Graveyard Mind

Ginther brings the paranormal to Manitoba in this supernatural thriller, which is sure to delight lovers of gritty urban fantasy. Winter Murray makes a living as a “Necromancer of the Compact” in Winnipeg, “reputed to be among the most haunted cities in Canada.” Winter has the hard job of “watching over [Winnipeg’s] dead [and] dying, and when necessary, doing its killing.” While she’s investigating a death cult that threatens the safety of the city, the reemergence of a vampiric figure from Winter’s terrifying past pushes her to the limits of her abilities and possibly her sanity. Leaving behind the Norse mythologies that fueled his terrific Thunder Road trilogy, Ginther takes a pop culture kitchen sink approach to this new world, throwing in vampires, ghosts, living corpses, magicians, and more. He also brings a keen sense of humor to his increasingly weird scenarios. Winter is an appealingly sardonic hero whose life is made up of “mouthy vampires, unpaid debts, and cult conspiracies.” Though the world of ever-shifting rules sometimes threatens to bewilder an inattentive reader, this series launch should appeal to fans of the hard-boiled fantasy novels of Richard Kadrey and Simon R. Green. (July)