In a Nutshell: A horror-fantasy about an aged immortal ghost hunter solving a ghostly mystery and making new friends. Not as cozy as promised. Interesting diverse characters and a gripping storyline. Good use of the found family trope. The romance was a little cringeworthy and the writing, a tad repetitive. But on the whole, a good experience. Recommended, as long as you aren’t afraid of ghosts, and are ready to not overanalyse.


Plot Preview:
Peter Shaughnessy has been alive for more than two hundred years and is ready to die. Unfortunately, thanks to an encounter with an annoyed fey during his teens in Ireland, Peter is cursed to spend eternity wandering away from home. As the curse has given him the ability to see ghosts and talk to plants, he spends his time looking for angry spirits and sending them onwards. His roaming has now brought him to Harrington, Ohio, where he has heard about the presence of a vengeful spirit. But as he looks for this elusive ghost, he gets drawn into the lives of some of Harrington’s citizens, and for the first time in over a century, Peter wants something other than death. Can he afford to stay and risk heartbreak, or should he simply move on, even if it means risking the peoples’ lives?

The story comes to us in the third-person perspective of a few characters, but mainly from Peter’s POV.


Bookish Yays:
👻 The author's note at the start, clearly stating the heavy themes and triggers in the book despite its being cosy. Much appreciated.

👻 Peter Shaughnessy – What a character! His conflicted emotions, his grumpy exterior and soft heart, and his bravery make him an outstanding lead. But what really elevates his arc is that unlike almost every immortal fictional character, Peter stopped aging only in his seventies. (If ever a movie adaptation is made, Sam Elliott would be perfect as Peter!)

👻 The other characters are also great, perhaps a bit too goody-goody but they suit the vibe. Be it Nevaeh – the first Black woman to be the director of the cemetery where Peter works in Harrington, Sayid and Samira – the two kids with plenty of secrets and family worries, and David – the museum director with a penchant for history, all bring with them a wonderful range of emotions. I cannot forget to mention Isaiah whose presence infuses every one of his scenes with tremendous warmth.

👻 The excellent diversity of the cast in terms of age, ethnic background, and sexual orientation. None of the inclusions felt shoved in.

👻 The role of grief in taking the story ahead. Almost every character is facing some of the other sorrow, whether from the past or present, and is handling their burden differently.

👻 The small-town setting is used excellently, with characters being close and trusting and helpful in a way city dwellers won't ever understand. This also helps create a convincing found-family trope.

👻 The atmosphere, especially in the paranormal scenes and the nature-based scenes. I especially loved how plants and trees were made a part of the narrative through Peter’s ability to talk to them.

👻 The description of the various spirits and their "feelings" – so creative!

👻 A couple of really surprising reveals, which left me open-mouthed.

👻 The title. Its use of the word “Spirits” has a dual meaning, and can be applied to the living and deceased humans of this story. Perfect for the book!


Bookish Mixed Bags:
⚰️ Officially, this is tagged as a “cozy horror-fantasy”, which I totally forgot when I began reading this. 🤭 The horror elements took me by surprise, and in some scenes, I didn’t find the paranormal content cozy. I did enjoy the spooky parts, but I don’t think the ‘cozy’ label is accurate.

⚰️ The curse that has stuck Peter in an endless living spell is minimally explained. While this adds intrigue to the plot, it also leaves us with many queries. I wish there had been some more detailing about this, especially at the end.

⚰️ The pacing, though on the slower side, doesn’t drag. As the dominant mood of the book is contemplative, this unhurried tempo suits the proceedings. But this might not make most readers happy.

⚰️ The ending. Without going into spoilers, all I can say is that it is a bit too easy and a bit incomplete. I liked it, but I wanted some more continuation, clarification, and closure.


Bookish Nays:
☠ While I love the idea of two senior citizens fighting their feelings for each other, I didn’t like the “insta” feel to the attraction. Right from their first interaction, the focus is on the physical reactions such as blushing and hearts fluttering and so on. This kind of language probably suits YA novels better. Making geriatrics sound like teens is a turn-off. Plus, the intensity of the attraction doesn’t even suit the otherwise stoic Peter.

☠ There is a lot of repetition in the writing, whether in some of the descriptions or in the emotional reactions. Some words seem to pop up after every few pages. (24 uses of “blush”, 50 uses of “yellow”, 33 uses of “warm”, even 6 uses of the rare “pinkening”!) The editing needed to be much tighter.

☠ Some plot gaps are never clarified. (Mostly but not only connected to Peter’s past. One thing I really wanted to know was why Nevaeh was so intent on denying her budding relationship.) And some plot developments aren’t realistic. (Would a cemetery director not know the name of her employee for multiple days? Would a parent leave their young child in a strange old man’s house when he’s new to town and they barely know him?) Again, editing issues.


All in all, despite some things that could have worked better for me, I still liked this story and more so, the characters. If the editing could have fixed the repetition and plotting loopholes, this book could have ended up as a favourite. As the storyline is much beyond a typical fantasy, this novel could go either way for readers. It would help if you pick it up prepared for a paranormal fantasy than a cozy one.

I picked this up during one of the most challenging months of my life. Usually, I take about 4 days to read a standard-length novel, but it has taken me more than forty days to complete this work. Often, when a book takes me more than a week, I lose my interest in it. I think it speaks volumes that I never once thought of DNFing this book, and kept returning to it willingly, even if I couldn’t read more than 2-4% per day.

Recommended to readers who enjoy fantasy stories with a splash of paranormal and a dash of romance. The triggers are fairly intense, so do check out the author’s list before you dive in. This book is a heart-read and not a head-read.

3.75 stars.

My thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and MIRA for providing the DRC of “The Keeper of Lonely Spirits” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I really enjoyed this story about grief and found family. It’s well written and we need more immortal curmudgeon MMCs!

As a horror reader who has lately been craving softer reads, The Keeper of Lonely Spirits ended up being right up my alley. There's a charm to it that feels flawless, and Anderson's writing style is smooth and effortless and easily brings the reader in from the very first chapter. I would definitely suggest this for people who want aspects of cozy without TOO much fluff, and with a lovely sprinkling of emotional growth!

It took me a while to get into this, but that may be the fault of my own brain at the moment and not the book. Once I was about a quarter of the way in I got more attached to the characters and more invested in the story and then quite enjoyed it. I wouldn't really describe this as cozy, there's too much danger and a lot of difficult emotional ground covered, but there were definitely comforting aspects. The pacing was a bit off for me, with the beginning a bit slow and I wished there had been a bit more closure at the end. But I'd definitely recommend this one if you like stories about found family or ghosts. I also loved that the main character was elderly. Such a nice change and so great to read about older LGBTQ+ characters.

I enjoyed this so much! I went in with pretty low expectations but it really impressed me. I had the impression that it would be cozy, which it definitely was, but the stakes weren’t as low as I thought. I was still very drawn in to the mystery and I was engaged until the very end.
I thought this book handled topics of grief and mental health really well. They didn’t shy away from the hard conversations, which was refreshing.
There was a lot of great diversity meshed into the fabric of this book too!
I’d recommend this to anyone who loves a cozy mystery, found family, diverse characters, and a touch of the supernatural!

Woohoo!! An MC over the age of 40, FINALLY!!!

This is an astonishing story about grief, forgiveness, queer love, and what it means to truly, meaningfully live. An incredibly diverse cast of characters, all with their own struggles and successes, against a charming backdrop with a paranormal finish. This would be a hit with fans of T.J Klune's body of work, or anyone looking to branch out and read about an older MC.

I will recommend this forever.

CW: Grief, Loss of Loved Ones, Palliative Care, Hospitals, Pandemic/Epidemic, Descriptions of Graveyards

This little gem was a great read. Main character Peter Shaugnessy is an immortal graveyard caretaker cursed to never return to his home of Ireland. He can also talk to plants and see ghosts, both of which come in handy as he dedicates himself to helping ghosts move on to the next life. When he moves, as he frequently does, to Harrington, he encounters a town full of vibrant characters.

Peter’s character growth is the primary focus of the novel. He has lost his family and his husband to time, and he seeks to keep himself at arms length from developing any deeper feelings and relationships (platonic or romantic) to save himself from future pain. Harrington’s residents make that impossible. He grows close to Nevaeh, who runs the graveyard and has recently lost her father, David, a sweet, widowed museum caretaker, and Sayid and Samira, both spirited kids. Each of these relationships are built carefully and beautifully.

I thought the ending was a little rushed, but somewhat appropriately as the main conflicts of the novel resolved in the final action sequence. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in gentle, healing stories with light supernatural elements and happy endings.

Peter is an unfortunately immortal curmudgeon who can see ghosts and talk to plants. He uses these skills to put the restless dead to rest. When he comes to Harrington, Ohio, he finds an abundance of ghosts and supernatural problems, and so he settles in to start fixing things.
I wanted to like this cozy little fantasy. But it was too slow, and honestly, a little boring. Peter didn't really catch my attention and I couldn't get into it enough to properly enjoy it.

The Keeper of Lonely Spirits is the perfect example of a unique and sympathetic protagonist who surrounds himself with supporting characters so roundly and wonderfully written that you could read a book from the perspective of any of them. Throw in a skill for communicating with plants and ghosts, and a mystery that keeps you at the edge of your seat, and this is one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M. Anderson is a new cozy fantasy about story centered around a lonely immortal ghost hunter who spends his days helping ghosts cross over. Things change, however, when he discovers that there are people who could actually care about him in this world, and he must grapple with everything that comes with these new circumstances. I found this to be such an unexpectedly emotional and touching story! Based on the premise, I expected it to be a bit warm and cozy, but it was much more than that and really tackled some tough topics in really effective and compelling ways. E.M Anderson is clearly a thoughtful writer and I appreciated how she crafted the character of Peter and showed him navigating everything that occurs in this story. The world-building and setting weren't quite as detailed or expansive as I might've hoped, but I also didn't really expect that from this story and it's not entirely what this book is about, so overall I think it all worked well together. A recommended read for anyone looking for something a bit quieter and slower, but that still packs a punch.

What an absolutely beautiful and emotional story dealing with grief, friendship, love, and finding yourself. I felt connected to the characters and almost didn’t want the book to end because I didn’t want to say goodbye. The author writes beautifully and is descriptive enough to pull you in without being too wordy. This book is a treasure and will be a great book club pick!

Thanks for the opportunity to read!

It's so weird that the ad copy characterizes this as "cozy," which is a word I associate with relatively low stakes and cheaply bought heartwarming, not with a novel about the tragic consequences of a careless moment of young love and desire, but -- Ad copy writers, you do you, I guess.

Apart from that choice of adjective, the ad copy does a good job of scene-setting: Peter Shaughnessy offends one of "them folk," a seriously un-glamorized, un-prettified version of the fae, so this being curses him with exile from his Irish home and -- as he learns when he doesn't age along with his first lover, and then continues, despite his best efforts, not to die -- immortality. He passes the time by quieting unhappy or angry ghosts; also, he can communicate with plants. Lest he form attachments and be heartbroken again when he outlives them, he bails out of anyplace he's been living as soon as he sets some poor dead person free.

But then he fetches up in Harrington, Ohio, a smallish town that presents two dangers: one, a ghost so angry that it threatens to destroy the whole place; two, a group of people who draw him into their hearts and whom he, in turn, cannot help but love. He can preserve his emotional isolation, but only at the cost of leaving them in possibly mortal peril.

It says a lot for Anderson's gifts of characterization that a verbal sketch of the people whom Peter comes to care for would make them sound like stick figures, but that in reading the book they came fully alive for me -- in particular, of course, the people (and one loving ghost) who are closest to him. All of them are dealing with grief in one form or another: Neveah with the death of her beloved father; the children Sayid and Samira with the imminent death of their grandfather and with the strains on their family caused by long work hours and by their parents' own griefs; David with the death of his husband. Their stories end not so much with resolution as with movement toward some condition better than the one they started in. That is to say, don't expect a picture-perfect happy ending, with everybody's pain tied up with a magical bow and made to vanish. Peter's many griefs will also remain: he wasn't solely at fault for what happened to his family, but his impulsiveness and momentary carelessness set in motion the events that cost them dearly.

Look, this book isn't flawless. A worldbuilding problem: how does Peter get money, when he doesn't appear to have a legal existence or to be officially employed anywhere, even under the table? Factual problems, specifically medical ones (do not go to urgent care with a broken leg, please -- just go straight to the ER; palliative care /= hospice care, and a person on hospice would not be living in a hospital; in the final confrontation with the angry ghost, Peter (view spoiler)). Sayid's two best friends appear early on, then are barely mentioned again. And although Anderson's writing is in general beautiful, evocative, and insightful, they also overrely on the words "ruffled," "stuttered," and "pricked," to the point where by the end of the book I winced every time they appeared.

I mention all those things because, paradoxically, they're evidence for how deeply this book engaged me and how much I loved it: normally I'd be banging out furious words about authorial carelessness etc., but "The Keeper of Lonely Spirits" did the important work so well that all was forgiven. Harlequin Trade/Mira, however, should provide its authors with stronger editorial support: All the problems I mention could have been resolved with a few tweaks at the line editing and copyediting levels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book is a lot of things at once - melancholic, cozy, romantic, sweet, slightly spooky and heartwarming. It's about ghosts, found family and grief, and somehow balances this all really well. It follows Peter, a man who is cursed with immortality and the ability to see ghosts. He spends his time finding angry spirits and assuring they move on, causing no harm. He ends up in a small town in Ohio, meeting all its lovable, quirky residents and helping them through their own personal grief. It's very heavy at times, full of loss and straight up death, but it is also full of love. Peter finds his own little found family, and they show him what it truly means to be loved. The actual plot involving the angry ghost falls to the wayside, but in the end, it wrapped up in a super satisfying way. I think it would be a great fall read, and would be great for book club discussions, because the characters give someone everyone to connect with.

This is the kind of book that eases people into fantasy and paranormal genres. Its super cozy and is more about the characters than anything else. I think people who stick mainly to realistic stories would connect with this.

pleasantly surprised by this one. sometimes corny but never trite, and with a core of fierce tenderness i found very moving. it starts a bit too slow, and could have done with another round of tightening both pace and writing, but i don't think it's anything that truly takes away from a lovely story. it's original in very quiet ways, with a nice balance of popular lore and new angles on it. loved the characters, phenomenal children and endearing cast. a nice surprise overall!

Loved this! A ghost hunter with a tragic past immediately caught my attention. Add in a romance with a seemingly-impossible outcome, so much queerness, and a lovable ensemble cast, and you’ve got The Keeper of Lonely Spirits. I love the quirkiness of this novel, as well as the moving messages that abound. I really think that EM Anderson should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind when it comes to queer normative, quirky, cute stories that feel different from everything else that’s being published. So good!

A man is cursed to never return to his native Ireland, 200 years have past and in his exile, gains the ability to communicate with ghosts and plants. A reaper of sorts, he helps others ghosts pass to the other side.

Ending up in Harrington, a town like any other, he will find the ghost rumoured to be haunting the town to help him move on. However, this town's magic lies within its ability to end up feeling more and more like home.

A sweet novel that makes you fall in love. A little obvious in the end but sweet and relatable characters that Anderson is sure to be known for in the years they will continue to write lovable novels.

Cozy mystery, found family, and a little heart string pull.

I found The Keeper of Lonely Spirits to be a really thoughtful story about grief, loss, and finding our place in this world. It was phenomenally well written.

The Keeper of Lonely Spirits is about Peter, an immortal ghost hunter who’s been alone for centuries, helping spirits move on while avoiding his own baggage. When he ends up in a small Ohio town, things start to shift—hauntings, new friendships, maybe even healing.

It’s a quiet, emotional read with a lot of heart and some lovely writing. That said, it moves really slowly. I liked the vibes, but it never fully pulled me in. Not bad at all—just not a book I couldn’t put down.

While this book did pull me in quite quickly, there were a couple moments that pushed me back out. Overall, I did enjoy reading it, and the mystery was solid, but I found that sometimes Peter's dialogue was a bit much in terms of "being Irish" though he's lived for a couple hundred years. The kids were great, and the community itself was incredibly supportive, a very cute small-town trait. I don't think I need to read this one again, but it wasn't a bad read.

Read if you like: diverse rep, mystical realism, fantasy, heavy themes, coping with grief

Usually I finish a book and immediately grab another one. Not the case after finishing this; I was left with so many emotions and feelings that needed to be processed. Ever wondered if a book can feel cozy while also dealing with some intense feelings of grief, finding yourself, acceptance, and loss? Wonder no more, because here it is!
Every character in this story is so well developed, even the minor side characters, and there's someone that I think any reader can relate to and identify with.
The way that loss, mortality, immortality, and grief were explored and handled were so realistic no matter what way the character handled it, and there were different types represented.
This review may be rambling, but the book is still settling in me and processing is still happening. It's one that's going to stick around for awhile.