Stars: 2 out of 5.
The premise was promising, but the execution is disappointing. Overwritten prose. Some glaring historical errors that could have been avoided if the author had done a little bit of research before referencing certain things. The US Air Force wasn’t officially established until 1947. During the war they were part of the US Army. Yes, a small detail, but it matters, and Google would have given you the correct answer in like 2 minutes.
My other problem is that there were no characters I could root for in this book. I didn’t particularly care for Seraphina, and the supporting cast of characters aren’t very fleshed out. They are there to serve a purpose, or possess one distinguishable treat and that’s it. I particularly didn’t like the fact that the women in this book are all either older than Seraphina and thus fulfill the role of the town gossip or the wise “motherly” figure. And those who are her age or close are either dead, or rather unsympathetic. It’s the usual trope of portraying the heroine as better (wiser, more beautiful, virtuous, etc.) as everyone else by making other women less than her. Ugh, I hate that trope.
Also, the idea that London somehow has less active ghosts than a little town in New Forest is rather ridiculous. London has been inhabited for thousands of years and saw its fare share of tragedies and deaths. For someone able to see ghosts, the city would be positively teeming with them.
I didn’t particularly care for the romance between Seraphina and Ross either. It read rather lukewarm to me. Like the author just wanted to add a romance into the story to draw a parallel between Seraphina and Ross and Rose and Elliott.
Though I must admit that the concept that ghosts might exist on different planes from each other and not be able to see other ghosts or communicate with those that aren’t on the same plane is interesting. I don’t think I saw anything like that before.
My biggest issue is with the identity of the killer though. I found that it came out of nowhere. There was no foreshadowing anywhere in the book before the big reveal, no crumbs disseminated throughout the story to make the protagonist, or at least the reader suspect anything. It was just “bham! He is the killer! Queue evil laughter”. It’s almost like the author decided to make him the bad man just for shock value. I am all for shocking reveals, but they need to be justified.
PS: I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.