PJ has to move to Edinburgh from New York when his mum dies. It’s a culture shock alright – the huge old houses, the misty streets, the Tunnock’s Teacakes… Exploring the neighbourhood he befriends the old lady who lives in the downstairs flat of his aunt’s New Town block, helping find her cat, Azrael. Things take a turn for the supernatural though, when his aunt tells him the flat is empty and has been since the old lady died, six months ago. Azrael is still around though and through him, PJ meets other young people who have also recently been bereaved. Together they form the Paranormal Pursuers, determined to investigate ghostly happenings. This leads – of course – to the Greyfriars Kirkyard and some spine-chilling adventures. PJ and his friends make a great group of characters, and there’s lots of laughter to be had as well as scares, while ‘auld reekie’ provides the perfect backdrop for these ghostly goings-on.
Readers who love tales of ghosts and hauntings must not miss Jonathan Stroud’s brilliant Lockwood and Co series either.
PJ and the Paranormal Pursuers The Mackenzie Poltergeist Synopsis
After his mom dies, PJ reluctantly leaves his New York home and everyone he loves, to live with his Aunt Katie in Edinburgh. A series of strange events begin when his aunt's elderly neighbour and her cat Azrael convince him that his mom, weirdly, is still very much with him.
At a bereavement counselling group, PJ makes a new group of friends, all of whom have lost loved ones. Drawn together by their shared experiences, they soon discover they have something else in common, an interest in the supernatural. Freya is the daughter of a white witch, Sunny has a scientific and enquiring mind and Shuggie, a superfan of ghost hunting programmes.
Led by PJ, they try to prove that there is life after death and that their loved ones are still with them. But will they succeed in a fight of good against evil?
Born and raised in Glasgow, Jacqui Dempster has a law degree and also ran performing arts schools, directing and producing shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. She has an interest in all things paranormal and took the Koestler Parapsychology course through Edinburgh University to gain insight into the science of the paranormal and the themes that run through PJ and the Paranormal Pursuers. She has written two adult fiction novels, Charon's Children and The Thirteenth Pillar of Artemis.
