Jessica Bannister is a young woman who wants to be a journalist. We meet her as she’s heading into the London City Observer for a job interview. She manages to get the job, provisionally, if she can get an interview with a reclusive author. She does, setting Jessica and Observer photographer Jim Brodie on a series of mysterious and supernatural events in this first of the J-Novel Club Pulp line of novels.
Jessica Bannister and the Midnight Seance is a collection of four short stories about Jessica, a go-getting young woman with apparent precognitive powers and the apparent supernatural events that surround her and her assignments. From the titular midnight seance to a menacing crows in the Rockies, to wild wolves in Wales, Jessica and Jim encounter mystery and murder.
There’s no Yuri here, although I certainly would have loved one of of the stories to head in that direction – and while Jessica does fall for one of the men in the first story, he is conveniently whisked away to America and pulled out of contention. She’s not made to bounce between one guy and another and, very pleasantly, her relationship with Jim is always as a friend and peer.
My one significant complaint is, as pulp stories go, these were nowhere lurid enough. Atmospheric, yes, goofy as heck, full of psychic warnings and scary moments and even several running through the forest in a sheer nightie (I mean, what would you pack for a professional trip to interview the son of a man murdered by wolves in the forests of Wales?) kind of thing. But everything – except for Jessica’s precognition – is given a reason, which I kind of found a little sad. And also, the Wye Valley? I’ve been there, it’s like farmland and trees and picturesque towns. Should have put it in Gwynedd, Janet. Pleasantly, it’s almost impossible to tell when this series is set. They have cars and cell phones, but not like, people just carrying cell phones all the time, everywhere and satellite phones for the high mountain ranges, because duh.
The paper Jessica is working for is a hoot, too. Interviews with reclusive, famous performers, but not news about the murder case…and no one seems to notice Jessica solves all the cases. ^_^
It’s a bit like Scooby-Doo, if Daphne were the star. Fun, but I’d give serious money if it starred Velma, instead. Give me lesbian occult pulp, J-Novel Club and I’ll be your best friend. ^_^
Ratings:
Art – Great cover design by ttl
Story – Not bad, just slightly not lurid enough
Characters – Decent. Jessica and Jim are a good team.
Service – The aforementioned nightie
Romance – Only once, then set aside for other matters. Nothing Yuri, unless you want to re-write the stories in your head.
Overall – Solid 7.
Thank you so much to J-Novel Club for the review copy! It was a good, chunky book and you can read a preview of this book on J-Novel Club’s site and decide for yourself!
