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Seanan McGuire's Sparrow Hill Road was quite nice, but it's more like a themed anthology than a proper novel. This works, in its own strange way; the repeated "introduction to the setting" passages sort of become their own type of haunting, a ghost within a ghost story. In addition, the chronology is a bit of a shambles, but Rose does warn us about that right up front; the dead aren't as linear as the living. One particular reference in Part 2 is absolutely perfect, and just like an oncoming semi, I didn't see it coming until it was too late. Finally, it also ties in with her InCryptid books and stories; the appendix is a Price Guide to ghosts, and we've seen an earlier version of Rose's hometown in the Jonathan and Frances Healy stories. (Rose also has a cameo in one of Verity's short stories, which is the flip side of a phone call in the third InCryptid novel. Confused yet?)
The book's taken a few lumps from other reviewers, but I quite liked it. I think it's time for something a bit different from my usual fare for my next read, though...
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