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Meet Leda Foley: devoted friend, struggling travel agent, and inconsistent psychic. When Leda, sole proprietor of Foley's Flights of Fancy, impulsively re-books Seattle PD detective Grady Merritt’s flight, her life changes in ways she couldn’t have predicted.
After watching his original plane blow up from the safety of the airport, Grady realizes that Leda’s special abilities could help him with a cold case he just can’t crack.
Despite her scattershot premonitions, she agrees for a secret reason: her fiancé’s murder remains unsolved. Leda’s psychic abilities couldn’t help the case several years before, but she’s been honing her skills and drawing a crowd at her favorite bar’s open-mic nights, where she performs Klairvoyant Karaoke—singing whatever song comes to mind when she holds people’s personal effects. Now joined by a rag-tag group of bar patrons and pals alike, Leda and Grady set out to catch a killer—and learn how the two cases that haunt them have more in common than they ever suspected.
* Source: NetGalley; ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
A psychic travel agent and a detective teaming up to solve a murder is the pairing I didn't know I needed! I guess it might be weird to say a mystery is adorable but this one was. Along with being suspenseful it was also funny and tender in the right moments.
Leda and Grady meet through unusual circumstances. He hires to arrange his flights but when she reschedules his return flight hoe, he's annoyed. Leda, who's "clairsentient" as she terms it herself, can't exactly explain to him why she's insistent on him skipping this particular flight to wait for the next one. from certain death when she reschedules his flight. It's only when he realizes the certain death she saved him from that he wonders how on earth she did it so he decides to pay her a little visit. After she reveals her little secret - that she's sort of psychic - Grady has an idea. He wants to hire her to help him solve a murder that's been a thorn in his side. It's an unorthodox approach and he'd probably be ripped for it back at his station if anyone caught wind about it, but he's desperate. He's baffled by certain details of the case and after hitting so many dead ends, Leda's gift could provide a breakthrough. Leda's a whole lot of hesitant about this as she's still learning about her gift but agrees to assist. A little extra cash wouldn't hurt as she tries to get her travel agency business going. It's in the midst of working together that Leda makes the unexpected discovery that Grady may have a connection to her own mystery - the murder of her fiancé a few years back. How the two cases are connected is elusive to her, and as alarming as it is, and as much as she's not sure how trustworthy Grady is, she's sure of at least one thing: that she must see this through and Grady is essential to that.
Though it's a mystery, there's a level of lightheartedness that I enjoyed. Leda is quirky, to say the least. Her best friend, Niki sometimes has to push her. Mind you, I tend to be quite judgmental about best friend characters in stories because I feel that a lot of the times they're written to be so over the top that they overshadow the main character. In Niki's case, she has that tendency that but I never thought she overwhelmed Leda when they were in scenes together. Leda has a unique way to hone her gift. Her clairvoyant karaoke schtick might seem gimmicky but she's somehow able to tap into people's emotions and convey messages through song. She may not understand why a particular song comes to her but she's willing to be the conduit. Those were sweet moments with the added touch that I also found new meaning in certain songs.
A good mystery can be so satisfying. Grave Reservations is witty and enjoyable and I especially love when unlikely partnerships occur. Leda's innocent nature and big, soft heart strike a nice counterbalance to Grady's many years of detective work that's probably made him a little tired and jaded. I appreciated that he never condescended to her. He might've been a bit exasperated by her and Niki's goofiness and tendency to not listen very well at times, but he always treated her respectfully. Knowing firsthand that Leda's the real deal probably helps, too. I liked this curious, engaging mystery and definitely recommend Grave Reservations. I also wouldn't mind another one featuring Leda and Grady. It'd be fun to see how her gift continues to grow.
~ Bel
