✧ Book Review ✧ A Plethora of Phantoms (Spirited Encounters Book 2) by Penny Hampson

A Plethora of Phantoms 
(Spirited Encounters Book 2)
By Penny Hampson

Publication Date: 3rd February 2026

Publisher: PP&M Publishing

Print Length: 259 Pages

Genre:  Paranormal Ghost Romance / Gay Romance

Whose footsteps in the dark?

He is heir to the earldom of Batheaston and lives in an elegant, stately home, but handsome twenty-something Freddie Lanyon is not a happy man. Not only is he gay and dreading coming out to his family, but he’s also troubled by ghosts that nobody else can see.

When Freddie’s impulsive purchase of an antique dressing case triggers even more ghostly happenings with potentially catastrophic consequences, he has to take action.

Freddie contacts charismatic psychic Marcus Spender for help and feels an immediate attraction to this handsome antique dealer –– a feeling that is mutual. But the pair’s investigations unearth shocking, long-buried secrets, which prove a major challenge to their task of laying unhappy spirits to rest and to their blossoming relationship.

Being brave isn’t one of Freddie’s standout qualities, but he’ll need all the courage he can muster to rid himself of wayward phantoms and get his life on track.

A Plethora of Phantoms is an uplifting ghostly tale about love, friendship, and acceptance.

✧ Review ✧

Freddie goes back to Lanyon Park not really expecting anything to be different. If anything, it feels like he’s just slipping back into something that was already decided for him. It doesn’t feel like a choice so much as something he has to do, and that comes across straight away. It should feel familiar, but it doesn’t quite. Like something’s shifted while he’s been gone, even if he can’t really explain it.

Early on, there’s more focus on the dressing case than anything obviously strange. It kind of stands out before you really know why, like it matters in a way Freddie hasn’t figured out yet. The weird stuff comes after that.

Then the small things start happening. Nothing big or dramatic, just… off. His stuff being moved, tidied away, put somewhere he knows he didn’t leave it. At first you could probably brush it off, but it keeps happening, and that’s what makes it creepy. It starts to feel a bit deliberate, which is worse.

Freddie feels very real in how he deals with it. He doesn’t jump straight to thinking it’s haunted or anything, he tries to explain it, make it make sense, but that only works for so long before it just doesn’t anymore.

Marcus—a handsom antique dealer—shows up and changes the dynamic quite a bit. He’s one of the first people to really take an interest in the dressing case, noticing things Freddie doesn’t and kind of clocking that it’s not just some random object. And from there, things sort of grow between them. Their relationship is actually a big part of the story, and it’s done really well. It’s not rushed or overly intense, but it doesn’t feel like a side plot either. It just builds in a way that feels natural.

The mystery itself comes together pretty slowly, mostly through small bits and pieces rather than big reveals. The dressing case ends up being a key part of it, pointing back to something that’s been left unresolved for a long time. I liked that it doesn’t rush to explain everything, it just lets it unfold.

By the end, when things finally click into place, it feels deserved. There’s a kind of quiet resolution to it—not just understanding what happened, but feeling like it’s finally been settled. It doesn’t try to do anything too dramatic at the end, which honestly suits the book.

One thing is for certain—I have definitely been put off buying antiques. I mean, yeah, someone to tidy up after me would be nice but… oh. Shiver.

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Penny Hampson

Penny Hampson writes mysteries, and because she has a passion for history, you’ll find her stories also reflect that. A Gentleman’s Promise, a traditional Regency romance, was Penny’s debut novel and the first of her Gentlemen Series. There are now four novels in the series, with the latest, An Adventurer’s Contract, released in November 2024. Penny also enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with a hint of the paranormal, because where do ghosts come from but the past? The Unquiet Spirit, a spooky mystery/romance set in Cornwall, is the first in the Spirited Encounters Series. Look out for A Plethora of Phantoms coming soon.

Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time).

If you’ve enjoyed any of Penny’s books please leave a review on Amazon, Bookbub, or Goodreads, and let other readers know!

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