Melody Bittersweet and The Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency by Kitty French

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Love, love, love this new story from Kitty French.

It’s safe to say that I’m a big fan of both Kitty and her alter ego Kat French so having just finished the new Kat book, One Hot Summer, I was sooo excited to come across a new Kitty one too. I actually ended up pre ordering which is something I very rarely do but I’m so glad I did. From the moment I picked this up I really didn’t want to put it down. If I didn’t have to go to work or sleep I probably would have devoured the whole thing in a few hours.

Synopsis

The title does give you a little bit of a clue as to the plot as it’s about 27 years old Melody Bittersweet, who to use that famous line can “see dead people”. Fed up with her inability to keep a regular job and wanting to make it on her own and away from the family business, Blythe Spirits (who pass on messages from the living to the dead) she decides to go into the ghostbusting business.

With the help of BFF Marina and a socially awkward assistant the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency try to solve the mystery of a haunted house before rival and ex boyfriend Leo. Cue some fabulously eccentric characters, a few ghosts, a bit of mystery, hot guys, a few sparks and a lot of laughs.

Thoughts

This book was just perfect for me because it contained pretty much everything I love in a story, a bit of mystery, some action, a lot of sexual chemistry, a smidge of the paranormal and a lot of crazy.

The one thing I think Kitty always does fantastically well is the eccentric and lovable characters and this book is absolutely choc full of them. Main character Melody is very likeable but for me the highlights are always the supporting characters. Favourites included her Grandmother Dicey who likes to drink Champagne at any time (“it’s five o’clock somewhere”), fiercely loyal and slightly scary best friend Marina and Artie who’s slightly nerdy and quiet but gets the funniest one liners.

The dialogue is absolutely brilliant and a joy to read. I love the friendly bickering between Melody, Marina and Artie but also thought the sections with the ghosts were handled very well. I loved how Melody was so laid back about chatting with the undead.

The story has just the right pacing and there’s always something going on. Personally I would have liked the romantic interest to be introduced a little earlier but as this is the first in a series I suppose you can’t really move too fast or there’d be nothing for subsequent books. I also thought there were a few discrepancies in terms of the timeline which was the main reason for me dropping half a star.

This is however a very, very minor criticism and I’d still recommend it. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for the next in the series.