Book Review: Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan Mcguire

Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan Mcguire is the first book in a new series, set in the same world as the Incryptid series but with new characters and dealing with the more ghostly residents. 

Rose Marshall died in 1952 in Buckley Township, Michigan, run off the road by a man named Bobby Cross—a man who had sold his soul to live forever, and intended to use her death to pay the price of his immortality. Trouble was, he didn’t ask Rose what she thought of the idea. It’s been more than sixty years since that night, and she’s still sixteen, and she’s still running. They have names for her all over the country: the Girl in the Diner. The Phantom Prom Date. The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. Mostly she just goes by “Rose,” a hitchhiking ghost girl with her thumb out and her eyes fixed on the horizon, trying to outrace a man who never sleeps, never stops, and never gives up on the idea of claiming what’s his. She’s the angel of the overpass, she’s the darling of the truck stops, and she’s going to figure out a way to win her freedom. After all, it’s not like it can kill her. You can’t kill what’s already dead.

Sparrow Hill Road was not what I expected, but in the very best ways. I was expecting something very much like the books I have already read from Mcguire, and while the skill and style were definitely on par the characters and legends felt fresh and new. Rose is a small town girl, turned ghost, dealing with her new 'life' as a hitchhiking ghost and her new obligations. I enjoyed getting to know Rose. While she honestly wants to help and do the right thing, she is not perfect. She has a temper, sometimes makes mistakes, and is sometimes too soft a touch. All of these traits come together to make her a wonderfully real character. The use of urban legends and well known ghost stories was wonderfully done, I have always been fascinated on how legends both ancient and more modern change and grow, so this was right up my alley. The action is paced well, giving nail biting moments interspersed with backstory and important character development. The secondary characters are not flat, while not quite as developed as Rose they are well layers and complex. Even the characters we only see for one interaction are not stereotypes or simple, they feel real and dynamic. Mcguire is wonderful at making characters that I feel like I know, and whose stories I just want more of after the book is over.

Sparrow Hill Road starts what i hope is another long and highly entertain series from Mcguire. In fact, I already have the next book, The Girl in the Green Silk Gown waiting for me on my kindle and I am looking forward to the read.

As a side note- if you prefer audio books I highly recommend giving this book a listen as well as her other books. I have listened to several books from her other series and while she does have a couple different narrators they are all wonderful.