Unholy Ghosts by Stacia Kane

Today's book recommendation is an adult dystopian/ paranormal novel I've had sitting on my bookshelf for a while now. Could kick myself for not picking it up sooner. It's awesome...

Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts #1)
by Stacia Kane

amazon - paperback £6.39

Description (taken from goodreads)

THE DEPARTED HAVE ARRIVED.

The world is not the way it was. The dead have risen, and the living are under attack. The powerful Church of Real Truth, in charge since the government fell, has sworn to reimburse citizens being harassed by the deceased.

Consequently, there are many false claims of hauntings from those hoping to profit. Enter Chess Putnam, a fully-tattooed witch, freewheeling Debunker, and ghost hunter. She’s got a real talent for nailing human liars and banishing the wicked dead. But she’s keeping a dark secret from the Church: a little drug problem that’s landed her in hot and dangerous water.

Chess owes a lot of money to a murderous drug lord named Bump. And Bump wants immediate payback. All Chess has to do is dispatch a very nasty species of undead from an old airport. But the job involves black magic, human sacrifice, a nefarious demonic creature, and crossing swords with enough wicked energy to wipe out a city of souls. Toss in lust for a rival gang leader and a dangerous attraction to Bump’s ruthless enforcer, and Chess begins to wonder if the rush is really worth it.

My Thoughts

Stacia Kane’s Unholy Ghosts was truly a step in a different direction from other adult urban fantasy books, and that’s something that’s very hard to do in that genre – or at least difficult to find. From the drug-abusing protagonist, to the scarred and terrifying hero, Terrible, Unholy Ghosts has its own attitude and one I’m completely taken with. I loved the worldbuilding and the premise – this is dystopian meets paranormal. Love it. Everything about the novel is raw and unapologetic, from the street language, to the vile things the heroine, Chess, stumbles upon, to the peeled back chemistry between Chess and Terrible. Chess’ history is not a pretty one and neither is her present, but her colorful attitude, the easy, smooth prose, the vivid characters and the suspenseful plot make this a charged and exciting read. Happy to add it to my favourites pile and am moving swiftly on to book 2!

Five massive massive stars!


Sam x