4 out of 5 stars
Halloween Bingo 2025
Claire is a half-hearted medium. She can genuinely see and talk to ghosts, but she's crap at dealing with living people. Sophie is her school pal who was murdered and now haunts Claire. When a school acquaintance asks Claire to do a séance at a family gathering, Claire and Sophie travel to their rundown manor. They are a hit with the family grandma, who is looking forward to the séance. Except she dies the evening before the event and comes to ask for a ghostly favour: find out if a family member committed a murder at the previous year's party.
Claire is a true crime fan and fancies that she and Sophie can solve this mystery. However, she overestimates their talents. Even teamed up with two of the grandchildren, Sebastian (Basher), depressed former police detective, and Alex, a non-binary young adult, it's pretty tough sledding. Especially since Basher keeps reminding them about logic, evidence, and legality of their actions. They are adorably hopeless, as most of us would be.
Out of sheer persistence, unaccountable luck, and a little spectral assistance, Claire finally does break the case. Unfortunately, in the process she estranges Basher and Alex, fights with Sophie, breaks into a church, catches the flu, sets off a home alarm, sprains an ankle, and unearths the body of the victim in the pouring rain. Bell seems to be willing to put her main character through a veritable obstacle course to get to the answer. Still, I can't help but think that this bumbling is more realistic than the smooth investigations of other fictional amateur detectives.
Claire and Sophie have issues that they are going to have to deal with. Why was Sophie killed? Why is she tethered to Claire? If they can resolve her unfinished business, does Sophie want to move on? Especially since she complains that drunk or sleeping humans are very boring. Strangely, their lack of focused investigative technique endears the duo to me. I am pleased to see that the second book is held by my library, so I can check in on this odd couple again.
I read this book for the Genre: Supernatural square of my Halloween Bingo card.
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