House of the Shrieking Woman by Steven Ramirez

Author Steven Ramirez weaves a gripping tale of demons and dark forces in House of the Shrieking Woman. The second book in the Sarah Greene Mysteries sees the 33-year-old psychic delving back into the world of the supernatural, determined to use her ghostly gifts for the good of others.

This time around, Sarah must journey into one woman’s shadowy past to help her find peace from demons both inside and out. Pitting her nascent investigative skills against a sinister power that thrives in places of pain and suffering, the main character makes this quick thriller hard to put down. Sarah also becomes more fully developed in this second book, matched by the depth of the secondary characters and foils.

The protagonist’s psychic visions are conveniently placed and used well within the narrative to drive the plot along, yet there are some consistency errors in her powers, and the writing surrounding such moments can feel rushed. The prose is largely procedural, which fits with the investigative edge to this thriller, but a few more visceral details and additional linguistic energy in the action sequences would give the writing more impact as a whole.

Those issues aside, the plot is pleasantly unpredictable and Ramirez is a master of building tension when the story most calls for it, making House of the Shrieking Woman a thrillingly dark slice of suspense.

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