Lost Souls

Starred review from September 14, 2015
British author Patrick’s sequel to 2013’s Reviver imaginatively builds on its predecessor’s premise: that for some unknown reason, certain people, who are known as revivers, are suddenly able to talk to the recently deceased. Almost 14 years after the onset of this phenomenon, American society is divided between those who welcome it and the Afterlifers, who view it as blasphemous. The practice has been a boon to the Forensic Revival Service, which offers police a chance to ask murder victims who killed them. Forensic reviver Jonah Miller gets into trouble after he revives the son of a mixed marriage—the mother of a murdered teenager wants some final moments with him, but the victim’s father is a fervent Afterlifer. In the wake of the uproar, Jonah leaves the service, only to find himself in the midst of a serial killer investigation that may be the result of dark forces unleashed into our world by revivals of the dead. A genuine sense of menace, heart-stopping suspense, and a successful suspension of disbelief add up to one of the best paranormal thrillers of recent years. Agent: Luigi Bonomi, LBA Books (U.K.).