Book 24, 2019

Ghost of a Chance by Kate Marsh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I brought my work book home last night and finished it. It was Ghost of a Chance by Kate Marsh (aka Katie MacAlister). Don't know why the author was using a pseudonym, when she was writing in her usual genre, which is paranormal lite.

Karma Marx is half-human, half-polter (poltergeist), and her specialty is exorcising homes of spirits. Rather than banish them, however, Karma takes them home with her where she has to hide them from her sleazy husband, Spider. All Karma wants from Spider is a divorce, and he promises to grant her one, if she'll do one final house cleansing for him.

In the meantime, Karma is assigned a moody foster teen to take in. She doesn't feel up to providing a home for Pixie, but the Akashic League (which polices the Otherworld), has her over a barrel. Pixie tags along when Karma goes to the home that Spider has purchased by less than savory means. The home isn't just inhabited by spirits; its rightful owner is also in residence. Soon, there is a veritable cast of characters there: Karma, her father, Pixie, Spider, Meredith (Spider's equally sleazy business partner), Meredith's wife Savannah, Adam (the owner of the house), and several spirits, including some that "belong" to Karma. When Spider is murdered and almost everyone had a motive, Adam seals the house for a period of 24 hours so he can suss out who committed the crime.

The tired trope of having a murder take place in a situation where the suspects are trapped together has been overdone. This at least had the added paranormal element to it. Characterizations were done well. The story was in Karma's first-person pov, and she comes through as a noble, relatable character. Spider was so loathsome that I wanted to kill him, myself, while Pixie's teenage angsting and flouncing were annoyingly believable. The plot moved along at a good pace, and it was nigh impossible to determine who had killed Spider, since virtually everyone had good reason to want him dead. The only certainty the reader had was that Karma didn't do it.

( Here be bitching (and spoilers) )

Favorite lines:
♦ "Whoever heard of homing imps?"
♦ "What on earth are you thinking? Crab salad after a denouement? Were you raised by sloths? Everyone knows the proper luncheon to be served after such an event is quiche."

I'd have given this a solid four stars, but that ending just ruined it for me.