A review by criminolly
Osgood As Dead by Cooper S. Beckett

4.0

The 4th of the Spectral Inspector books by Cooper S Beckett is just as enjoyable and wild a ride as the first three. It starts where the third book left off and so I won’t say too much about the plot for fear of spoiling the end of that book. And in fact the plot isn’t really the point of these books, although the stories and pacing are always good. They’re much more about the characters (heroine Prudence Osgood in particular) and the vibe. That vibe is hard to describe - a mix of very creepy horror and cosy queer found family drama that feels like it shouldn’t necessarily work and yet does. 
The horror comes from a beguiling mix of cosmic weirdness and a fascination with unsettling half forgotten pop culture oddities. It works well, and the fact that you come to care so much about Osgood and her team of ghostbusters only helps ramp up the tension. There’s also a great ongoing story in these books, about Osgood’s battles against evil, which borders on the grandiose but manages to be compelling and fun. She is so different from the typical horror adventure protagonist that it’s impossible not to root for her wholeheartedly. 
I think that’s the thing that makes these books as enjoyable as they are. They’re proudly different, with the author’s obsessions and opinions in full view in a way that doesn’t always happen in traditionally published works. It results in a different kind of horror, and I’m definitely down for it.