THE SKELETONS OF SCARBOROUGH HOUSE (The Chapelwick Mysteries #1) by KITTY FRENCH

★ ☆ ★

Reviewed by Gitte & Jenny

‘My name’s Melody Bittersweet, and I see dead people.’

Kitty French wrote something pretty special in Melody Bittersweet and The Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency (now titled: The Skeletons of Scarborough House). Quite the mouthful right?! Well, we haven’t laughed so much in a long while as we did in the story of the gorgeous and lovable ‘Bittersweet’. And this was only the first step in a journey we cannot wait to be a part of.

‘I’ve spent my entire adult life either trying to fit into the outside world like a square peg in a round hole,…and however hard I try, I’m never going to be a round peg.’

You know what, we think this is without question one of the best rom coms we’ve read this year. Why? Because it was quintessentially British, it had incredible heart, a fanciful story line and characters that won us over upon meeting them. Not a single character left us wanting, dead or alive, we felt the importance of every player as they scrambled to uncover a mystery of ghostly proportions. We felt like instant friends and wanted to grab a seat in Babs and join the crew.

‘I’m twenty-seven, single and so damn lonely that I’m going crazy.’

Melody is our kind of girl and we instantly fell in love with her quirky eccentric ghostly ways and felt an affinity with her sarcastic and sassy nature. She’s different yet in the same breath, she’s so like a girl next door. A beautifully and well written character who stole our hearts.

‘For Bittersweet women, love is big and sweeping, all-consuming and life-altering.’

Melody has reached an important stage in her life, she’s at an age that signifies a momentous moment in her family history and with her equally special and ghost seeing Mum and Gran, she’s desperate to create her own place in the world. Well as much as she’s able to anyway, what with continuous interferences from those she loves and those who just won’t leave her alone.

 ‘I’ve worked out my own style with scant regard for what’s in fashion. I’ve never been one of the popular girls or the sparkly girls and that never bothered me once, because all I needed to get through was black nail polish, Marina, and my gut instinct.’

A mystery unfolds in a haunted house that sees Melody, Marina, and Artie caught up in various hysterical shenanigans, an unsolved bloody murder and a race against the clock with a disgruntled now famous ex-boyfriend. It’s all very fast paced, yet brilliantly timed. Marina and Artie were fabulous character and only added to everything we loved.

“I knew your skin would feel like that,” he says. “Too soft for all your hard edges.” I frown. “I don’t have hard edges.” “Yes you do. You’re all sharp edges, sarcasm and trouble, but your skin isn’t playing games. It’s smooth and warm, and it likes me much better than the rest of you does.”

All the while we have a ghost wagon called Babs, and Babs says no. A greedy one-eared rowdy pug called Lestat and a devilishly handsome and cocky reporter called Fletch with whom there’s a simmering undeniable yet fiercely disputed romance happening. We’ll eagerly watch that space! Bring on the next book in this series we can’t wait….

“Bittersweet, your dog is humping my leg.”

‘Fucking Lestat! I look down and sure enough, there he is on the cobbles, merrily banging away at Fletch’s leg with his beady eyes rolled back in his flat face in pure delicious bliss.’

4 stars

THE CHAPLEWICK MYSTERIES SERIES by KITTY FRENCH

The Skeletons of Scarborough House Book One

Mystery at Maplemead Castle Book Two