Reviewed by Susan Lee
TITLE: Dead Man and the Restless Spirits (Book #1)
SERIES: Dead Man series
AUTHOR: Lou Harper
BLURB: Dying sucks hairy monkey balls, even when you’re not the stiff.
Denton Mills has a secret: he can see dead people. Or rather, how they died. It’s quite a drag in a city like Chicago, teeming with the echoes of the no-longer living. Rather than whine about it, Denton has learned to live with his troublesome talent. His adaptability comes in handy when he meets his enigmatic new neighbor.
Bran Maurell catches Denton’s eye right away, but unfortunately Mr. Tall, Dark, and Mysterious is as standoffish as he is alluring. However, after an unexpected introduction from Bran’s cat brings the two men together, Denton discovers they have a mutual interest in the spirit world. Herbalist by day, Bran moonlights as a witch, performing house cleansings for a fee.
From Bran, Denton learns that his knack for interacting with the dead qualifies him as a necromancer. It makes good business sense for them to team up and rid Chicago of its pesky spirits one grateful client at a time. Amongst ghostly adventures the attraction between the men is impossible to ignore. They seem like perfect partners—unless Bran’s not-so-little secret comes between them.
Warning: men loving men, ghosts with attitudes, and a portly feline with hidden talents.
Note: Denton also plays a small but important role in Spirit Sanguine.
REVIEW:
Lou Harper is a new-to-me author and I really really enjoy her style. Her writing is funny and quirky and sarcastic and those all appeal to me.
The story is about Denton, who as a necromancer, is able to see dead people as well as feel & summon spirits. He doesn’t know much about his gifts or how he can utilize them until he meets his new neighbor, Bran. Bran is mysterious and a man of few words and Denton is drawn to him immediately…despite it being obvious, the guy has secrets.
Denton in his pierced, care-free, take-no-sh*t way is charming and funny. Bran in his brooding, stoic, powerful way is sexy and enigmatic. When Denton is finally able to break down the walls with Bran (and get to his secrets!), the pairing is likable and the partnership between them is sweet. Bran teaches Denton how to utilize his gifts and Denton teaches Bran how to lighten up! Being a sucker for a strong man reduced to a sap by love, I really enjoyed this coupling.
The story as a whole is interesting. It reads more like an episodic serial than a novel and that actually felt like I was getting to know these MC’s over a span of time and shared experiences. That also, however, made the story feel choppy and I found myself putting my kindle down often and not being compelled to power through in one sitting. And though the story, I could tell, wanted to break through and be fresh and original, it harkened me back to a similar feel & plot in Jordan Castillo Price’s “PsyCop” series…which had the benefit of being my “first” and thus, of course, I compare all others to it. Dead Man & the Restless Spirits, in my mind, places a distant second.
Though I really do like Denton and Bran, I didn’t really get to know them well enough to LOVE them. I think I just need more. It’s a solid book 1. I am looking forward to the series continuing and I do recommend this to anyone who enjoys this paranormal-in-a-contemporary-setting genre.
Susan’s Rating: 
BUY LINK: Book Store
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