Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day - NOW the Title Makes Sense!

TITLE: Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day
AUTHOR: Seanan McGuire
PUBLISHER: Tor
PUBLISHING DATE: January 10, 2017

FROM GOODREADS: When her sister Patty died, Jenna blamed herself. When Jenna died, she blamed herself for that, too. Unfortunately Jenna died too soon. Living or dead, every soul is promised a certain amount of time, and when Jenna passed she found a heavy debt of time in her record. Unwilling to simply steal that time from the living, Jenna earns every day she leeches with volunteer work at a suicide prevention hotline.

But something has come for the ghosts of New York, something beyond reason, beyond death, beyond hope; something that can bind ghosts to mirrors and make them do its bidding. Only Jenna stands in its way.

MY THOUGHTS:  So this book pretty much sealed the deal for me with Seanan McGuire. I know I've read the first two her her Incryptid series and enjoyed them, but after reading "Every Heart a Doorway" earlier this year and "Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day" now, I think I'm going to have to devour everything this woman writes - and that's a lot of books because doesn't she write as Mira Grant as well?

This book is just beautiful and similar to "Every Heart a Doorway," McGuire takes an urban fantasy theme and makes it somehow become so much more and touch your heart. "Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day" tells the story of Jenna, who accidentally dies as a teen following her sister's death. However, Jenna's death was a tragedy whereas her sister's was all part of the plan, and she is left haunting the earth in New York City. McGuire has captured such an interesting concept with her ghosts. People who die before their "scheduled" times are doomed to haunt the world. They can "steal" time from individuals until they internally age to the point where they would have died if things has played out as charted, and they are also able to give time to other people to extend their time haunting. Jenna wants to move on and meet her sister, but she is depressed and has specific methods in which she feels stealing time from others is acceptable. All of a sudden, Jenna learns that many of the ghosts in her city are disappearing. She and her acquaintances, for Jenna really has few true friends, start to unravel the mystery and eventually learn what is happening.

While a relatively short book, it sure packs a punch. There are a variety of interesting characters and the subject matter clearly takes aim at loss, depression and moving on. I was totally absorbed by the story and hated for it to end. If you want an urban fantasy that contains so much more, or if you love ghost stories, this book is definitely for you!

RATING: 5 PAWS