Wraith (Zoe Martinique Series #1)

Kirkus Reviews

In the first of an urban fantasy series, an astro-traveling private investigator, whose psychic mother is landlady to a witch and two gay ghosts, stalks an invisible murderer. After being raped, stabbed and left for dead, Zoe Martinique discovered that her spirit can leave her body-so she makes a living as a p.i., a Traveler invisibly snooping on illicit deeds and conversations. She's also incorrigibly curious, and one night when on a job, she witnesses a murder by a sinister figure she thinks of as Trench-Coat. The latter steals his victim's soul; worse, he notices Zoe, grabs her-and threatens to steal her soul amid irresistible promises of sexual ecstasy! Zoe snaps back into her body just in time, but the contact has changed her: She can now physically manifest while Traveling. She learns that the dead man's boss, Kobe Hirokumi, holds a powerful McGuffin belonging to shady televangelist Teddy Rollins, who sent Trench-Coat to get it back. But while eavesdropping on a conversation between Hirokumi and gorgeous detective Daniel Frasier-it's lust at first sight-Zoe barely avoids a trap set by Hirokumi's faceless seer. Despite tending to blurt things audibly while out of body and invisible, Zoe doggedly continues to investigate; clearly the bad guys know much more about the non-physical realms than Zoe. Complications ensue on several levels, as our heroine-still lusting and impulsive-finds that nothing is what it seems. Zoe's an appealing if occasionally irritating protagonist, and the plot mostly works despite the overcomplicated backdrop: a worthwhile debut that bodes well for disembodied adventures to come. Agent: Jodi Reamer/Writers House LLC