Revenge of the Phantom Press: A Bolingbrook Babbler Story, just received its first five star editorial review from Readers’ Favorite:

Revenge of the Phantom Press

Revenge of the Phantom Press by William Brinkman is the fourth book in The Bolingbrook Babbler Stories series. Tom used to be a skeptic, but has come around in the last year and now finds himself working as a paranormal investigative reporter. He has since learned it’s not easy covering the strange activity occurring in suburban Chicago, but he’s determined to prove his position at the Bolingbrook Babbler. Those around him may not understand, but the world he finds himself in is one he can’t ignore. The reappearance of ghosts who previously ran the Phantom Press has created chaos, not just for the Bolingbrook Babbler, but the local agencies. To protect his job – and those forced to evacuate – Tom investigates the ghosts’ re-emergence and how to return them to the grave.

The return of the Phantom Press sparks a chain reaction that causes chaos and obstacles for Tom as he’s pulled into the middle. This creates a series of action-packed, humorous, and paranormal moments that keep you turning the pages. William Brinkman captures Tom’s quirks and perspective with ease. Multiple scenarios make the story charming and maintain a lightheartedness throughout. This is seen right from the beginning and continues in the team-up with Juanita and her cat. The author delivers a delightful dynamic between the two characters, and this shows Brinkman’s ability to craft humorous and clever dialogue that never gets boring. Their dynamic also creates another layer to the story as Tom is faced with uncertainty, since Juanita has her own secrets. The paranormal world is quickly established, successfully showing what has been established in previous installments. This makes it easy to step into the story for the first time, or to return to it as if greeting old friends. Action-packed moments are woven into the plot, adding a sense of danger and excitement, while throwing a wrench into his investigation and presenting a possible greater conspiracy. Revenge of the Phantom Press is lots of fun, with each page offering something humorous, mysterious, or endearing.

After putting in about two years of work on this book, it’s nice to know someone thinks it is a five start quality book.

Revenge of the Phantom Press releases on January 31, but you can preorder it now from most book retailers. It’s also available for libraries to order, thought I suspect it might get banned in from libraries in some parts of the country. (Atheist main character, positive portrayal of a LGBTQ+ character, interracial romantic interest, etc.)