollywood to Arkansas and to Paris and finally to pre - Nazi Berlin. They come together to solve one of the biggest crime that was about to happen in Berlin .
Wait.. Murders? Who would be committing all those murders? Is Miss Bishop really receiving information from the Land of Dead? Will they be able to stop the serial killer?
I enjoyed every bit of this book! The characters, the perfect plot and brilliant execution. Ngl, it's one of the best paranormal mystery I've read..
Writing Style - 9/10
Plot - 10/10
Characters - 10/10
Highly Recommended!

1927. Dr Alex Gabriel is a debunker of mediums But then he is contacted by Savannahs Bishop, a medium, who has received messages that some men are going to be killed, and to contact Gabriel.
What is the connection, can the two of them prevent more murders. How far must they travel.
An entertaining paranormal mystery with its likeable main characters.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The things I loved the most was the authors ability to depict a scene and the imagery they are able to create. I also loved Savannah's firecracker personality.

The things I did not love so much were the few inconsistencies within the time period, and I feel there were a few strings left untied.

Trigger Warnings:
Gun & knife violence
Mention of suicide

Call to a Nightmare is a mystery set in the roaring 20s, an era that is a great place to visit. The novel winds through the many places of the era - Hollywood, Appalachian Arkansas, the left bank of Paris and finally to pre-nazi Germany.

A medium, Savannah Bishop leads Dr. Gabriel - non-believer until she leads the way, on this journey as they seek to find a brutal serial killer.

The mystery is intriguing and just as I thought I had figured it out the next turn would come. The setting is marvelous and true to history. The author, Lester, is a novelist and historian so accuracy is no surprise.

I stayed up past my bedtime to read this book. I recommend you do too

I received this ARC From Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This is the first in what I think will be a series of Dr. Gabriel and Miss Bishop. The era is the Roaring Twenties and everyone wants to talk to the dead, that is where Dr. Alex Gabriel comes in. Alex is hired to disprove that there is such as think as talking to the dead until he meets Miss Savannah Bishop. Savannah came to him because of a ghost who spoke to her and needed her and Alex’s help to stop others from being killed. At first, he doesn’t believe her but she is able to convince him that something bad and evil is about to happen. They travel to Hollywood, Arkansas, Paris and Germany to stop these murders and to stop the evil from spreading. An enjoyable paranormal novel with plenty of action.

I never really thought of the roaring twenties in this type of mystery novel but it works so well. The story worked beautifully with the time period. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their world. Jim Lester has a great writing style and it works so well with the twenties. I hope there is more in this series and from Mr. Lester.

"What was it about the woman? She struck Alex like all the Flappers—restless, vigorous and seductive, but there
was something else about Savannah Bishop. A sad intelligence, a mysterious ambiance, something. He had spent years debunking people who claimed to be mediums, but here he was on a Saturday morning in the Canterbury Tea Shoppe, disappointed he didn’t see Savannah."