No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong

Title: No Humans Involved
Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publisher: Orbit
ISBN: 978-1-84149-667-2
Pages: 438
Series: Otherworld #7
Type: Adult Urban Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Three top spiritualists gathered in one house to raise the ghost of Marilyn Monroe sounds like ideal reality TV, and for Jaime Vegas it could be the stepping stone she needs for her own show. Unlike her colleagues, Jaime is the real deal: a necromancer who can really contact the dead...and knows that the house is really haunted. Soon Jaime realises that multiple spirits are trapped in the gardens and calls upon Jeremy Danvers to help her investigate the ghosts horrifying origins.

This is the seventh book in the Otherworld series (after Bitten, Stolen, Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic, Haunted and Broken) and sees Jaime Vegas take over as narrator. Jaime has been a supporting character in the books since Industrial Magic and it's great to see her take a lead role given how much her character has been developed. Jaime is the oldest narrator so far and it's great to see how that maturity allows her to deal with manipulative TV executives and backstabbing co-stars.

Jaime's crush on Jeremy has been a key part of her character development as she's generally very mature and isn't prone to uncontrollable blushes and stammering. It has always appeared unrequited so it is fascinating to see Jeremy start showing signs of being interested in Jaime while trying to figure out how a potential relationship would work alongside his role as Alpha of the werewolf pack.

The book is mostly set in L.A. on the set of the spiritualist TV show where Jaime discovers some unusual ghosts in the gardens and is soon led on an investigation with Jeremy at her side. There are chapters interspersed from the perspective of the "bad guys" of the book and it soon becomes clear that the ghosts were killed in a shocking and barbaric way unheard of even in supernatural communities. The plot is well-paced and tension packed with lots of twists and turns, although one I did figure out a big one in advance.

The world building allows a closer look at necromancers and also brings half-demon Hope Adams into a main Otherworld book (she was previously the focus of a story in Dates from Hell). Hope is the narrator of the next book and I'm not really sure if I like her yet, although her relationship with Karl Marsten is interesting. The development of Jaime's necromancy continues from the last book, showing that she has one of the scariest gifts of all whilst allowing her to become more accepting of it. Eve and Kristoff also return to help Jaime out leading to some incredibly sweet scenes.

All in all, this was a great read and I'm looking forward to Personal Demon.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 8/10

Overall: 47/50