The Case of the Green-Dressed Ghost

January 9, 2017
Banks’s debut marks the start of a promising urban fantasy series, something like Ghostbusters with a British accent. Kester Lanner was raised by his mother and only discovers after her death that his father is alive and eager to welcome him into the family business in Exeter: Dr. Ribero’s Agency of the Supernatural. A job as a spirit-hunting investigator doesn’t exactly thrill this nervous academic, who prefers “the predictable, the reliable, and the well-established.” Despite his misgivings, 22-year-old Kester joins the firm and soon discovers that he has a rare skill that could help give the company the edge it needs over the competition. The real challenge comes with a dangerous case dealing with a haunted painting of a mysterious lady in green that charms every man who sees it. Banks introduces all the necessary background of a series launch, including Kester’s uneasy relationships with his new job, the father he never knew he had, and coworkers who aren’t sure how much they can trust him, as well as a supernatural landscape that mixes folklore, legend, and deadly reality. Contemporary fantasy fans hungry for a new angle will enjoy this one.

January 1, 2017

Kester Lanner is a shy, quiet introvert who aspires to nothing more than to live an ordinary life with his indulgent mother. But the safety and security that he has always known is stripped away when his mother succumbs to cancer, and on her deathbed asks him to find his long-lost father, Dr. Ribero. Finding Dr. Ribero isn't hard, but what else Kester discovers has him terrified to stay. His father and his eclectic associates run the Agency of the Supernatural, catching spirits and sprites in recycled water bottles and banishing bloodthirsty ghosts through homemade gadgets. Kester is a self-described coward but can't help coming back to Dr. Ribero to learn more about his mother's hidden past with the agency. As with many debut series, this worthwhile launch has a lot of ground to cover in introducing this paranormal agency and its investigators, but readers will forgive its initial slow pace and eagerly anticipate the second volume. VERDICT Recommended for readers interested in modern-day ghost stories or edgier cozy mysteries.--Jennifer Funk, McKendree Univ. Lib., Lebanon, IL

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2017
Ghosts and ghost hunters are a well-kept secret in the England presented in Banks' first novel, the start to the Dr. Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural series. Kester Lanner, our protagonist, discovers the Agency after his mother sends him to find Dr. Ribero. Lanner is quickly found out to have a special and rare gift: he can open doors into the spirit world. When the agency lands a dangerous and important mission, they insist on taking Lanner along to help. The case proves tricky as the ghost has ingrained herself into her portrait, and to remove her from the house, they must pull her out and put her in the storage container. The team interacts with a few spirits in the book, but none of the missions are scary. The story lacks the atmosphere of a truly terrifying haunting, but the mystery itself and the members of the agency are fun and compelling. This is a cozy haunting story, instead of a poltergeist-filled destination tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)