The Stubborn Dead by Natasha Hoar

Rachel Miller thought her next job was a run-of-the-mill haunting. As a member of the Order of Rescue Mediums it's her duty to release trapped spirits from the earthly realm. But when called to client Sylvia Elkeles's house, she finds a wraith who doesn't act like he should.

The Order considers the wraith an extreme threat and Rachel may be forced to use a barbaric ritual to free him—a ritual that comes with a heavy personal price. If she fails to humanely release the wraith, she'll have her supernatural abilities bound.

When Janus Ostara—local supernatural mob boss—shows up demanding her attention, and Sylvia keeps secrets that may place Rachel in mortal danger, she doesn't need her abilities to know something darkly sinister is at play.

Between uncovering Sylvia's disturbing motives, and avoiding Janus, Rachel has enough on her hands without dealing with a wraith who may not realize he's supposed to be dead...(synopsis from Goodreads)

The Stubborn Dead drops us right into the action as protagonist Rachel Miller attempts to release a spirit from the Earth realm. The entity appears to be a woman and she violently resists Rachel's plea for her to crossover. Rachel draws upon symbols on her arms calling forth spirits that help her trap the entity. Despite its violence, she asks the spirits to be gentle. Rachel is thrust against a wall, as the spirits wrap themselves around the female entity. One of them lingers back and Rachel yells, I'm OK, she needs you more then I do." "GO".  This novella while only twenty thousand words grabbed me from page one and never let go. This looks to be a great introduction to a fantastic urban fantasy series.

Rachel is a member of the Order of Rescue Mediums and must live by their rules or have her supernatural abilities bound.  When Rachel arrives at the home of her new client, Sylvia Elkeles’s, she finds a wrath. Once she has engaged it, she realizes something is terribly wrong. Now she has forty-eight hours to mercifully release the wrath or deal with the consequences.  I really like Rachel; she is a strong protagonist who takes her job seriously. She is a supernatural hunter who calls on powers of the order to cross spirits over. She uses enchanted weapons and incantations.  As if that’s not enough of a tough job, she has to deal with a client who is keeping a secret and a mob boss who wants her on his team.  Hoar does just enough world-building to tantalize us and set us up for book two.

The Stubborn Dead is the first book in the Lost Souls series and I can’t wait to see what Hoar has in store.  This has the potential to be a new favorite urban fantasy series for me. I highly recommend this read to fans of urban fantasy, ghosts, detectives and the supernatural. The Stubborn Dead will be available in eBook format on January 23, 2012.

*fans of the TV series Supernatural, pay particular attention to the dedication :)

I want to thank netGalley and Carina Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I gave this book 4 coffee cups out of five.       Kimba    

Author's website:Natasha Hoar

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