Book Review: Melody Bittersweet and the Girls Ghoustbusting Agency by Kitty French

Melody Bittersweet and the Girls Ghoustbusting Agency is the first book in a series by Kitty French. Life’s tough for Melody Bittersweet. She’s single, addicted to sugar and super heroes, her family are officially bonkers, and she sees dead people. Is it any wonder no-one’s swiping right on Tinder? Waking up lonely on her twenty seventh birthday, Melody finally snaps. She can’t carry on basing all of her life decisions on the advice of her magic 8 ball; things have got to change. Fast forward two months, and she’s now the proud proprietor of her very own ghostbusting agency - kind of like in the movies but without the dodgy white jumpsuits. She’s also flirting with her ex Leo Dark, fraternising with her enemy in alleyways, and she’s somehow ended up with a pug called Lestat. Life just went from dull to dynamite and it’s showing no sign of slowing up anytime soon. Melody’s been hired to clear Scarborough House of its incumbent ghosts, there’s the small matter of a murder to solve, and then there’s the two very handsome, totally inappropriate men hoping to distract her from the job.

Melody Bittersweet and the Girls Ghoustbusting Agency was a quick read, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Melody has a wacky family, that wants the best for her but has their own ideas on what that might be.Once she gets her new job up and running. A conflict with the ex boyfriend,  a handsome ghost, and an old murder mystery make Melody's effort to secure her first paying job as a ghost removal service is off to an interesting start. I really enjoyed the wacky secondary characters and the complexity of the mystery and danger that Melody finds herself embroiled in. While it certainly was a cozy mystery, there was enough danger that I was worried a few times for the safety of our main players. I liked that the book offered a clear resolution for the characters, rather than leaving readers hanging until the next book, while leaving enough possibilities for future craziness and chaos that I want to see what happens next. A nearly perfect balance, and one that is hard to write.

Melody Bittersweet and the Girls Ghoustbusting Agency is a fun cozy. mystery with a ghostly bent. I liked the characters and that it was complex while still being lots of fun. I do believe that I wil keeping my eye it for the continuation of this series.