Violet Addison is not like most 15-year-olds: her father runs a funeral home, her deceased mother had been a paranormal investigator, and Violet herself can see ghosts (which usually appear as blue, see-through people). To her, ghosts aren’t scary, just a nuisance she has to deal with…until she moves to Palmetto, Florida. When she steps into the girls’ locker room at her new high school, she is shocked to find a strong presence of evil in the showers—a suffocating and terrifying sensation she has never before felt with any ghost. At the same time, she begins to question what happened the night her mother died while investigating paranormal activity in an old house. While the locker room evil and the death of Violet’s mother are unrelated, both issues will teach her a great deal about her ability to see ghosts—and show her how much she still has to learn.

Violet’s story is told with wit and dark humor as she struggles to solve the two mysteries and to learn to use her gifts to help people, aided by Tim, a shy boy who believes he is half-vampire; Isobel, a tough girl goth whose attitude hides a loving soul; Buster, Violet’s invisible pet poltergeist; and various friendly ghosts. So many similar books out there have cardboard characters, but Violet’s wit, independence, and slyness make her a unique and lovable person to root for. Even the mistakes she makes during her investigations make her more appealing. The plot keeps one guessing, too. Readers travel with Violet through her embarrassing first day of school, a (fake) séance in a cemetery, and finally to a frightening conclusion that takes place in the house where her mother died. Violet’s adventure is a clever new addition to the young adult mystery genre, a wonderful first book by new author Jill Baguchinsky.