You Know Me As Lad

Dead People; He Sees 'Em

I love a good paranormal mystery/thriller. Ghosts, psychics, mediums and things that go bump in the night. Throw romance in there and I'm in like Flynn. This book promised to be great and it made good on its promise. *Phew* Thank God because I really didn't want to be disappointed.

Matthew Bennett is a detective who's been made to ride a desk for a year and a half after his partner is shot and killed. The precint finds out that they were also life partners and for over a year Matt has been shunned by most and his homophobic boss is just looking for a reason to can him. On Christmas Eve, Matt is called out on his first real case since his partner died; the disappearance of a six year old girl, Abby, who was taken from her bed in the middle of the night.

While in the house something happens to Matt that he never in a million years thought would happen. Abby's ghost appears to him and tells him where her body is. It's some crazy WeeeeOOOoo WeeeeOOOooo stuff, right? Matt thinks so and so does his boss and the police force psychiatrist.

One of my favorite things about this book is that even though Matt sees a ghost he doesn't immediately become a believer. He's had years of dealing only with cold, hard facts. There's no way that in one night that leopard's going to suddenly change his spots. It made sense. When his sister-in-law, Sheila (a GREAT secondary character), drags him all but kicking and screaming to see Kiernan Fitzpatrick the famous medium, Matt's skepticism is at an all time high. Kiernan, though? Oh, Kiernan's used to that and he's got something to say that he thinks Matt needs to hear.

I loved Kiernan. I don't know how else to say it other than I loved Kiernan. He's funny with his quick wit, hilarious tee shirts, and easy smile. He's not what you think of when you think of a medium. Kiernan's more like someone you might see on a skateboard ramp but a guy who talks to the dead is what he is. He's generous with his gift, he genuinely feels sympathy for those that are greiving, he has a set of beliefs and he might be a lapsed Catholic but he strongly believes in a higher power. Really, Kiernan is someone who lives to help people, dead and alive, find closure. It's important to him and I adored him for that.

So, what do you get when you put a skeptic and a medium together? You get some great dialogue, two people who want to solve the murder of a little girl, and a couple of guys who generate some nice sexual tension.

Now, don't get me wrong, there is some hot sex in this book but it doesn't come until somewhere around the middle of the book and at no point does it overshadow the mystery of who killed little Abby. Thank you, Diana Copland, for not turning it into a sexfest or having them have sex in stupid places when they should be solving a crime.

And the crime? I didn't figure out who it was until the guys did. Then once I figured it out I still wasn't quite sure why the killer did what they did. That guaranteed that I stayed interested in the story. The pacing in this book was very nicely done. It takes place over the span of about a week but never feels rushed or like things should have happened slower. It was just right.

One of my friends here on GR wanted to know what I thought of the end and I have to say that I thought the end was satisfying. I was convinced these two guys would make a go of it and I hope, hope, HOPE that this gets turned into a series. I would like to see more of these guys because I think they have a lot more mysteries they can solve together.

All in all, I'm so glad I read this book because it was just wanted to read right when I wanted to read it. I definitely recommend.