(The Dunwich Hoarder - Terry L. Estep - Image generated with the aid of ChatGPT)

“Remain,” by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan. Publication date: Oct. 14. 338 pages.

Tate Donovan is a haunted man.

He’s haunted by the recent death of his sister. On her deathbed, she tells him a secret: She can see ghosts and tries to help them. Before she dies, she passes her gift to Tate. He then spends a few months in a psychiatric care facility, learning to deal with his grief and the sudden spate of hallucinations he’s been having.

It’s while staying at a bed and breakfast to work for a friend that he meets Wren. There’s immediate chemistry there. It doesn’t take long for Tate to realize Wren is a ghost, and that he wants to solve the mystery of what happened to her.

I’d never read Nicholas Sparks, but I saw he was working with director M. Night Shyamalan and couldn’t resist. If you’re going to team up on a ghost story, you can’t go wrong with the man who made “The Sixth Sense.”

There are multiple layers of hauntings here. First, you have Tate’s memories of his sister and their life together growing up. Second, she’s left recorded messages asking him to open himself to the possibilities of love, so it’s like hearing her from beyond the grave. And third of course is the literal haunting involving Wren. It’s a tidy bit of construction.

Demi Moore and the ghost of Patrick Swayze can rest easy knowing “Remain” hasn’t dethroned “Ghost” for the Supernatural Love Story crown, but it’s a decent story for passing an afternoon or two. Sometimes that’s all you need.

***

“Dead & Breakfast,” by Kat Hollis and Rosie Thor. Publication date: Oct. 14. 336 pages.

Arthur and Sal are a married vampire couple running a bed and breakfast in Oregon. Arthur is stodgy and desperate for respectability while Sal is flamboyant and devil-may-care. They’re mostly keeping out of trouble in a small town that’s not overly welcoming to supernatural residents.

When the mayor turns up dead in their garden with two little holes in his neck that match Sal’s bite, it’s up to Arthur to solve the murder and try to prove his husband’s innocence. Arthur has no formal training as a detective, but he’s watched plenty of television.

There’s a strong cast of characters — a werewolf who runs a coffee shop, an elf coroner, two squabbling human civil servants, a stray cat who may be more than it appears — and a decent mystery.

From their weekly subscription boxes of ethically-sourced blood to the conundrum of how to search for clues in a house to which they haven’t been invited, there’s plenty of humor to make you smile.

***

Here are a few short takes on some recent reads.

* “The Thursday Murder Club,” by Richard Osman. A sprawling murder mystery with a team of elderly sleuths. It’s cozy, witty and oozing with genuine charm. I was thrilled to learn it’s only the first book of a series.

* “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter,” by Stephen Graham Jones. A Native American vampire in the old west hunting down white men and taking revenge for the massacres of his people is a strong story hook, and it did not disappoint.

***

Advance reader copies provided by NetGalley.

***

Terry L. Estep can be reached at testep@newsandsentinel.com.