Duty: 2 (A Ghost Squad Novel) Paperback – 21 Oct. 2022

So, no ghosts other than love stories from high school, except for Paul, she's the one who got away. On medical leave from the ghost squad where they were all on forced R&R, Paul heads home in time for the annual extended family reunion. Picked up at the airport by his aunt Helena, Hel to anyone who knows her, he's stunned to find his high school sweetheart, 'Beck', Rebecca there with his aunt now married to his buddy from high school, a town deputy. If that wasn't difficult enough, she appears thin and fragile, shying away from even small talk. Classic signs of spousal abuse. He's also learned she's getting a divorce only to hear her spouse is dragging the proceedings out.Something smells rotten and Paul feels its his duty to get to the bottom of it.

This story could have been much tighter at half the length. Unfortunately it was too padded with too much description and repetitive POV musings that dragged the pace into a mud pit and throttled the suspense. It’s also over twice as long as the first in the series, which lends to the feeling of the storytelling being wildly uneven. I almost DNFed but instead skimmed from 30% on. I expected better.