Tanz, along with her friend and mentor Sheila, are out celebrating a ghostbusting job that went well, when mysterious and magnetic Einar approaches their table, and gives Tanz his number. After a steamy date, he offers her a place to stay in his native Iceland where she can have a writing retreat, but when she takes him up in his offer, all is not what it seems. Expecting some romantic time alone with Einar, she winds up snowed in alone in the cabin and the voices of the dead calling her for help once again.

I really enjoy this series, this is the fourth book, and I hope there are more. Tracy Whitwell is an actress turned writer, and some of these books have taken place in the film and theater world, which is really fun. The cover art of this series is also really stylized and delightful, often with little psychic or new age elements on the covers, and a hand holding a glass of wine. Because Tanz likes a glass of wine.

Our main character narrates the stories. She’s an actress who found she had some psychic abilities in the first book, and since then has been developing them, helping to resolve things for the dead and solve their cold cases. She has the help of her mentor Sheila, who knows about how the world of being a psychic works, and she also has Frank, a friend who has crossed over to the other side and is a sort of guide to her from there. By this, the fourth book, she’s finding her feet as a psychic and moving away from the acting world a little bit.

I was thinking as I read this book about how much I like spending time with Tanz. She’s kind, makes friends instantly, and she’s got a positive outlook. She doesn’t judge, she’s the kind of woman who lifts other women up, she’s adventurous and she likes a glass of wine. She feels like someone who you’d really like if you met her in real life, who would always have some funny story about what they’d been up to lately.

This time around, I felt like the story showed us a woman learning to embrace who she is and stepping into her own power in a way. Initially, Tanz is really swept off her feet by Einar, and it’s put in such a way that it seems like she’s not really seeing him, as though he has a charismatic glamour around him. It felt a little different to the romance in other books in this series, because although Tanz is a romantic and adventurous, this was like her coming up against something more like obsession, more seductive than romantic. It’s out of balance, and I like the way it’s written that Tanz can’t see it, but the clues are there that let us know. Throughout the book, there’s a bit more of a steamy vibe than usual. Which is fun. The outcome of this theme in the story, without giving anything away, is that Tanz learns something about herself and grows, and it also feels like she’s less owning her powers a bit more, embracing the weird and knowing who she is.

Our main character lives in London, but each book has been informed by a place, the previous book around a famous cemetery for example, and the unrestful inhabitants there. This book is set in Iceland, and the author does a great job of creating atmosphere and colour, from the cold snow, lonely trees, the isolation of the cabin, to local foods and museums. It’s a great location for one of these books and it’s used to inform the feel of the story as well as what happens, really well. I liked the mystery of this story a lot, I think it comes together really well and is very intriguing, and feels realistic.

If you liked the previous books, you’ll like this one. If you’re looking for a supernatural, rom com, mystery series, or you like witchy reads, definitely check out this series. I think in this book, there were a few recurring characters and plot points that mean that you will probably enjoy it more and it will make more sense to you if you read the others first. Especially as this book feels like things building on other things. Tanz is drawn into taking reckless steps by Einar that are a bit out of character at first, so knowing her usual character makes this and her growth from this, more impactful. And things that she’s able to do and connect with here are an escalation on previous experiences with her powers, but might seem intensely woowoo if you start here.

I find these books a very welcome escape read, with a friendly, fun tone, generally and a good story. They do contain heavy themes, but they’re not heavy reading.

Read It If: fans of this series, rejoice, Tanz is back, with another great mystery to solve and this time, things are wee bit more steamy. (But not overly so)

Thank you to PGC Books for the copy of this book for review.