Review: Spirit and Dust

Goodreads Summary: Daisy Goodnight can speak to the dead. It’s not the result of a head injury or some near-death experience. She was just born that way. And she’s really good at it. Good enough to help the police solve the occasional homicide.

But helping the local authorities clear cold cases is one thing. Being whisked out of chemistry class by the FBI and flown to the scene of a murder/kidnapping in Minnesota? That’s the real deal.

Before the promotion can go to Daisy’s head, she’s up to her neck in trouble. The spirits are talking, and they’re terrified. There’s a real living girl in danger. And when Daisy is kidnapped by a crime boss with no scruples about using magic—and Daisy—to get what he wants, it looks like hers is the next soul on the line.

Don't let the rather drab cover with the eye staring at you [though I'll admit, the silouette is rather cool!] fool you, this novel was practically impossible to put down. 

From the first page I loved Daisy's voice. She is the Queen of Snark. I can't think of a single character off the top of my head capable of dethroning her. The way she narrates her story just draws you in, you feel like you're listening to your best friend tell you all about her crazy adventures only you're in the moment with her. Its hard to explain but AWESOME to read. She kept me grinning for pages on end, even when things got completely insane.

I absolutely LOVED the Goodnight family! You don't see too many of the different members in this novel, though they referenced, but just the idea of them alone is magnificent. An entire family tree made up of people like Daisy in their own uniquely crazy way? SIGN ME UP.  

Alas, pure snark alone [even in the form of an amazing heroine] isn't enough to pull a novel through. Luckily this one has entertainment value in spades. The premise was great, AKA I love the idea of the Goodnight family and want to spend some quality time with the lot of them, and I really like how Rosemary Clement-Moore crafted the paranormal aspects of her novel. You never once question how Daisy can do what she can or find it out of place, instead it seems almost normal/natural. Which in my eyes is the sign of an excellent paranormalish read. Also, it keeps you guessing. Nothing is quite what it seems and there are enough twists to keep you on the edge of your seat and flipping pages.

For those of you who see on Goodreads that it is the second Goodnights book, or who have heard that it isn't the first, no worries! You can read them out of order, at least as far as I could tell as this was my first Goodnights book and I wasn't lost in the slightest. I felt there might have been a couple little tips to those who had read the first but Spirit and Dust felt more like a companion novel then a direct sequel. 

4/5