A Ghoul's Guide to Love and Murder

“VICTORIA LAURIE IS THE QUEEN OF PARANORMAL MYSTERIES.”

—BookReview.com

Praise for the
New York Times
Bestselling Ghost Hunter Mysteries

“A quickly paced and cleverly constructed mystery. . . . Laurie's character work is, as always, first-rate. M.J.'s one of my very favorite cozy heroines; endearingly goofy, insanely brave, and loyal to a fault, she injects both humor and heart into a story.”

—Smitten by Books

“A fearsome, thrilling tale . . . this terrific read hits on all cylinders.”

—
Suspense Magazine

“Delightful. . . . Laurie nicely balances goofiness and terror.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Induces chills while never losing its sense of humor or fun.”

—Kings River Life Magazine

“Anybody who likes a paranormal mystery will have a spook-tacular time.”

—Open Book Society

“Fabulously entertaining. . . . [Laurie] has a genuine talent for creating unique spirits with compelling origin stories and then using those creations to scare . . . her characters and her readers alike.”

—The Maine Suspect

“Filled with laugh-out-loud moments and nail-biting, hair-raising tension, this fast-paced, action-packed story will keep readers hooked from beginning to end.”

—Fresh Fiction

“Without question, this is one of the most bewitching and flat-out-fun series available today!”

—
RT Book Reviews

The Ghost Hunter Mystery Series

What's a Ghoul to Do?

Demons Are a Ghoul's Best Friend

Ghouls Just Haunt to Have Fun

Ghouls Gone Wild

Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls

Ghoul Interrupted

What a Ghoul Wants

The Ghoul Next Door

No Ghouls Allowed

The Psychic Eye Mystery Series

Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye

Better Read Than Dead

A Vision of Murder

Killer Insight

Crime Seen

Death Perception

Doom with a View

A Glimpse of Evil

Vision Impossible

Lethal Outlook

Deadly Forecast

Fatal Fortune

Sense of Deception

OBSIDIAN

Published by New American Library,

an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

This book is an original publication of New American Library.

Copyright © Victoria Laurie, 2016

Excerpt from
Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye
copyright © Victoria Laurie, 2004

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Obsidian and the Obsidian colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

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.

eBook ISBN 978-0-698-15796-5

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance
to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

To all you glorious Ghost Hunter Mysteries fans.

M.J., Heath, Gilley, and I thank you for ten amazing years.

Acknowledgments

I've been sitting here for the past hour trying to find the right words to let all of you who read the Ghost Hunter Mysteries know how very much I have appreciated the gift of your support for these past ten years, and I'm not thinking that this will be the most eloquent of speeches, but I hope the sentiment of that gratitude at least comes through. I started M.J. on a whim way back in 2004—maybe '05. I had lunch in Manhattan with my amazing agent, Jim McCarthy, and my pitch went as follows: “So, there's this character that I've introduced in
A Vision of Murder
and her name is M. J. Holliday. She's a descendant of Doc Holliday, her BFF is a flamboyantly fun boy named Gilley, and she has a parrot named Doc. M.J. is a ghostbuster, and she's a badass, and I kiiiiiiinda want to do a spinoff series featuring her.”

His response? “How fast can you write it?”

I never expected M.J.'s story to turn into the successful series it has. I figured she'd last about four, maybe five books, and I'd move on to something else. But she remained strong and consistent, and that is due mostly to you, my wonderful fans. And I know that some of you reading this will be surprised that this is the last installment in the series, and I also know that it might make you a little sad. . . . I'm sad too. I've loved working on her stories. I've loved watching her grow and
evolve and fall in love—twice—and mature into something less badass and something more . . . nurturing. I think I knew about three years ago that her story arc was coming to an end. It just felt right to end the series at number ten. But it's also heartbreaking in a way, because I love these characters and I've loved hearing about how you've loved them too. So, thank you for that. Sincerely. It's meant the world to me to have so many devoted fans, and I promise you that while this may be the end of hearing about M.J. and Heath, it's not the end of my storytelling. There will be more from me. Much more. (Hinty, hinty . . . ) And I pinkie swear you'll like it.

And now, if you'll indulge me, I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who's supported me and encouraged me professionally these past ten years with the series. In particular I'd like to begin by thanking Jim McCarthy, my agent and one of the very best people I've ever had the sincere pleasure to call a friend. Early in the crafting of the very first book, I knew that I wanted to have a character inspired by Jim, and he has so generously allowed me that license. Gilley never would've been the truly fabulous, flamboyant, witty, fun, and hilarious character that he is without Jim's influence. In fact, I doubt Gil ever would've existed without Jim. I owe him for that, and maybe also for being the very best agent on the planet. Thank you, honey. You and Gilley will hold a very special place in my heart for the rest of my life, and there aren't words to express how truly grateful I am for that.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank Sandra Harding-Hull, my editor for more than seven years, who was so integral to the longevity of the series. If not for Sandy, I'm quite convinced I would've ended the series much sooner, but I loved working with her, so I kept going. She's moved on from being my editor, and it still makes me cry to think she won't be lending her sage advice to my books, but her legacy is deeply entrenched in both M.J. and Abby, and I'll always remember the lessons she taught me. Thank you, Sandy. I miss you, I adore you, and hope you're still reading my stuff and that you know how very much you have contributed to my success.

Thanks also go to Jessica Wade, who jumped in and assisted with the edits on this book, and who is now taking over for Sandy. I liked you immensely in the first ten seconds we spoke, Jessica, and I knew that I'd be in the very best of hands at second eleven.

Also, thank you to my amazing publicist, Danielle Dill, who's just, like,
awesome
! It's been so much fun sharing puppy pics with you, Danielle. Thanks for being so fantastic and so personable. You rock!

Finally, I'd like to thank the people in my personal life who constantly support me even when I'm running myself ragged trying to make that deadline. Brian Gorzynski (I love you, honey. I'm the luckiest woman in the world with you at my side), my amazing sister, Sandy Upham, Steve McGrory, Matt and Mike Morrill, Katie Coppedge, Leanne Tierney, Karen Ditmars, Nicole Gray, Jennifer Melkonian, Terry Gilman, Catherine Ong Kane, Drue Rowean, Sally Woods, John
Kwaitkowski, Matt McDougal, Dean James, Anne Kimbol, McKenna Jordan, Hilary Laurie, Shannon Anderson, Thomas Robinson, Juliet Blackwell, Gigi Pandian, Martha Bushko and Suzanne
Parsons.