I honestly had no idea what I was getting into when I started reading this book. I didn't realize it's part of a series and that it had a paranormal element as well. I'm not sure if it was a nice surprise or not, but it was an interesting one.

So, Lily is a pretty small town with no actual crime, aside from the occasional fender-bender and drunken brawl. So the town milks its history for crime stories, claiming ghosts hunted theatres and old jail cells turned prisons. When a hundred-year-old skull suddenly appears in the basement of the theater, the mayor decides they need to get a facial construction expert in to find out who it belonged to, probably to add to the town's lurid history. Only once the expert comes, she realizes that the ghosts are very much real and that there was an elaborate crime that went bad in the past, leading to even more crimes today. The local sheriff doesn't believe he can trust anyone except the fed here to work on the skull and to him, everyone is a potential suspect.

I don't read that many crime novels, not as a rule or anything, I just haven't had the chance. So I did enjoy this one as a change of pace, and I really want to get into more of these books. I liked that even though this was part of a series, it works well as a standalone novel.

One thing that usually bothers me in books is pacing, either it's too slow or too face, or both. I feel like this one was pretty evenly paced and I liked that. I also liked that the author didn't just 'claim' the main female lead was strong and smart, but actually showed her as strong and smart. Something else that always annoys me. She worked fast, followed her instincts and got results.

The premise was also pretty enjoyable. The idea of solving an old crime/mystery and being worried about things happening in the now in a similar way was fun to follow. Especially with ghosts involved.

However, there were parts that still bothered me. A LOT. For well-trained people from law-enforcement, their inability to figure out the guilty ones easily bothered me. I'm sorry, but no matter what, these people were locals, there has to have been an obvious way to see their change in behavior, understand that something is going on. They seemed too dumb when it counted and it frustrated me. Also, how are they being taken down so God damn easily by random people in town? That just blew my mind. I mean sure, they were taken by surprise. But aren't these people trained to sense things, to be more careful? No one showed self-preservation or extra care knowing people are dying around and they should be more careful. That was annoying.

The other thing was hints or clues the author added that just... were never even addressed. I'm like... what? <spoiler>There's a scene where Jane is suspicious so she walks around barefoot, doesn't find anything, goes to bed, wakes up the next day and in the shower realizes there's blood going into the drain and that her feet had been coated in it... what happened there? Nothing. That was never brought up again. I guess it was meant to just add more mystery to the theatre? Who knows?</spoiler>

But as a whole it was enjoyable. Makes me think I might want to read more mystery.

Thanks Netgalley for a great book to read and review


Wow what a ghost story! Loved it. The small town of Lily was once a silver mining town during the years of the big gold rush. An unsolved missing person mystery is one of the big highlights of the old theater in Lily, Arizona called the Gilded Lily. A skull is found and FBI members of the team Krewe are sent in. Jane and Sloan have an instant chemistry which fuels the book, not to mention the rich history of the town, and the town folk. I thought the book had a great story, great characters and just enough suspense to keep you guessing until the end. Four huge stars of entertainment!