The Stubborn Dead

by Natasha Hoar

[kimbacaffeinate]

The Stubborn Dead drops us right into the action as protagonist Rachel Miller attempts to release a spirit from the Earth realm. The entity appears to be a woman and she violently resists Rachel's plea for her to crossover. Rachel draws upon symbols on her arms calling forth spirits that help her trap the entity. Despite its violence, she asks the spirits to be gentle. Rachel is thrust against a wall, as the spirits wrap themselves around the female entity. One of them lingers back and Rachel yells, I'm OK, she needs you more then I do." "GO". This novella while only twenty thousand words grabbed me from page one and never let go. This looks to be a great introduction to a fantastic urban fantasy series.

Rachel is a member of the Order of Rescue Mediums and must live by their rules or have her supernatural abilities bound. When Rachel arrives at the home of her new client, Sylvia Elkeles’s, she finds a wrath. Once she has engaged it, she realizes something is terribly wrong. Now she has forty-eight hours to mercifully release the wrath or deal with the consequences. I really like Rachel; she is a strong protagonist who takes her job seriously. She is a supernatural hunter who calls on powers of the order to cross spirits over. She uses enchanted weapons and incantations. As if that’s not enough of a tough job, she has to deal with a client who is keeping a secret and a mob boss who wants her on his team. Hoar does just enough world-building to tantalize us and set us up for book two.

The Stubborn Dead is the first book in the Lost Souls series and I can’t wait to see what Hoar has in store. This has the potential to be a new favorite urban fantasy series for me. I highly recommend this read to fans of urban fantasy, ghosts, detectives and the supernatural.

*fans of the TV series Supernatural, pay particular attention to the dedication :)

I want to thank netGalley and Carina Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.