"I hit the brakes in shock. Frankie flew straight through the window, which was fine. He'd be fine."
I’ve been reading this series almost since the beginning and I just realized how badly I want to be Verity! I'd love to have a Frankie, a ghostly gangster living in a rosebush in my living room who lends me his power to see "the other side" *sigh* This is probably my favorite paranormal cozy mystery series entirely because it's so well written with a ton of suspense, nail-gnawing action, thrills, chills, laugh out loud moments, a dash of romance and superb plots.
But this one was one of the best (if not THE BEST) in the series. Usually it takes a few chapters to get the story going and once it does, all you can do is hang on white-knuckled until the end. (And that's not a bad thing!) but this one went gangbusters almost from the start. There were two plots in this one; the first, an investigation into the death of family friend who fell out of the bell tower at a historic church after giving Verity an old photograph and a letter. The second plot involved several malevolent spirits at the old church who are bent on destroying Frankie and Verity for unknown reasons. And if that wasn't enough to keep Verity busy, she also has to deal with boyfriend Ellis's attitude towards her ghost hunting business as well as Frankie's personal quest to confront the person who shot and killed him in the 1930s. Add in help from an unexpected source, heartbreaking tragedies, happy endings and man, this book was unstoppable. I welcomed the long awaited exploration of Frankie and his backstory; it's been a long time coming and I loved how it tied the plot together into one narrative.
If you're looking for the perfect Halloween read or just like ghosts, you can't go wrong with this series. Definitely recommend!