The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost

This was one of the best books I've read this year. I loved the characters (even if they were slow to form), the plot, the pacing, the tea... It was brilliant.

Lester Lanners has lived a rather coddled life, when his mother dies, he’s bereft and then shocked when he learns that the bizarre Dr. Ribero is actually his father. Even worse, Lester is now expected to get involved in the family business, catching spirits. Lester doesn’t really believe in any of this malarkey, plus he’s also a luau afraid if truth be told. A haunted portrait, an evil ghost and an unholy crew of ghouls awaits Lester, whether he wants to deal with them or not

Kester is having a hard time since his mom died. He doesn't have a job, he has no friends, and no plans, but he does have a lead. His mom mentions something before she dies, a Dr. Ribero. Kester decides to follow up and finds himself in a whole new world. One where there are ghosts.

This reminded me a little of the Jonathan Stroud series, Lockwood & Co. Ribero's group of ghost hunters is similarly short-staffed and underappreciated. But this, while still a really clean read, is geared more for adults than kids. The staff is a lot pricklier too, but I did like the whole bickering crew. I hope this is the first of a long series, because I really want to read more. Thanks for the chance to read it.

I received this for free in return for a review from NetGalley, but my opinions are my own.

I love it when I discover a new author who writes great books and leaves me waiting for their next one. Lucy Banks has done just that; I can't wait for the second installment. I didn't know what to expect with The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost. It wasn't the normal ghost story that I've read in the past and that's what appealed to me.

This is Book 1 in what is going to be a series surrounding Dr Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural. It all begins with Kester Lanner who, following his mother’s dying request, seeks out the mysterious Dr. Ribero. I was intrigued by Kester's character straight away and wasn't sure if I was going to like him or not. He's a lonely mother's boy, who is overweight and awkward around other people. However, he does have beautiful manners and as the story unfolds, we begin to see his caring heart. The agency team consist of Mrs Wellbeloved, Pamela, Serena, Mike and last of all Dr. Ribero himself. I wouldn't go as far as to say that they are a bunch of misfits, but they are certainly "individual". Kester is thrown into a world where he is a reluctant participant in the search for the Green-Dressed Ghost and where, despite his timidity, he is the key to solving this case.

I was caught up in this story from the beginning to the end and can't wait to read their next case.

Upon the wish of his dying mother, Kester Lanner went in search of a mysterious Dr. Ripero. Having never heard of the doctor once in his entire life, he was curious why his mother would implore him to go to the good doctor’s establishment. Upon arrival, Kester is first distressed. You see, he has a problem with doors and this one is especially nasty. Second, after entering said door and wandering down the hall and up a dark stairway he is shocked at what he finds. Third and finally he is overwhelmed and stunned. As he gets to know Dr. Ripero and his staff, he slowly learns all about the supernatural (it’s all hokum, right?) business and the competition of ridding the city of these troublesome entities. Though he sees himself as a bookish, out of shape type, will Kester be able to help the team when the Green Dressed Ghost targets him?
Banks has created a fun and terrifying novel that really delivers. Though some of the tech geeks who love to read will be screaming at the book, this is a lot of fun. There were times I was yelling at the book but I read it in one sitting. The characters were easy to get to know and the descriptions of settings are well depicted. So much so that smells, events and surroundings were easy to imagine. This is the first in the new series Dr. Ripero’s Agency of the Supernatural. As series go, most only get better as they go. I hope that is the case with this one. This will be easy to book talk to teens. The protagonist, the supernatural hook and there is romance that will be a quick sell to them. I’m excited for the next one.

Kester Lanner is left feeling bereft, after the death of his mother. Friendless, she's all he's ever known, and, when she whispers a name he must contact, on her deathbed, he follows up her dying request by turning up at a shabby terraced house, with a nameplate, Dr Ribero, on, he's no idea what to expect.,
Kester stumbles on Dr Ribero's Supernatural agency, and, after a wait for Dr Ribero to wake up (he always has till 3pm for a siesta), he is informed that the mysterious Dr Ribero is actually his father......and so begins Kester's journey into supernatural investigation.
This is a fun, quirky, lighthearted read, and after all the murder mystery books I read this made a very welcome change.. It's got quirky characters, a few disgruntled spirits, a bickering set of staff, and plenty of humour thrown in.
Fantastic read, I'm hoping there will be more in the Dr Ribero series!

I really enjoyed this book. This wasn't just a simple ghost story - it managed to have suspense while being quite relaxed plus there is also a bit of humor. I loved the characters, they developed quite a lot over the course of the book and I found the main protagonist far more relatable than in most of the books I've read recently. Overall this was a really nice debut novel and I'm looking forward to the other books in this series.

The story was great. There was a pretty decent amount of character building and set -up with Kester, Wellbeloved, Ribero, Serena, Pamela, and Mike that this could easily be a series. The only real annoyance was that almost without fail, if Serena had dialogue or really did anything, she did it sarcastically. I read this book (240 pages) over the course of a few days. So for me to spot a trend with one specific word just shows how often it was repeated.

I look forward to the next installment in this series and hope it comes quickly.

Kester Lanner didnt know what to expect when he followed his mothers dying request to contact the mysterious Dr. Ribero, but he wasnt expecting to find his long lost father. Nor was he expecting to join the family business: catching supernatural spirits. Kester is intrigued despite his fear, and finds himself drawn into an ancient ghost story that will test the entire agency. He soon becomes enmeshed in a struggle with the spirit, who is so malevolent and haunting that his first real case might just be his last.

An very good read by an author I had never seen before - Although for the younger audience I really enjoyed it and look forward to more.

It has been a very long time since I finished a book in less than twenty-four hours. In fact, I was probably a teenager at the time. A time when responsibilities were few, your folks still gave you dinner every night, and free time was pretty much constant. Anyone else feeling nostalgic? Now we all have a to-do list a mile long and a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Unless you have a maid. If you do I'm incredibly jealous. In any case...

After my last read, which was an utter disappointment of a story that lasted 200 pages too long, I wanted an easy read. A slam dunk. Needed to get my reading mojo back. So, I went with what appeared to be a nice sci-fi mystery. Even the title reminded me of a Scooby-Doo episode and what heathen doesn't like Scooby? There is even a mystery solving gang with a van! Fun, right?

We begin with Kester Lanner whose mother has recently passed. The last thing she said to him was a request to find a fellow named Dr. Ribero. Following his mother's last request he manages to find Dr. Ribero in a dilapidated old building. Now, Kester is a lovable wuss and does not want to investigate in this building even though this is where he tracked Ribero to. Being loyal to his mother's final request, he ventures into the building and finds himself thrown into what he previously thought was only fiction. The group of folks he finds inside hunts ghosts and banshees and all sorts of paranormal things. He also learns that the mysterious Dr. Ribero is his father. *dramatic music*

Kester finds himself pulled into this world of the supernatural and watching his discovery is just, well, fun! He has always been an awkward fellow and has very little confidence or courage in himself. Still, he joins this group of folks in their hunt (granted they sure pressured him into it) and discovers he has a rare power that significantly helps his father and the rest of the team in capturing these otherworldly creatures. Of course, it scares the pants right off of him. The reader gets to watch this young man with no confidence start to discover himself and his place in the world.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was simple and fun. After my previous read being such a let down this is exactly what I needed. The author states that this is the first book in a series featuring our paranormal fighting group and I am looking forward to reading more about them.

This was a great start to what will hopefully be a long series. I think younger teen readers and adults will enjoy this book. Kester promises his dying mother he will find Dr. Ribero and when he does discovers he's his father. Set in England, Dr. Ribero runs a paranormal investigation unit and his mother was one of his best ghost catchers. Kester is leery of joining the team and on his first investigation discovers he can open the spirit door. They now have the talk of evicting the Green dressed ghost from a painting in a very ritzy home. She is pure evil and they have their hands full. I enjoyed this story it's unusual approach as a ghost story. Looking forward to more.

I absolutely LOVE this book! I began reading it and was immediately hooked with the beautifully detailed descriptions then as I delved deeper and met the characters I fell in love. The dialogue between them is fantastic and I actually felt I was watching one of those British comedy/drama shows rather than reading a book. It would be wonderful if this was turned into a serialized show or movie someday because it's ripe for further stories.

Banks is a wonderful author who did a fantastic job taking a ghost story and making it uniquely her own. I wanted to root for the main character, Kester, and hope that he'd be able to find his place in the world. As much as this is a ghost story really the ghost aspect is secondary to the relationships Banks creates between the characters. I just finished and already want to read it again. When you discover the twist towards the end with the ghost I about jumped out of my skin because I of course like many grew up hearing that same tale and will be forever cautious around mirrors because you just never know.....

thanks you.
enjoyed it.
will get copies for family and friends.

This book was a lot of fun. It was a little scary-ish, but not so bad that I couldn't sleep. I would be interested in reading other books in this series.

I really loved this coming-of-age ghost busting story! It's the first of the Dr Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural, and I hope there will be many more. If you liked the Ghostbusters movies, I'm sure you''ll like this.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

Kester Lanner is a 22-year-old young man who follows his mother’s dying request to go to Dr. Ribero’s Agency. Not knowing who or what Dr. Ribero is, Kester discovers that a whole new world that he never knows before, the world of supernatural investigations, including catching them and such. Not only that, Kester also learns a lot more about his family and the secret that his mother keeps all these years. Then Kester is thrown to the business when he is roped to help with a case of haunted painting of an apparently very viscious lady in green-dress…

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I couldn’t help feeling curious with The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost because of the GORGEOUS cover and the blurb that said “family business: catching supernatural spirits”. Look, British Ghostbusters! *smile* And well, I quite liked this debut…

Kester is definitely the youngest addition to the supernatural agency; all of the other characters are a whole lot older than he is. Maybe because of that, at first I didn’t feel a cohesive and welcoming team towards Kester. Especially coming from Serena, the extinguisher on the team.

After a while, I understand that it is caused by Serena’s fear of Kester taking over her job, since it turns out Kester has “something” running in his blood that apparently is very useful in the ghost-hunters business. Plus Kester is the boss’s son. But still I didn’t feel that closeness yet between them which influences my enjoyment a bit.

However, I could see that this may be a work in progress. After he welcomes the idea of supernatural world, Kester would be quite helpful for the agency. He has a knack for research — and actually enjoys it! — which will contribute to the other skills that the rest of the team has.

I enjoyed reading about the rest of Kester new co-workers — in addition to Serena, we have Ms. Wellbeloved who is a conversant, Pamela – the resident psychic, Mike who designs all the equipment, and of course the head of the team, Dr. Julio Ribero. Even if they sometimes squabble quite loud; it is also probably due to the fact that they had been together for years.

The ghost case is quite engaging; I loved that this book mixes supernatural beings from legends as well as cultural folklore (we have sighting of a dislocated Japanese spirit who wakes up in a wrong time-zome *lol*)

I’d say this is a lovely debut and I’m looking forward to future sequels

An outstanding paranormal that caught my attention on the first page. I found myself unable to put it down until I finished. All I could say is WOW! It has everything you could want in a story. There is a mystery, quirky characters, myths, and action.
Kester Lanner on the death of his Mother honors her dying request to find Dr. Ribero and tell him his name. You will feel Kester dismay when he does. He learns that Dr. Ribero is his Father and owns an agency that catches and removes unwanted ghosts from their locations. Kester is scared but determined to handle himself when he sees his first ghost. His despair when is unable to control his actions. Kester must learn to manage his life if he is to survive. I highly recommend this debut story and look forward to reading many stories of Dr. Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural.

Disclosure: I received a free copy from Amberjack Publishing through NetGalley for an honest review I would like to thank them for this opportunity to read and review the book. The opinions expressed are my own.

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!! This was a fun take on a team of supernatural spirit catchers. I enjoyed watching Kesker step out of his comfort zone to find his calling. It was a fun adventure that would definitely be appropriate for young adults too. I did get a little tired of the banter between Serena and Mike and Kesker could be a tad whiney but I am looking forward to the nest installation to see how he grows into his new role in his father’s Agency of the Supernatural.

But I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot figure out which genre that this book belongs in. I am sure that it should be paranormal young adult, but there are a couple of parts, that come across more grown-up. Nothing that a teen should not be reading, but a bit out of place from the usual.

On his mother’s dying bed, 22-year-old pale pudgy academic Kester Lanner is directed to find his father. A father that Kester never knew about - actually, never even questioned since it had always been his mother and himself. Turns out that mom was keeping quite a few secrets and when he tracks down Dr. Rubio and his Agency of the Supernatural in Exeter, Kester’s world is literally shaken, or whatever it is called when a ghost will not let him go.

Spirit hunting is not a job that a nervous scholar would seek out, but as it turns out, his mother had her own talents and apparently, that gift did not fall far from the tree. With the help of his father and his merry band of psychics, Kester is in for quite the battle with a mysterious lady in green that is trying to sink her claws into him and any woman that is nearby.

I am still not fully sold on this series, I see interesting potential, but a clearer line needs to be drawn when it comes to the genre. I do hope that Lucy Banks continues to include folklore and legend, not to mention humor, in the next books in this series, since it was interesting to see a new take on one of my favorite ghost stories of the past.

A fun mash-up of urban fantasy and mystery with a dash of Ghostbusters! Looking forward to the next book in the series.

An enjoyable ghostbusting romp that cleverly utilises a well know paranormal trope in a new setting. The protagonist, a somewhat shy and underwhelming young man named Kester walks into a wholly unexpected world when he tries to follow his late mother's wishes. Finding himself in Dr Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural, staffed by a bunch of psychics, or as he initially thinks, crackpots, he is forced to face the fact that the world is a bigger and scarier place than he had ever imagined, and that his mother may have been keeping a secret or two. Drawn into a case involving a painting haunted by a malevolent woman hating spirit, he begins to discover a new family, and a new strength of purpose.
This is the first in a planned series of books set at the agency, and works well to set the scene and introduce the characters and their various back stories while still telling and engaging ghost story that keeps the reader interested. The pacing of the book is good, and the characters, even the minor ones well developed.

In all honesty I asked for this book because I thought that it would be something like a modern Sherlock Holmes mystery, the title lends itself to that sort of thought. However the actual book is so much more complex than that. I'm excited to see where this series goes, the characters are developed and well rounded. There is diversity within them and the story line, though confusing in a few places at first, reading this took only hours on a Saturday. I will give this first book credit in that it draws the reader in yet somehow I don't feel like the universe is fully developed, which can give the author room to adapt and change it as the series progresses. I'm looking forward to the next one!

This book was delightful. I was drawn to the characters and their budding relationships. I'm hoping for this to be a series!

I enjoyed reading this ghost story. The characters seemed realistic, they were fun and they had distinguishing characteristics. By the end of the book I was thinking that I would like to find out what their next adventure will be.

Book received from NetGalley.

I wasn't sure about this book when I first started reading it. I was a bit confused on where it was going. Once we finally meet Dr. Ribero the book really takes off. Finding out the agency removed ghosts from troublesome areas made the book for me. It was a bit slow in areas, and I really felt for the main character. He was so confused and out of his element when the book started, but he really came into his own at the end. He was a very changed person. It's a cute little cozy mystery, a very quick read and I believe that most people who enjoy paranormal cozy's will like it.

This is a fun, cosy little supernatural mystery. Kind of a British Ghostbusters/grownup Scooby Doo thing. It is very tame though and I would have liked more supernatural elements and less silly banter, if I'm being totally honest, but it is a very entertaining read all the same.

I enjoyed this book more then I thought I would. The paranormal aspect was well done and interesting. I didn't love the main character, but he becomes more likeable. Overall it was a pleasant if not incredibly meaningful read.