Ghost of a Chance - Simon R. Green (A Ghost Finders Novel, Bk 1)

2 Mar 2015
This was my first experience with Simon Green and I was very unimpressed. I am aware that he has many other books, and while I plan to try out another of his, it will absolutely be from another series! I had heard all good things about his books, but reading this, I don't know what they would be.
Ghost of a Chance was the first book of the series, so I expected some standard explanations and character set-up. But, it never got better?!? We have 3 characters, they are so flat and stereotypical, it's kinda painful.
Melody constantly obsesses over her instruments even though they never DO anything. She can't get a good read, isn't sure how to interpret the data, the machines are going off the chart, bla bla bla. This constant return to the instruments felt more like filler than actually progressing plot or dialogue.  Her actions and responses were on repeat the whole book, like Mr. Green had a Twister board of actions and phrases that he just flipped anytime Melody needed to add something to the book.
Happy, while I love the irony of his name, made zero sense. Mr. Green tried to explain away Happy's inconsistency with drugs, but even the most hardened pill popper can't go up and down that fast. It was like Mr. Green had certain scenes he wanted to create but then realized he needed a sober character in between these scenes. Happy's ups and downs were so beyond the capability of a human that it would have made more sense to use some tele-whatever explanation rather than just "he does a lot of drugs".
JC was the worst of all, supposedly being the flagship character of the trio. He comes up against evil so magnificent it has to come from another dimension and he just goes, "Eh, whatever. This should work." BAM! WOW! He figured it out!! There is no logic for these great leaps of insight, no lead-up, no reasoning, no explanation. None. Then we're supposed to believe that this great mastermind of making-shit-up falls instantaneously in love beyond reason with a ghost, and the she ghost with him. What.
Looking back over what I've just written, I wonder if Mr. Green has early onset Alzheimer's. He forgot Melody just checked her instruments and said that line, so he repeats them. He forgot weather Happy was high or not. He forgot to include all of JC's internal dialogue of how he comes to these great conclusions.
Yes. This is a book for Alzheimer's patients.