The Girl in the Green
Silk Gown, by Seanan McGuire (DAW)
This novel continues
the story of Rose Marshall, killed in the 1950s when her car was forced off the
road by a lunatic bent on immortality. She’s bound to the “ghost roads” (the
name of this series), taking on physical form to steer drivers safely away from
avoidable accidents and guide the newly dead to a more peaceful place. But
Rose’s nemesis isn’t done with her, and now he’s scheming to harvest her soul
to buy him more time. After he strips away her supernatural protections, she
makes a desperate bid to be rid of him, but he’s a step ahead of her and she
ends up in a mortal body.
From there, as to be expected, matters descend into
chaos as Rose realizes that she has become, essentially and forever, a road
ghost. The changes a living person experiences, whether a cold or a cut or the
slow aging of her cells, are now intolerably terrifying. The way back to her
ghostly condition involves a journey to Hades to petition Persephone for aid,
but a journey that depends entirely upon a human ally, the woman who had sworn
vengeance on Rose for the death of the drag racer boyfriend.
The “Ghost Roads”
series continues to delight me with its combination of angst-ridden narrative voice,
plot convulsions, and moments of unexpected compassion and wisdom. My
suggestion is to start at the beginning, because on the Ghost Roads, the ride
is the destination.
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