Ghost Story: Haunted Souls Book 2, Pandora Pine

I'm super impressed with the direction this spin-off series is headed.  My concerns from the first book about character depth and development as well as balance between their roles and the individual story's plot are well on their way to being soothed to non-existence if the series keeps on in its current vein.  This particular story did a great job giving me everything about Jude I could want as well as a suspenseful ghost story full of misunderstandings, surprises, and shockingly disturbing revelations.

Jude was the star in this one and I'm glad it was.  Even though we'd think Cope should be the focus because he's new and we haven't gotten a chance to love all his quirks, mainly because we don't know them all yet, but the transition from Cold Case to Haunted Souls needs the familiar.  Yes, book one was all about Cope's situation, but that was more of an introduction and a laying out of their role within West Side Magick.  This story is where the real transition happens because they get to hit the ground running and we have to see where they'll go with it.  So Jude as the focus here makes a ton of sense.  We've been given hints and abbreviated mentions of Jude's past up to this point, but with all the new feels Cope draws out of him, we get everything; the full picture of Jude is stunning.  I love finally understanding his connection to his heritage and seeing him willing to embrace that part of him.  Add in his subtle yet powerful acceptance of the newer, tender, deeper feelings he has for Cope and I'm gone for him.

I mentioned before that I saw Cope as a bland character, but more as a blank page that I had high hopes for in the coming books.  We get more of him here; the pages are slowly being filled and giving us a bigger picture as to who he is and how he fits with the Cold Case crew as well as Jude in particular.  His character is growing on me very quickly and I'm eager to see where we go with him.  There are some know-it-all vibes that I get from him at times and they're usually directed at poor Ronan, which I'm not exactly thrilled about, but I think that as he finds his place with the Crew he'll soften and begin to truly blend with all of them without those moments of abrasiveness.

The haunting was incredibly interesting and I loved all the research they went through.  It felt descriptive without seeming like I'm sitting in a classroom and brought up important parallels to the spirit world as they specifically interact with it.  And the implications of increasingly strange and disturbing things from the other side bear large complications for both the Haunting crew as well as the Cold Case crew and I'm really excited to see everything that comes about from that.  I thought this was a great first case for us to see how Jude and Cope deal with one another on a professional level before they add in the more romantic partnership.  There was a good balance here that I was hoping for and I think it added depth to the story without one element overshadowing the other.  So consider me sold on the series; I'm all in.

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Newly-minted Ghost Detective, Jude Byrne, finally has his life in order. He’s got a job he loves, friends he can count on, and a partner he actually likes. Jude’s only problem is the growing attraction between himself and his partner. He knows nothing will sink their partnership quicker than giving in to those urges.

Psychic, Copeland Forbes, is settling nicely into Salem, Massachusetts. He and Jude have formed the perfect partnership, with the former P.I. researching the history of the places they are hired to investigate, while it’s Cope’s job to communicate with the spirits they encounter to either move them on to the other side or work out an amicable arrangement with the people now living in their home. So far, the duo has a perfect record and completely satisfied customers.

The detectives’ record is put to the test when teenager, Xavier Lewis, parks his bike outside West Side Magick and asks if Jude and Cope’s fee can be paid via weekly installments of his allowance money. When Jude tells the boy it all depends on the story he has to tell, neither detective is prepared for the tale that spills out of Xavier’s mouth. When the boy tells them about a ghostly woman in white that he thinks is trying to kill him, Jude and Copeland are all in.

The partners soon discover that not all ghosts can be reasoned with and that the risks of dealing with the paranormal are very real indeed. Will the Ghost Detectives be able to solve the mystery of the woman in white or will they become the next victims in her ghost story?