From New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly!
Ever since her first ghostly sighting, Abby Kimball has been trying to unravel the mystery of her newly discovered ability. So when she sees the apparition of a Revolutionary War soldier in the middle of the town green—just days before the annual Patriot’s Day celebration, no less—she’s determined to figure out her connection to the man.
The ethereal soldier is not the only mystery in Abby’s life. She’s also trying to sort out her connection to Ned Newhall, the man who shares her ability and is playing a more serious romantic role in her life every day. But with plans for the celebration ramping up and her job becoming more chaotic by the minute, Abby’s finding it hard to catch her breath, much less come to grips with all the new turns her life has taken.
And when another eerie episode is followed by the appearance of a very curious young girl who seems wise beyond her years, Abby discovers she and Ned may have only scratched the surface of their special ability, and that Ned may hold the biggest surprise yet.
For fans of: Susan Wittig Albert
Abby Kimball can see dead people. Not ALL dead people, mind you – just the ones to whom she’s related. But seeing as Abby lives in Concord, Massachusetts and it turns out she’s related to some folks who fought in the Revolutionary War, she’s got way more ghostly company than you might think…
The ability to see her dearly departed ancestors is relatively newfound, and as it turns out, she’s not the only one in Concord with this gift. As such, Abby would like nothing more than to dedicate some serious time and effort to testing its limits and filling in the branches of her family tree along the way. Unfortunately, though, Patriots’ Day (a holiday commemorating the anniversary of the first battles of the Revolutionary War) is rapidly approaching and the museum at which Abby Kimball works is going all out.
Seeing the Dead is the second of Sheila Connolly’s Relatively Dead Mysteries. It’s the first book I’ve read in this series, and in retrospect, that was a mistake. Connolly doesn’t do a great job of rehashing the events of the previous book, nor does she do much in the way of establishing Abby’s backstory or explaining her newfound abilities, and as a result, I spent a good portion of the book confused and scrambling to catch up.
The ghost stuff is actually a lot of fun, and following along as Abby susses out the extent of her abilities, where they come from, what they mean – enjoyable. But the book needs something else — another element, like perhaps a crime to solve (historic or modern day). Great premise for a series, but not enough story to carry a book.
Mystery isn’t about a crime or anything (at least not initially) – more about her abilities
The character work takes a back seat to the history. Abby and Ned go at it like bunnies, but there’s no chemistry between them. Even their fights feel forced, artificial, manufactured.
If you’re a Revolutionary War buff or you’re really into genealogy, then you’ll likely enjoy Seeing the Dead; there’s a lot here about the American Colonial history, the history of Massachusetts, eighteenth-century weaponry, the battles of Lexington and Concord, and the work that’s involved in charting one’s family tree. Connolly doesn’t do a great job of incorporating this information into her story, and as a result, vast swaths of the book read more like a textbook than a novel, but if you can force yourself to actually read these sections rather than skim them, you’ll almost certainly finish the book more well informed than when you started it.
Reviewed by Kat
