Delia's Shadow

July 8, 2013
Moyer’s strong debut, set in 1915 San Francisco, combines murder, troubled spirits, and a tender romance. Being able to see ghosts is not unusual for Delia Martin, but she’s disconcerted when one begins to follow her around. All Delia can determine is that voiceless Shadow is tormented by her own past and hopes that Delia can set things right. San Francisco police lieutenant Gabriel Ryan is handsome, clever, and thoughtful, and he’s willing to believe Delia’s tales of ghosts—but being near him makes Shadow restless and disturbed. What is it about him that Shadow knows but can’t communicate? Though there are occasions where the story bogs down in modern attitudes and mores, Moyer’s detailed research regarding early-20th-century police work and the San Francisco Panama–Pacific Expo help make this romantic supernatural murder mystery sparkle. Agent: Tamar Rydzinski, Laura Dail Literary Agency. (Sept).

August 1, 2013
Ghosts and serial killers in 1915 San Francisco, Moyer's debut. From a young age, Delia Martin could see and interact with ghosts. After her parents were killed in the 1906 earthquake, family friend Esther Larkin took her in. Later, the persistent ghosts drove Delia to New York. She returns in 1915 ready, she thinks, to confront the ghosts and celebrate the wedding of her closest friend, Sadie, Esther's daughter, and visit a now terminally ill Esther. But the ghosts haven't gone away; one determined woman, whom Delia calls Shadow, needs Delia to do--something. Coincidentally, or maybe not, Sadie's beau, Sgt. Jack Fitzgerald of the SFPD, and his superior, Lt. Gabe Ryan, are investigating a serial killer. Thirty years ago, Gabe's father, Matthew, tried and failed to catch what appears to have been the same killer. Shadow, it seems, was one of the killer's victims. The crimes are characterized by an insensate sadism, a taunting of the police--first Matthew, now Gabe--and an obsession with ancient Egyptian funeral rites, practices and beliefs. Poor Delia, however, is almost overwhelmed with the sheer number and power of the ghosts she perceives, so she turns for help to psychic Isadora Bobet, who not only senses ghosts, but knows how to deal with them. But can Dora teach Delia what she needs to know before the killer catches up with all of them? The narrative is impeccably constructed and presented, almost to the point where it seems like it's on rails, though the characters are life-sized and blessedly free of any compulsion to do stupid things in order to further the plot. What's missing are sparks of originality to make it stand out.

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Starred review from August 1, 2013

Since the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 that killed her parents, Delia Martin has been able to see ghosts. Accepting a teaching job in New York City helped keep the spirits at bay for a few years, but now one persistent presence, a young woman Delia calls Shadow, is demanding that she return to San Francisco to bring the spirit--and, perhaps, Delia herself--the peace she seeks. The city Delia finds upon her return, though, is a more sinister one in which a killer who stalks the streets may, in fact, be the same person who murdered the young woman who is now Delia's ghostly companion. Moyer's first novel captures the feel of San Francisco in 1915, with its genteel upper class and ambitious working class, as well as the excitement for the future brought about by the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. VERDICT Both major and minor characters spring to life in this polished historical fantasy/mystery that should appeal to a wide variety of readers and could cross over to mainstream readers as well.

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