In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer
Berquist, Emma Missing, Presumed Dead. Greenwillow,
2019 [384p]
Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-264281-3 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-264283-7 $8.99
Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 8-12

Eighteen-year-old Lexi can commune with ghosts and foretell the time and manner of people's deaths, abilities that help pay the rent as she's employed for her talents by Urie, a mob-like boss of a group of supernaturally skilled misfits in L.A.'s club scene. When Lexi encounters the spirit of Jane, a girl who was brutally murdered in an alleyway near the club, she agrees to find Jane's killer—partly because Lexi foresaw the girl's death and didn't warn her, and partly because she believes the murderer may be someone from the magical community. Lexi's fatalism, the cynicism from the resigned dead, and the atmosphere of the grim dog-eat-dog world of the seedier parts of Los Angeles provides an enticing noir flavor. Lexi's aching loneliness is palpable in her narration, and her tendency to cage her emotions with a determined intellectualism only highlights her vulnerability. The romance between Lexi and Jane (Lexi can also touch ghosts) offers a bright spot, and their relationship develops organically from merely a source of comfort to genuine love. The killer's motives end up being more depressing than evil, a revelation that stays in line with the book's emphasis that morality is subject to time and circumstance. The combination of crime thriller and ghost story (with a nice dash of first love) makes for a compelling page turner, and the ending manages to be both happy and dark, which is likely just how Lexi would want it. KQG

...

pdf

Share