Once Upon a Time, Season 5, Episode 2: The Price

The dwarfs, our favourite canaries, are now at the borders of Storybrooke wondering what diabolical fate will befall them if they cross the line. Dopey is volunteered before the Charmings arrive to give them another reason to flee (but there’s also Regina. Regina just spent some time confined to the same vehicle as Mary Margaret and David?! Has she not suffered enough?!)

Leeroy/Grumpy’s logic is that they can’t stay in town while Emma’s the Dark One because she is the scariest villain ever. Dopey crosses the line… and turns into a tree. I like Regina is more amused by the novelty of it than anything else

Anyway no period of amnesia could be without it’s flashbacks so let’s zoom back 6 weeks to teeny-tiny-Camelot (‘tis a silly place. Yes I am going to do that every time).

The gang have all gathered at the pocket castle and are introduced to Guinevere (and Mary Margaret bows full on without any acknowledgement of her own crown – fail etiquette!). Zelena is also being dragged along with Regina holding her leash. Killian is, wisely, pushing to find Merlin before they have a ball and Emma splatters all the guests (which is just rude). They also tell Arthur that the Dark One is totally threatening them (which conveniently not mentioning that the Dark One is Emma).

Turns out finding Merlin isn’t the hard part. They know where he is. But he’s a tree. And not a Pocahontas-style talking tree. He needs saving, predictably, by the Saviour. Oops that could be a problem… Regina quickly steps in as a Saviour understudy while holding Emma’s dagger.

When they go searching Emma is hella pissed about Regina totally abusing her dagger principles. Regina lays down the obvious of why she has done it – to try and save Emma from her own dark inclinations. Despite the snark, Emma does thank her.

Regina also gets the magical Saviour shiny necklace from Sir Percival though Regina manages to look conflicted. She decides to try and skip the ball because the whole idea of going as a fake Saviour galls her. But her excuse is she can’t dance (Mary Margaret objects because of all the balls they had but Regina points out her husband would much rather dance with the oh-so-precious daughter Mary Margaret. Ouch). So we now have to have a dancing class completely with Regina’s awesome sense of style (which she has to change because her clothing is all so super gloriously evil).

Fear The Walking Dead, Season One, Episode Six: The Good Man

At the stadium, the zombies continue to push against the door but now Daniel is nowhere to be seen.

Madison is packing up a box of supplies when Chris and Alisha enter.  Madison and Travis explain that the military is retreating and that they are going back to the original plan and head east. Chris asks about Liza, and Travis promises to get both Liza and Nick.

Andrew is tied up in the basement and Daniel tells Madison and Travis that he found the arena and that it's close to the soldiers base.  Daniel says that Andrew has given them all the information he has and Travis and Madison strenuously object to murdering Andrew.  Andrew asserts that they won't get into the compound without him, so Travis decides to bring him along for the ride. When Madison says that Andrew will ride with Travis, Travis asks her if she is ashamed.  Madison fires back that Travis would do anything if Chris were in danger. There goes Mr. High and mighty again. Damn Travis gets on my last nerves.

Daniel approaches Ofelia and tells her that they are going to find her mother.  Ofelia asks about Andrew, and Daniel promises to bring Andrew with them.  Ofelia tells Daniel that he lied to her and Daniel counters saying that he protected her. Ofelia asks if her mother knows that her father was not the victim.  Daniel wonders if his daughter would have preferred it if he were the victim but Ofelia does not answer.

Madison takes a moment to touch her children's growth charts before continuing to quickly pack up. It's almost a brief goodbye to everything she has lost. Outside, Madison orders Alicia into the car and Ofelia steps outside.  A german sheppard starts to bark and Madison stares.  Madison tells Alicia that her neighbours don't know what is going on but Ofelia points out that their neighbours did nothing when the soldiers came for them.

Exner is using the radio to communicate about the plan.  Exner announces to the group that they are moving now.  Liza asks about Chris and is informed that she has made a call.  Liza asks about the rest of her family and explains that her son will want his father. Exner points out that Travis will want Madison and that Madison will want her children.  Exner asks when family comes to an end. Exner tells Liza that they have to be brutal, so Liza asks for Travis and Chris.

Travis is loading up and Andrew tells Travis that he might as well kill him now because Daniel is going to do it later.  Andrew points out that Madison did nothing to stop it. Travis jumps to Madison's defense and points out that the military took Nick.  Andrew however counters that he didn't do anything and was in fact kind to Ofelia.  Travis asks Andrew to get them where they need to go. Andrew promises to tell Travis if he cuts him loose and says that the only reason to keep him is to kill him. Andrew adds that there's no story here that doesn't end with him dead. Clearly, Andrew knew just who in the group to approach.  Travis without a doubt is the weakest link.

The cars pull out in search of where Nick, Griselda and Liza are being kept. Madison drives with the children and she looks in her neighbours windows as she drives by. When they reach the gate, they find that the military is already gone.  Daniel fiddles with the switch until he gets the gate open.  The cars drive through and this is when we see that Travis's passenger side is empty. Of course he left Andrew behind. That decision better come back to bite him.

Daniel approaches the hospital on foot holding a flashlight.  He is ordered to stay where he is because he is entering a restricted area.  Daniel calls out that the soldiers should save their ammunition.  It's then that a horde of zombies approach the base.  The soldiers start firing.

Daniel is now in the installation and he tells the group that he lead the zombies to the North gate so the soldiers are distracted.  Daniel now learns that Travis let Andrew go. Madison argues that it was the right thing to do and Daniel points out what doing the right thing will get you. Travis pulls Chris aside and tells him that if they are more than 40 minutes, he is to drive Alicia to the campground. Madison hugs Alisha and whispers that she is to take care of Chris.  The adults leave the teens on their own.

In the compound, Victor sits calmly and he tells Nick not to draw unnecessary attention to himself. Nick complains that he is losing his mind, so Victor tells him to picture being somewhere else with a needle in his arm.  The lights start to go out and the sound of guns firing can be heard, causing people to panic.  Victor tells Nick that it's time to go.  Victor checks his pockets for his key and cannot find it.  Nick however pulls it out of his.

The helicopters arrive and Liza and Exner are on the roof.  Exner says that the compound is compromised and now their evac team knows it.  Exner asks what the delay is and lies and says that the compound is secure.  Liza is told that they are assessing the situation. Exner orders everyone to go and says that the transports are downstairs.  Liza asks about Chris and is told that if they haven't gone for him now, they never will.  Exner again tells Liza that she needs to run.

Chris and Alisha sit in the car together.  He gets out and Alisha tells him that everyone will come back.  Chris says that he doesn't want anyone to die. Alisha points out that not everyone can be saved, so Chris tells her to shut up.  When Chris sees something, he hops in the car and tells Alisha to follow. The two teens duck their heads.

Victor and Nick are now free and they walk by others in cages who beg for help.  Victor snarks about his key not being one size.  Nick asks about helping the people and Victor says that they add no value.  Victor advises that they should save themselves if they can and let others take the ride. Victor plans to get a car and then get Abigail. Who is this Abigail?

The teens are still hiding in the car and the sounds of soldiers footsteps can be heard. The soldiers break the windows in the car and drag Alisha and Chris out. The soldiers demand the keys promising to take the kids with them and Chris says no.  Things start to get rough and so Alisha yells that she has the keys.  The soldiers start to assault Alisha and Chris tries to defend her only to be knocked unconscious.

The crew is at the checkpoint and outside, the soldiers continue to empty their guns into the zombies but it's not lessening the threat.  Liza heads outside into the chaos looking for a way out.  The zombies manage to tear a hole in the fence.  A soldier in a helicopter offers Liza a ride and she turns them down.  An infected soldier runs into the propeller of a helicopter.  The fence is now completely down and Liza has no choice but to run back into the hospital.

Victor and Nick continue to make their way through the hospital.  They find the check in room and it's filled with dead bodies and a zombies who are feasting.  Nick tries to stop Victor from entering further but Victor says that the zombies are slow. Victor picks up a flashlight and retrieves the cuff links he traded to Milton for Nick and tells Nick to keep the watch. Victor doesn't have time for more snark because more zombies enter the room. Nick asks if they can get out of here now and Victor starts running saying that Milton was his ride.

Madison et al walk by the cages asking about Nick.  The group refuse to give information until they are released.  Travis manages to open the door and they are told that Nick left with a rich guy in a suit.

Betrayed (House of Night #2) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Zoey is facing the task of completely redeeming and rebuilding the Dark Daughters into a new, reformed organisation. A difficult task for her at the best of times – but with boys from her old school going missing, police suspecting vampires and three guys vying for her attention, Zoey has a lot of distractions.

Before we begin the review, I must remind everyone that my suffering through this series is the fault of Cyna and Mavrynthia and Merriska. I cannot even remember how they convinced me to go along with this torturous read – but in the name of some partial justice I think everyone should remind Cyna that she’s only read the first book of the Fallen Series and really really needs to read the rest. 

Ok, let us start positively. Yes, I actually can start positively on this book (well, in relative terms). I do appreciate that an effort has been made in this book to make Aphrodite less of a complete avatar of awfulness (by giving her parents who are complete avatars of awfulness). There’s also a toning down of the all consuming slut shaming of the last book – certainly not a removal of it by any stretch, but a definite reduction. There was also a half-decent attempt at an emotional death scene

I’m not saying any of these are good, because they’re really not and in any other book I would bite off my fingers before saying anything positive about these things, but Marked set the bar so damn low that exceeding my expectations is pretty damn easy to do. Kind of how falling in a compost heap feels more like a warm, soft landing after having swum through a toxic cess pool.

The first complaint I have about this book is the glaring void where the plot needs to be. I have sat for 10 minutes trying to figure out what happened and come up empty time and again. Some guys disappear but she watches that on the news, that’s hardly a plot point. She just kind of wanders around not doing a whole lot until we have some action hastily tacked on the end.

I suppose, in theory, the reformation of the Dark Daughters, the super club of the House of Night is the plot. But it’s not only completely lacking in any kind of substance, but it’s also comically awful.

First of all she does a whole lot of research to come up with the genius idea of a student council. No, really, that’s her master plan that actually requires research on her part which would be sad to begin with. But it gets worse – because she also decides she hates how cliquish the Dark Daughters was under Aphrodite so she’s totally going to make it different no – by making 6 of the 7 council members her, her friends and her boyfriend. Marvel at this for a moment, to remove the cliquishness of the Dark Daughters she decides to replace Aphrodite’s friends with all of her own friends. Yes, Zoey lacks even the slightest sense of self-awareness.

Fear The Walking Dead, Season One, Episode Five: Cobalt

This episode begins in a the holding cell where Nick and Doug Thompson await their fate.  It begins with a fellow captive named Victor Strand, taunting Doug.  It seems that Victor has figured out that the world has changed and has determined that he is just the type of man to survive.  When Victor suggests that Mrs. Thompson has just the kind of body she needs to find a man to help her survive, Doug breaks down in tears and is taken away.  Victor then turns his attentions to Nick.

At the gates, a very upset Ofelia demands that the soldiers hand over her mother.  Andrew has to intervene because the soldiers were ordered to put a stop to Ofelia, for fear of her upsetting the population. Andrew offers to take Ofelia home. In the background, the soldiers are getting restless and want to go home.

Travis tells Madison that he is going to talk to Moyers but before he can leave, Chris enters the room. Chris is not pleased that he is not part of the discussion about their people. When Madison intervenes, Chrishtells her not to interrupt while they are talk about family matters. This sets Travis off and so Travis drags Chris into the other room.  Chris is upset that his mother willingly left in the truck and Travis explains that this is who Liza is. Travis asks Chris to be strong and the two hug but the moment is lost when Travis tells Chris that he needs to apologise to Madison.  Chris storms off telling his father to go be with his family.  Travis prepares to leave to get Nick and Liza.

Liza is checking on the stitches of a patient ,when Doctor Exner praises her work.  Dr. Exner then goes on to express her thanks for Liza's presence due to the fact that they are so short staffed.  Liza asks to speak to Chris and check on Griselda.  Exner promises to let Liza talk to Chris and reveals that Griselda had her foot amputated.  Liza again asks about Chris and this time, Exner is short, responding that Chris is fine and that they have work to do.

Madison has found her neighbour Susan's suicide note and heads to Susan's to look for Alisha. Madison grabs a knife when she hears a sound coming from Susan's basement.  Madison heads down the stairs to see Ofelia's boyfriend Andrew tied to chair. No good dead goes unpunished I suppose. Daniel explains that this is how they bring home their loved ones.  Andrew tries assure him that their family members will be returned and that what happened wasn't handled correctly.  Madison questions where their loved ones are now and Andrew says that he doesn't know. Madison storms out and Ofelia makes it clear that Travis talking to Moyers is not a plan and now they have something to trade. Ofelia says that she doesn't like this but this is the only thing the military will understand before walking off.  Daniel admits that this is his plan and that he is aware that the military is not going to trade for Andrew.  Daniel is more interested in the information that Andrew has in terms of security, or how much time they have left.  Daniel adds that he has seen this before; people who leave on tucks don't come back.  When Madison asserts that this won't happen here, Daniel tells her to go home and keep Ofelia there.  Madison says that she doesn't want the soldier to be hurt. Daniel asks if Madison wants Nick back and if the issue is that she doesn't want the soldier hurt, or she doesn't want to know.

Travis goes to see Moyers to complain that three of his people are missing but Moyers claims that it's up to Dr. Exner how long Nick, Griselda and Doug are held.  Moyers points to his soldiers calling them children who want to return to their mother and that the best thing he can do is to keep his soldiers active.  Moyers then points out the markings on a truck which represent 83 dead zombies. Travis again asks about his people but Moyers claims that he cannot concern himself with civilian problems.  Travis finds a back bone and threatens Moyers, claiming that with 11 people missing from the community it could lead to a problem. Moyers then assigns a group of soldiers to take Travis to see Exner before walking away.  A soldier follows Moyers and points out that the men have been up for 50 hours and asks for another group to be sent but Moyers is not in a giving mood.

Daniel explains to Andrew that Ofelia only brought him here because she is scared for her mother. Daniel calls Ofelia the only good thing he has and adds that Ofelia made him promise not to hurt Andrew. Unfortunately for Andrew, Daniel has other plans. Daniel starts to assemble what he will need for this torture session and Andrew quickly reveals the hospital where Nick and Griselda are. Andrew promises not to hold anything back but Daniel sits and opens his razor.

Travis is being driven through the streets in a Humvee.  The soldiers pull over when they see a zombie moving around inside a store.  Travis is offered the opportunity to kill the walker and backs off claiming not to be a good shot. Moyers explains that with the way the gun is set, "Helen Keller couldn't miss."  The soldiers start to question if Travis is a conscientious objector: someone who wants to sleep in a comfortable bed, and eat military MRAS while the soldiers do the dirty work. Moyers then asks if Travis thinks the zombie is human because if that is the case, then the soldiers are nothing more than a bunch of murderers.  Travis claims that the soldiers are not right and walks over to the gun and looks through the scope. A soldier explains to Travis how to position himself as Travis looks through the scope. Travis is told that the zombie is not a person but when he sees her eyes and the name Kimberly on her name tag, Travis refuses to shoot. Moyers is not the least bit surprised and he wastes no time shooting the zombie. Travis and the soldiers hop back into the Humvee.

At the hospital, Exner and Liza examine a soldier who has just come in with a collapsed lung.  Liza moves onto another solider and when she opens his shirt, Liza sees a what that looks like bite marks. Exner immediately orders the soldier to be taken away. Exner explains that they are to assume that anything that looks like a bite is.

The soldiers hear a call for help and Moyers decides to head there for back up.  Travis is surprised because he was told that the area was free of civilians, so Moyers snarks that some people don't trust the government.  Travis is then ordered to stay in the truck no matter what happens.  Travis sits in the Humvee while the soldiers enter a building.  Travis listens as guns go off and soldiers scream in pain, a worried look on his face.

Daniel talks about the choice he was offered so long ago: torture or be tortured, as he cleans his blade. Andrew begs for the pain to stop but Daniel asks about the meaning of Cobalt because he has heard it repeatedly in the military transmissions. When Andrew doesn't answer, Daniel warns that the pain is about to increase because of how deeply he plans to cut into Daniels arm now.  Daniel asks what Cobalt is and a crying Daniel answers that he doesn't know.

Alicia is riding an old fashioned bike in a circle around Chris.  Alicia asks Chris if wants to talk about what is going on and offers him a ride on her bike.  Chris is not impressed but when we see them again, they are in the former home of rich neighbours.  Chris and Alicia are shocked at the wealth they find and Alicia takes the opportunity to play dress up.  They have an awkward moment when Chris is caught briefly spying on her.

At the hospital, Victor is ordered to step to the fence to have his eyes checked. Really? A device to detect zombies? You would think the whole drooling, rotting and trying to eat people would be indication enough.  Nick is the next to be checked and when Melvin learns that Nick has a fever, he orders the soldiers to take Nick downstairs.  Victor gets Melvin's attention and notes that Melvin is now wearing his watch.  Victor suggests that they do another transaction, pulling out a diamond cuff link. Melvin orders his soldiers to stop and Victor asks to take possession of Nick, promising to keep an eye on him.  Victor hands over one cuff link but Melvin demands that he be given both, or they don't have a deal.  Victor pulls out the other cuff link and Nick is escorted back to the holding cell. Melvin makes it clear that there will be no refunds if Nick happens to turn.

Continuum, Season 4, Episode 5: The Desperate Hours

So Travis is in prison and warning that if he is arrested and goes to prison then all kinds of secrets and messiness will be revealed if any reported tries to investigate him. On top of that they have a lawyer who very reasonably is not impressed with Travis being shackled and held for days without charge.

Travis kindly helps with the lawyer by trying to strangle him. Don’t strangle your lawyer, Travis, it’s counter productive. After also tasing the lawyer in the head the police then try to tase Travis. It does absolutely nothing.

To make things worse for Carlos, Piron doesn’t want to have Travis tried – and while Carlos objects to the idea that a company makes that decision – Piron demands that Travis with all his super tech in his body be handed over to them. Boss lady isn’t happy, she wants Travis in prison and wants to know why Piron is involved.

Alec and Kiera nicely sum up just how their plan to send Kiera back in time may involve trusting Brad and Kellogg, neither of which is a fun choice. They go to make a deal with Kellogg which is so much fun. He agrees to leave them alone in the Piron log while Kiera and Dylon have a moment with Kiera trying to be nice while also firmly disapproving of Dylan’s choices.

Kellogg does take the chance of poking Alec about the sheer dubiousness of Kiera’s plan – to go back to a future she doesn’t even know exists any more. Still they go on with their plan (still believing the super soldiers plan an invasion). Kiera asks Kellogg what he will do after she’s returned to the future but Kellog says pointedly that it’s not her business “you chose you.”

Ouch. Double ouch is when Alec carefully doesn’t answer her when she asks if she’s being selfish. He’s also not a fan of her contacting Brad, but she does it anyway and goes to him with the happy story of waning to go home. She pleads for access to the machine – and she gives him the key to the machine. Yet another person raises the possibility with Kiera that her son, her future, may not even exist.

Kiera takes this up with Carlos back in the police station when both sides argue about her decision to go back – Carlos annoyed that she is going back, that she has told him so little and that grudgingly and her insisting that it’s all her own choice and he doesn’t need to be informed. He points out the consequences of her decisions actually do affect other people.

Carlos returns to Travis to warn him that Piron may make a play for him (which Travis doesn’t care about) and that Kiera wants to go home – and this does anger him. Kiera has only seen the truth and now is willing to go back. He adds again that if his truth is revealed it’ll go badly for Kiera as well.

Dominion, Season 2, Episode 13: Sine Deo Nihil

Alex is about to get his Chosen One Stripes – facing a huge influx of 8 Balls and dwindling ammunition, he strides forwards with bared arms and chants the exorcism – as his marks glow he explodes with energy and drops all the 8 Balls, though doing so exhausts him. The former 8 Balls stand up – all free from possession. He orders the newly released confused 8 Balls to get to safety

Claire states the obvious – special chosen one ness

But Vega is under attack by the 8 balls who got through the open gates because of William Wheele. Claire tells them all that she left David Wheele in the control room and gets the surprised look she so richly deserves. Luckily for her, her dad arrives in a chain of armoured cars so now Alex has to explain that her dad is now a Diad angel controlled by Duma who is loyal to Gabriel rather than questioning her decision making on trusting David

This also means that Gabriel’s forces know everything David does – he then goes on city-wide TV to demand that Alex be delivered to him.

In the control room Arika joins David and he tells her what William did. They discuss guilt and killing and Arika’s creepy yet quite deep belief that everyone you kill is now a part of you that you have to carry with you, to both comfort David and encourage him to move. Arika also wants to save Claire.

They meet with Alex and Claire (who are arguing over who is more important and who should be sacrificed for who). After the brief snarling, Alex tells Claire to run with Arika to safety in Helena; after protests she agrees while he describes how much she means to him (with Noma right there, gaaaah).

So when Alex and Noma go on, they have a discussion about how much Alex loves Claire – but he also says how much he loves Noma. Good, can we please have more showing of this? Alex goes on while Noma holds off the people following them.

Claire decides to give herself up so she can be taken to her father to save oh-so-special Alex. She is taken to Duma who uses her father’s memories to promptly disarm her and destroy her plan of stabbing him. Oops.

Claire appeals to her dad to fight against Duma, bringing him to the fore so they can have a tearful reunion (now would be a great time to do the stabbing thing though wouldn’t that need Empyrean steel?). When Alex finally confronts Duma, he is back in control and holding Claire hostage, forcing Alex to disarm.

Sleepy Hollow, Season 3, Episode 1: I, Witness

The headless horseman of death is looking all scary and menacing riding through the woods when he runs into a woman – who freezes him with magic while her eyes glow ominously yellow and she sucks the horseman into a magical box. Well she made an entrance. She then opens the box and completes a deal – she has given something in it the power of death now she wants fear

That is probably not a good thing

Now to the awesomeness of Abbie who is now an FBI agent with a very demanding boss. She goes to meet Ichabod… in prison, much to her surprise. Apparently nine months have passed since Abbie and Ichabod last spoke – Ichabod deciding to go walkabout (and supporting himself… somehow) after they killed Katrina (and can we have another round of applause for that moment). While Abbie understands needing to get his mind together this whole situation is still not one she’s a fan of. She gives him judgy eyes while he explains and expresses regret

He also has Katrina’s necklace – the magical one the Horseman of Death gave Katrina which suddenly glowed and burned and cracked (I would smile at the “Jesus” fake out but a) it’s been done and b) I’ve never known a Latino person pronounce their name like that). Damn the Horseman gives cheap gifts.

Hey what is this prison that allows their inmates to wear convenient hang-themselves-items around their neck?

Anyway the necklace proves that something has happened to the horseman which means something big and bad is out there. First they need to get him out of prison where he is for smuggling something he deemed vital.  Apparently it wasn’t that bad because Abbie easily gets him out and even cuts short one of his patented outraged rants about his property being seized. Well, almost. At least we get Abbie’s eye rolling and snark.

Meanwhile a monster, possibly from the box on the opening credits, slaughters a couple of guys.

Time for travel and Abbie deciding that Ichabod can stick with Lieutenant (I think because the writers and a substantial amount of the audience is enamoured with the pronunciation), snarking a little and Ichabod’s angst over not actually having a mission and purpose in the modern world any more after they stopped Moloch which set off his 9 months of wandering

Including to his ancestral home where he found his apparent grave inside which was a mysterious stone tablet (which was what he was imprisoned for smuggling – cultural artefacts can’t just be raided any more or easily. Anyway, despite the tablet being 4,000 year old Sumerian, it was entitled “the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”

Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson #6) by Darynda Jones

Charley and Reyes are moving closer – he’s even proposed to her, but there are still some obstacles getting in the way. She keeps trying to dig up his past despite his protests and he can’t keep standing by and watching her put her life in danger

A habit she continues when she gets involved with both a soul trading demon and a major organised crime cartel. Neither bring the people who love her peace of mind. And these are just the major challenges, the ongoing chaos of her life continues with commitments and adventures everywhere.

I am happy to be able to praise the immense fun of this book again. I think the last couple of books just got a little too extreme and pushed the zaniness a bit too far. It felt contrived and silly and destroyed a lot of the fun.

This book toned it down and worked a lot better with it. Charley and Cookie are back to being their extremely fun and freaky selves. They continue to bounce off each other excellently and Charley’s endlessly distracted asides are hilarious. Charley is just so much incredible fun even if I would completely understand if everyone around her would merrily strangle her in a minute. I can’t really think of a book series or a protagonist that is this consistently hilariously fun.

One downside of Charley being so hilariously, randomly, zanily fun is that it makes it hard to fully accept the fact that Charley is living with a lot of trauma. She has night terrors, she has anxiety, she has flashbacks. She’s actually an excellent example of a character who is dealing with PTSD after what she has suffered. And, in some ways, the zaniness does work with that- because having PTSD doesn’t mean you ca  never have fun or never enjoy life or never find anything funny again – I like the idea of presenting a character with a mental illness who doesn’t just BECOME that mental illness. But the overwhelming light funness of the story just turns her symptoms into another punch line.

The fun of Charley and her random nonsense makes this book. It made me enjoy it for start to finish, which, I have to say, is kind of more than what the plot line did. I’m not saying the plot was bad (and anything that let me enjoy more of Charley’s zany fun is a good thing), but there were too many plot lines and plot-ettes.

We have some minor mysteries, like what exactly the nature of the ghost in her living room is and we have Angel’s (the ghost who kind of works for her) family and we have the ghost that has taken up residence in her car. We have a deeply traumatised ghost and Charley trying to deal with that and the people who hurt her and were equally traumatised. All of these are nice little moments that ensure the daily life of Charley continues even when she’s involved in a mystery. But then we have the saga of getting Cookie and Uncle Bob together (which is elaborate and convoluted because it was one of Charley’s ideas so of course it is). Then we have the FBI agent and the historical case she wants Charley to look into which is also connected to Reyes. Then we have something going on with Charley’s dad and stepmother.