26th May 2024

Back for a second adventure, Claire and Sophie go on holiday to an Irish prison island turned wellness retreat. Naturally given this is cosy crime, murder ensues, and the pair and their friends need to work out who dunnit, alongside a host of other mysteries.

I found this more challenging to read than the first novel. In part I suspect that’s because my copy has been printed with enormous letters, which means fewer words per line and I had to hold the book further from my face than normal. This may be a sign of my own aging too. But the text was a bit extremely big and made me feel like the novel was being artificially lengthened to meet a page count.

The range of new characters were good. They were a distinctive bunch, each with solidly identifiable traits, complex interpersonal dynamics, and a bunch of motives which is always important. And they showed an impressive range of diversity (in some metrics at least) which I enjoy in a novel and feels more reflective of my experience of the real world.

For whatever reason though it didn't grip me as much as I wanted it to, and now I’m less confident about recommending this series to friends as I was before.

read more

29th July 2023

It would be fair to say that I bought this cosy crime novel entirely on the basis of the title. It’s the story of a medium and her ghostly pals, as they are accidentally drawn into trying to solve a murder that nobody else believes has happened.

At first, it felt like there was a roughness and inconsistency to the narrative. But as I continued reading, I realised that this is in fact a genius move on the author’s part, where the narration is following the mood of the protagonist throughout.

There are tons of small moments that stand out. Little jokes, snide asides, or random observations from the characters that make them feel like real people rather than constructs.

The mystery is solidly constructed too. There are clues throughout with a range of fidelity. Some are big and bold and repetition makes them really stand out, while others are subtle, and you don’t know if you are being played with with red herrings.

I really enjoyed this story, and am intrigued to see if we’ll get any more adventures for these characters.

read more