The Portal

Blame It On the Moon, #3

by

Lou Pugliese

A young woman is convinced the answer to keeping her friend’s newborn safe lies where life meets the afterlife.

The Portal is the third book in author Lou Pugliese’s riveting and original paranormal mystery series, Blame It On the Moon, and puts faith, love, and commitment to the test when Vicki Roadcap discovers the Crafts’ new baby may be the target of kidnappers. With suspense lurking around every corner, I was loath to set this book down before the final page. 

The entire gang from the previous books returns as Robert, Audrey, and friends relax on the water in the final weeks before the birth of their first child. A freak accident, however, lands Vicki Roadcap in the hospital in a medically induced coma as doctors work to save her life. 

Spiritually gifted, but not necessarily a religious person, Vicki finds herself floating in a welcoming, light-filled space that exists between life and the afterlife, a place she calls ‘The Portal,’ where souls can linger as they pass to or from one existence to the other. She discovers she can connect with loved ones from her past as well as the spirit of the victim in a murder investigation she and her friends had assisted with in the previous novel. 

These characters, including Lincoln, feel like real people, old friends I enjoy catching up with. I loved that they returned to Pennsylvania to visit Don Weston and Abbey Foster and that they made another attempt to find out what happened to Isabel. The Ouija board séance scenes had my heart in my throat and my stomach in knots with anxiety and anticipation at all times. The author tells an absorbing story, and I really enjoy his ability to craft realistic and witty dialogue. 

The plot picks up and resolves the threads of a couple of storylines left over from earlier books, such as the murder of Isabel Helms, and readers finally learn the truth behind the ghostly basketball game that takes place in the wee hours at the old Craft house. However, the focus is on Vicki Roadcap and her desperation to return to ‘The Portal’ for answers, so readers new to the series should be able to read and enjoy this book as a standalone. (But do yourself a favor and read the previous books in the series.) 

The lengths Vicki is willing to go to in order to return to ‘The Portal’ are shocking, and I was on the edge of my seat as she put her plans into motion, completely invested in what the outcome might be. There were clues along the way as to the identity of the kidnapper, so observant readers may be able to guess the truth behind Baby Elizabeth’s disappearance. As a mother, I can imagine the agony that Audrey and Richard endured, but my belief in who the perpetrator was and why they did it actually helped talk me off the literary ledge. 

I recommend THE PORTAL to readers of paranormal mysteries.

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