- Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey (July 27, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0345515595
- ISBN-13: 978-0345515599
- Goodreads.com synopsis: IT’S A THIN LINE BETWEEN ALIVE AND UNDEAD.
Chess Putnam has a lot on her plate. Mangled human corpses have started to show up on the streets of Downside, and Chess’s bosses at the Church of Real Truth have ordered her to team up with the ultra-powerful Black Squad agency to crack the grisly case.
Chess is under a binding spell that threatens death if she talks about the investigation, but the city’s most notorious crime boss—and Chess’s drug dealer—gets wind of her new assignment and insists on being kept informed. If that isn’t bad enough, a sinister street vendor appears to have information Chess needs. Only he’s not telling what he knows, or what it all has to do with the vast underground City of Eternity.
Now Chess will have to navigate killer wraiths, First Elders, and a lot of seriously nasty magic—all while coping with some not-so-small issues of her own. And the only man Chess can trust to help her through it all has every reason to want her dead.
- Not surprising, another 5 star rating from me for the 3rd book in this series. This is exactly what I'm looking for everytime I open a book by an author new to me, a story that grabs me and holds my attention, makes me laugh, cry, get angry, etc. The funny thing is, I don't always like the main character, Chess. She really makes some awful choices. But at the same time, her character is so believable and her story so compelling that I can't help but to root for her through all the ups and downs.
I can't say I love the world that Stacia Kane has created with this series. Actually, its a pretty scary place but again, very believable. The Church of Truth continues to fascinate me. Chess looks at the Church as a safe haven and something she can rely on but it strikes me as something a lot more sinister. I have so many questions about the Church Of Truth and hope some of them are answered in future books in this series.
This third book City of Ghosts finds Chess working with a member of the Church's Black Squad to look into another organization that has tried repeatedly in the past to seize control of the Church and is now active again. There is also some resolution to the Chess/Lex/Terrible love triangle.
This story is another powerful fast paced look at Downside, really an edge-of-your-seat read from start to finish. I can't sing Stacia Kane's praises enough and absolutely cannot wait to read more from her!
