Lily’s Book Review of Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

Unholy Ghosts
Hey guys. I am over here today to make a long distance call to my Grandmaker. You would be shocked to your toes to find out how much it costs me on my cell to call her.

Hey Grandmaker, how are you? Oh, yes ma’am me and mine are good. I called today to tell you something HUGE. I am in love. Swoon over the Moon LOVE! Le Sigh. His name is Terrible and he is beyond wonderful! He’s also a drug dealer, but I get ahead of myself. Let me tell you how we met.

On Twitter everyone was all a-tweeting about Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane. I read blog after blog talking about how great this series was. I was a little wary. I have to admit I have not be in love with any of the new series new releases. I know this was published in 2009, but I was still a little “meh” about trying it. So Maryse and me got together and said “Why not? We will read it together?” So we shook on it and off we went. Well you know me, I can’t ever wait for nothing. So this weekend I dove in, and ooo la la I am in LOVE. I heart this book.

As this is Urban Fantasy it is sort of a new reality. In 1997 The Truth was revealed. There is no God, hungry savage murderous ghosts exist and the only way to stay safe from them to align with The Church. The Church uses magic to keep them contained and banish when needed. It also pays well those who report authentic haunting but beware if you’re lying, because those sent to investigate also help to punish those who try to steal from the Church. The Church of Truth employs Chess Putnam, a fully-tattooed witch, as a Debunker, and ghost hunter. Life is not easy for her, she is a rebel by refusing to live on church grounds choosing to live in Downside and is a drug addict, this is something the Church must not find out about.

So what happens when her drug dealer Bump decides she is going to pay him 400% interest on top of what she owes him or she can choose to do him a favor and get rid of a few ghosts for him? What do think? She agrees, but finds herself escorted and aided by Bump’s thug henchmen Terrible. Terrible’s name says it all, but his look just underlines the fact, and his antisocial manner just adds the exclamation point:

“Are you really driving a hundred and twenty?”
Terrible shrugged again.
“Not real verbal, are you Terrible?”
“This time he glared at her, the greenish lights from the dash highlighting the astonishing ugliness of his profile. His crooked nose–it must have been broken several times–the way his brows jutted out like a cliff over the ocean, the set of his jaw. She held her hands up, palms out. “Okay. Just making conversation.”
“Dames always wanna talk.”
“Not like there’s anything else they’d want to do with you.”
Terrible reached forward and turned up the radio.

I thought – man that is harsh Chess. She gets so nasty to him sometimes. Anyways she is plagued trying to find out what is going with some ghost airplanes when something really bad happens. She discovers someone has called forth a strong evil ghost and it is gaining power. She has some profound moments of thought that often times caught me unaware:

“With magic almost anything was possible; all objects had energy, and energy could be manipulated.”

And just because things in her life were not stirred up enough she gets kidnapped by a rival gang. She is told she must do something unthinkable to remain in their good graces, and being in their good graces including being alive. So what do say to a handsome, sexy and mysterious kidnapper with ultimatums?

“I’ll think about it,” she said.
“Aye, you do that, tulip. You think hard. And when you decide, you let me know.” he dug a scrap of paper from his back pocket and produced a pen from his boot. “This is my number, dig? Call me when you know what you wanna do. Or if you decide you wanna let me see that ink, aye?”
“That’s not going to happen.” She took the number, tucked it in her pocket.
“You’d be surprised, tulip, what happens when you not expecting it. Surprised, indeed.”

She also finds amazing strength inside herself, in times when there just might be little to no hope.

“Terrible thought she was brave. She remembered it now, heard his voice in her head as if he stood next to her. “They scared. Not you, though.” Terrible thought she was brave, and if he – a man whose name was Terrible, a man whose path people scrambled to get out of – thought so, it must be true. She could do this, she would do this.”

I really loved Chess, maybe because of the drug addiction. It was nice to see a heroine that was not perfect and maybe because she was tough but knew her weaknesses, like when she was terrified and doing her best anyways. Terrible caught my heart by not being perfect as well, he isn’t pretty, but it was time for some flawed, dark, and underbellyish heroes to rise up. I was rolled up in the suspense and danger and rooting for drug dealers, witches with pill problems and magic to save the day.

One side note is about Downside Speak. It is like English only a little different, dig? If you read historicals and did fine with those, and read the Black Dagger Brotherhood and picked up on the lingo you’ll be fine, true?

Grandmaker, I tell you go out and get this like yesterday. For the first time in a long time I bought the second book the second I turned the last page on this one. I think I hear Maryse and you know she is going to want to talk to you. Hey Sweetpea! Grandmaker is on the phone! By Grandmaker, I know with your love for Rehv you will welcome Terrible with open arms!

Note from Maryse: Thank you Lily for hanging out with my crew! This series sounds awesome and “Terrible” intrigues me terribly 😉 ….not terribly goodlooking, but unbelievably crushworthy huh? You’ve mentionned him all week, so I’m anxious to read this!

Make sure to check out Lily’s own awesome blog – “Lilium’s Realm” – she’s hilarious and my mom (Lily’s “Grandmaker”) is addicted to Lily’s darkly humorous side, as am I 😉