Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead--keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rate, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and ever person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.
My Review:
Ahhhh!! I loved this book. I read it in one sitting and now I want to read it again just writing about it. I've mentioned I'm a sucker for a male point of view, and Cas is awesome. He has a bad-boy attitude with a side of sweetness. His relationship with his mom shows how he is underneath the ghost-slaying lifestyle he lives. His goal is to kill enough ghosts until he feels he's ready to face the one that killed his father.
When he meets Anna Dressed in Blood, she's every bit as terrifying as the locals say she is. She rips apart anyone who comes into her house...except for Cas. Anna is the most powerful ghost Cas has ever met, and knows he has to figure out what made her that way before he can kill her. With the help of two unexpected (but welcome) friendships, Cas and crew set out to solve the puzzle. Cas has to come to grips with his feelings for Anna so he can do the job he set out to do.
Again, I loved this book. It's funny, quirky, heart-breaking, and wonderfully written.
