No Hannibal Lecter here. Just a single mother and her animalistic raging passion with a few quid pro quos as she grippingly strives for survival for herself and her eight children. Men in Essie's world are after only one thing, and she is glad to give it to them--but only with a little quid pro quo to support her and her growing brood. Mark McLaughlin This is a humble family story which is, in many ways, similar to The Color Purple. Essie, an orphan child, had an awful abusive family in the countryside of Jamaica. She was always down on her luck with men. After eight children with none of...

Clarion Review JUVENILE FICTION Essie's Kids and the Rolling Calf---3 Luke Brown CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 978-1-4565-7696-7 Mystery stories for kids have changed dramatically in the last few decades. Characters like Encyclopedia Brown and The Boxcar Children have been replaced by wizards, vampires, werewolves, and zombies. Innocent sleuthing of creepy houses has been replaced by elaborate battles with powerful supernatural figures. That's what makes a ghost series like Essie's Kids & The Rolling Calf stand apart from other children's series. Husband and wife authors Luke...

A "rolling calf" is a ghost that often appears in the form of an animal. Most people who had close encounters reported that they first heard or detected the rolling calves by their loud chiming and rather unnerving clanking noise. This familiar sound was made by the long chain that they dragged along behind them. They have large red eyes like a dragon's. Some even said that they could breathe fire through their mouths. Some said that the rolling calves were the spirits of evil butchers who had been cruel and mean when they were alive. The best way, they said, to get away from these monstrous...