SIXTEEN SOULS

A living boy, once badly harmed by phantoms, is the unlikely savior of ghosts in York, England.

Charlie’s been able to see ghosts ever since a childhood bout of meningitis. Seeing ghosts isn’t the problem, though; his only friends are spectral. No, the problem is that he can touch ghosts—which means they can touch him. Charlie lost his only human friends two years ago, when Mitch and Leonie witnessed him be violently attacked by invisible forces. At least it was the near-fatal ghost attack that drove a wedge between Charlie and Mitch and not the kiss they’d shared. Now the phantoms of York are disappearing, and Charlie’s ghostly friends are in as much danger as the many, many ghosts who terrify him. Sam, who also sees ghosts, wants to work together to chase down the villain. While Charlie is scared of spectral sleuthing, he finds Sam to be convincing, helpful, and kissable. Sam is trans and gay, and Charlie, who is also gay, has prosthetic lower legs; refreshingly, these traits are woven naturally into the main plot. Though the novel is in need of much tightening—there are infodumps and worldbuilding details that don’t lead anywhere peppered throughout—this only slightly detracts from the romantic, scary, often violent mystery and Charlie’s believable growth. Most characters read White; several characters, both living and dead, are queer.

A frightened-but-determined sleuth satisfyingly bests a villain who scares wraiths.