Book Review: A Sanctuary of Spirits

Disclaimer: I got this book as an ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

If you all remember back to my last book review, I reviewed The Spectral City, which is the first book in the series. If you would like to read that review first, please click here. Of course, since this book hasn’t been released yet, I will not give out any spoilers but I’ll tell you my general thoughts about it.

Summary

New York, 1899, and the police department’s best ally is the secret Ghost Precinct, where spirits and psychics help solve the city’s most perplexing crimes . . .

There’s more than one way to catch a killer—though the methods employed by the NYPD’s Ghost Precinct, an all-female team of psychics and spiritualists led by gifted young medium Eve Whitby, are unconventional to say the least. Eve is concerned by the backlash that threatens the department—and by the discovery of an otherworldly realm, the Ghost Sanctuary, where the dead can provide answers. But is there a price to be paid for Eve and her colleagues venturing beyond the land of the living?

Searching for clues about a mortician’s disappearance, Eve encounters a charismatic magician and mesmerist whose abilities are unlike any she’s seen. Is he a link to mysterious deaths around the city, or to the Ghost Sanctuary? Torn between the bonds of her team and her growing relationship with the dashing Detective Horowitz, Eve must discern truth from illusion and friend from foe, before another soul vanishes into the ether . . .

A Sanctuary of Spirits by Leanna Renee Hieber

My Review

This book is truly a lot darker than the first, especially towards the end. I felt that the first sort of hinted at the darkness, it wasn’t as outwardly twisted. I’m not at all opposed to that, but I felt almost as if this book ramped up the series and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next book. Will it continue on this dark and twisted path? It seems likely.

I also know that the author has previous series which go on with the lives of Eve’s parents, which the reader of this series is continually left in the dark about. Honestly, the way it’s hinted at almost makes it feel like we should know the events that happened to Eve’s parents. I feel like reading the previous series may help with that. I haven’t yet, but I am honestly so curious that I probably will end up checking them out.

I really enjoy the author’s writing in general. But, I wish she did not summarize so much of the last book. Having just finished the first book and diving straight into this one, it felt a bit strange to me. However, I am guessing there may have been more than a 30-second gap between the two books for the average reader. So, I am sure they may have appreciated the reminder of scenarios and characters.

Overall, I really liked this book. It brought me back to my ghostly adventures that I have been cravingly lately. I think it’s very well written, plus, who doesn’t love a bunch of super cool ladies investigating murders? If you enjoy the ID channel, but you wish that you could ask the ghost who killed them, then you’re going to enjoy these books.

Want to grab this book for yourself? It goes out on November 12th, 2019 and you can grab a copy on Amazon by clicking here.

Want to check out more of my book reviews? Click here!