“…don’t you agree that your personal involvement could lead to stronger manifestations?” Patricia Montague had asked. And he had agreed, but he’d never expected it to be like this. [loc. 783]
Nigel Taylor is a parapsychologist at Duke University: his role is in danger of funding cuts, but a wealthy socialite offers to fund his research ... if he'll agree to work with a professional ghost-hunting team, and investigate rumours of a haunting at a particular property. The ghost-hunters in question are the team behind a show called 'OutFoxing the Paranormal', and their lead, the charismatic Oscar Fox, is immediately attracted to Nigel. It's mutual, but it would be unprofessional to do anything about it while they're staying in the haunted house. Wouldn't it? Even though (a) Nigel has first-hand knowledge of the events in that house, and (b) whatever's there is really very scary?
This is a sweet M/M romance (one of the protagonists is trans) and the sweetness is especially strong in juxtaposition with the truly horrific paranormal element. The cast is diverse (Oscar's team comprises a woman and a non-binary person; Nigel is supported by his former advisor, a woman who has undisclosed history with sponsor Mrs Montague) and Nigel and Oscar's pasts, gradually revealed, explain why Nigel feels driven to investigate this particular haunting, and why Oscar is in denial about his gifts as a medium. Some nice details, including the use of an ESD (electro-static discharge) strap, as used by IT techs, to 'ground' someone who's under attack by a spirit; and some nice interpersonal elements, such as the care Nigel and Oscar both take to accommodate and accept one another's quirks, habits and weaknesses. I'll likely read more in this series.
Fulfils the ‘Recommended by a favorite author’ rubric of the 52 books in 2022 challenge. (KJ Charles: "SODDING TERRIFYING".)
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