TITLE: Angel of the Overpass (Ghost Roads Book 3)
AUTHOR: Seanan McGuire
320 pages, DAW, ISBN 9780756416898 (paperback, e-book, audiobook)

DESCRIPTION: (from the back cover): The third book of the Ghost Roads series returns to the highways of America, where hitchhiking ghost Rose Marshall continues her battle with her killer—the immortal Bobby Cross.

Lady of shadows, keeper of changes, plant the seeds of faith within me, that I might grow and flourish, that I might find my way through danger and uncertainty to the safety of your garden. Let my roots grow strong and my skin grow thick, that I might stand fast against all who would destroy me. Grant to me your favor, grant to me your grace, and when my time is done, grant to me the wisdom to lay my burdens down and rest beside you, one more flower in a sea of blooms, where nothing shall ever trouble me again.

Rose Marshall died when she was sixteen years old and on her way to her high school prom. She hasn’t been resting easy since then—Bobby Cross, the man who killed her, got away clean after running her off the road, and she’s not the kind of girl who can let something like that slide. She’s been looking for a way to stop him since before they put her body in the ground.

But things have changed in the twilight world where the spirits of the restless dead continue their “lives.” The crossroads have been destroyed, and Bobby’s protections are gone. For the first time, it might be possible for Rose to defeat him.

Not alone, though. She’ll need every friend she’s managed to make and every favor she’s managed to add to her account if she wants to stand a chance…and this may be her last chance to be avenged, since what is Bobby Cross without the crossroads?

Everything Rose knows is about to change.

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

MY THOUGHTS: It’s pretty much a given at this point that when a Seanan McGuire series reaches the third book, change is in the wind. The changes may be somewhat subtle, the changes may be massive, the changes may upend everything you thought you knew about the characters – but there will be changes. McGuire doesn’t write static worlds where every episode ends with the status quo maintained. So yeah – go into Angel of the Overpass, the third Ghost Roads book, expecting Rose Marshall’s world to be different at the end than it was at the beginning. There’s a reason “Everything Rose knows is about to change” is the tagline for the book’s description, after all. And Seanan is not one to fail to deliver what the cover copy promises.

But here’s the thing about change: it tends to sneak up on us. Rose Marshall, like most of us, only sees the steps that lead her to a major life change in retrospect. In the moment, those small steps are just something to be dealt with – another narrow escape from Bobby Cross’s clutches, another awkward conversation with her boyfriend the ghost-car, another mission from powers greater than she is. Rose is too “in the moment” to see where each of these moments is leading her. (I can relate. Rose may not age, but I’m really wondering how I’m going to be 55 in a few months, when I was just 25 last week.)

It’s a credit to McGuire’s skill with the little moments that they’re all important enough in their own right to keep Rose’s attention, and this reader’s, from looking too far ahead. So when the big change to Rose’s status quo does happen, it’s a surprise to the character and hopefully to the reader – but a surprise with a logical lead-up as opposed to one that comes with no connection to what came before.

“Life (or in Rose’s case, Afterlife) is what happens while you’re making other plans” is a pretty solid theme throughout Angel of the Overpass. It’s exemplified not just by what Rose thinks she’s headed towards (life without the threat of Bobby Cross) as compared to where she ends up, but also by the way events outside of Rose’s usual sphere of control affect her. Things are different in the Twilight now that the Crossroads have been destroyed. This major upheaval is not Rose’s doing at all – for the details, you’ll have to see McGuire’s InCryptid series which stars various members of Rose’s adopted mortal family the Prices. Again, it’s a credit to McGuire’s deft hand that readers of The Ghost Roads series don’t need to have read InCryptid to understand the enormity of what’s happened: a cosmic force has been killed, and the various levels of reality (Daylight, Twilight, Starlight, and perhaps even the Midnight) are reeling from it. And like everyone else, Rose has to find ways to exist in this new strangeness. Gee, I bet most of us can relate to that.

Of course, there’s the usual amount of fight scenes and mayhem in line with the previous books in the series (Sparrow Hill Road and The Girl in the Green Silk Gown). Some minor fights before the boss level conclusion, because Rose wouldn’t be Rose if she didn’t get into more than one jam per book. And there are a number of sweet moments with various characters as well. No, I won’t give you details about the fights or the sweet moments. I try very hard to avoid major spoilers in my reviews. Even if I do really want to make giddy exultations about that one new ghost Rose encounters… But no! I shall not. (Insert evil laughter here.)

Some online vendors are advertising Angel of the Overpass as Ghost Roads Book Three of Three. It may be the end of the first trilogy, because again: major life changes for our favorite hitchhiking ghost by the end, but I know Seanan would like to write more Rose Marshall books. And when she does, I’ll be here to read them, because I really can’t wait to see what Rose does next.

Note: I received an advanced reading copy via NetGalley.

This is the third book in this urban legend-inspired ode to the road, and this book shouldn’t be read without reading the previous books. If you’re like me and are behind on the InCryptid series, this also contains major spoilers for the eighth book (That Ain’t Witchcraft).

“Rose Marshall, called the Phantom Prom Date, called the Angel of the Overpass, called so many, many things by so many, many voices. You’re a broken mirror of a girl, aren’t you? Reflecting what others want to see. When’s the last time the face in your mirror was your own?”


The Crossroads is dead, and so is Rose. One of those is more surprising than the other, as Rose finds when a tantalizing prospect is hung in front of her. Without his benefactor’s protection, there’s a good chance she can finally put an end to Bobby Cross, the man who made a deal to live forever in exchange for filling up his car’s tank with souls. He killed Rose, but failed to catch her soul, and she’s been running from him ever since. Ending Bobby – if it’s even possible – is something that’s attracted the interest of more than one power, but undertaking it could risk the afterlife of Rose and all her allies.

“Life is determined by the way you enter it. So is death.”


One of the things I’ve loved about Rose’s story is how it deals with fate versus choice. Rose reminds us multiple times that she’s a hitcher, and she has a set job to do, just like all of the other residents of the twilight (or below). How you died determines your afterlife, much like where and to whom you’re born determines your living life. Rose has always defined herself as a poor girl from the wrong side of town, someone who hitched herself (heh) to her boyfriend in hopes of getting out, but that’s not all she is. A regular hitcher would never have worked so hard to save the niece that betrayed her, nor would she have managed to gain Persephone’s blessing. And while Bobby may have taken her life and so many other choices from her, it’s Rose’s choice whether or not to continue to let him define her afterlife. A large part of the story is her realizing exactly how much she’s changed in the time she’s been dead, including a few flashbacks of stories from her early days as a hitcher that highlight just exactly that. It’s a meandering and slow-paced book, where even in the midst of action, Rose’ll take a handful of pages to go off on a tangent. After all, as she reminds the reader, she is dead and has all the time in the world!

“I’ve walked these roads too often to be anything other than what I was always intended to be.”


As with everything the author writes, the world building is excellent, and hauntingly atmospheric. It’s poetry to an era that doesn’t really exist any longer, except for long haul truckers perhaps, and it left me hungry for a malt and a burger. There’s check-ins with familiar characters, from homesteads to goddesses, and everything is wrapped up nicely. I’m not sure if this is the last book in the series, but it’s definitely the end of this particular arc for Rose.

“I can tell you’re trying like hell to be reassuring, and I hope you realize that you’re fucking it up every time you open your mouth.”
“Hey, I’m a psychopomp in service to the Goddess of the Dead,” I say. “Reassuring isn’t in my tool kit.”


Overall, despite the slow pace and multiple detours, this is a fitting end to this part of the story, and I will very much be hoping to see more Ghost Roads books in the future!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Rated 4.5 really.

First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley and Edelweiss, and got approved for it on both sites. Thanks to DAW for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

THE LONG AND THRILLING ROAD

I love this series with all my heart and soul, and there's plenty to love about it - from its engaging main character and her backstory to its rich mythology. I have to be honest though: this time I ran into a few bumps in the road (or, well, in the Ghost Roads 😁), and even if I cherished the time I spent in Rose's world and the ending went above and beyond my expectations, I'm not going to pretend those bumps never happened. Anyhow, let's start with the reasons why this book was almost a five-star read:

- McGuire has a strong hold on the protagonist (well, all her characters really - practically none of them is short of tridimensional and complex), and I never tire of staying in Rose's head. Everyone who's familiar with my blog knows how much I love my dead/undead book people, but Rose is a special case - a 16 y.o. girl pushing 90 in ghost age, which makes for the most interesting character ambivalence/development (mind you, it's not like she sounds 16 and 80+ at the same time - she sounds like "an ageless being with a grown woman's/creature's wisdom and sass, and a girl's heart underneath", as I said in my review for the first installment. I stand by my words). And yes...I said "character development", because all the best dead/undead book people grow, despite their predicament. Just when I was thinking that Rose might have no more (un)life left in her, McGuire pulled an awesome twist, and now...everything's going to stay the same, except everything changed. If the powers-that-be are listening, I DEMAND more Rose adventures (because I know the author, for her part, would be nothing but happy to provide them).

- This world is to die for - no pun intended. It's got "ghost cars, highways turned goddesses, itinerant or multilayered diners" (from my review of the second installment) and much more...all kinds of urban legends you can think of, and even a few you can't, because McGuire either put a spin on them or created them from scratch. This book in particular weaves a bunch of new details into the geography of the dead, and gives us both new perspectives about characters we already know and new characters to get acquainted with...some of which decidedly unusual.

- For a ghost world, things get real enough. See Rose and Gary's relationship. I admire a writer who doesn't shy from real, whatever the cost.

- The writing. Duh.

STUMBLING BLOCKS

As much as I loved this new chance to (actually) travel with Rose, there were a few aspects of the book that could have been stronger - though, how you can see from my rating, they didn't make a huge dent in my enjoyment of the story:

- There's a lot of recapping of the previous installments in the first 30 pages or so. I understand wanting new readers to get their bearings (though, granted, not many people come across the 3rd book in a series and decide to read it because, why not), but it was...a lot, not to mention, the same thing didn't happen in Book 2 - not so heavily anyway.

- On the other hand, the premise of this particular story gets dumped in our lap with no explanation whatsoever. I expected the thing in question because the blurb tells us about it, but I also expected it to be covered in this very book, while apparently it had happened offscreen...I couldn't get my bearings until I read this review (yes, I did my research) and realised that the event in question took place in an installment of the Ghost-Roads-adiacent series Incryptid (which I haven't read yet...and as much as I love McGuire, I'm not completely sure I will, because 11 books and counting plus a plethora of short stories? Plus spiders and snakes and...stuff? I'm tempted though...). Now, I have to admit I was annoyed. Why recap the first two installments in this very series and otherwise giving it for granted that its readers were familiar with a different one? I understand that summarising a book from a different series would have been a poor move, but to me, so it was to brush the issue aside and apparently assume that we knew what all the commotion was about...Maybe go for a middle ground?

- The story meanders a little, going as far as to incorporate at least one detour (as in, something that ultimately doesn't fit the main narrative), and overall reading like it wasn't as tightly plotted as the previous installment (I'm not comparing it with Book 1 because it was a collection of short stories).

- The author came up with a certain character one would never expect, and I can't decide if her creation was a stroke of genius or the most far-out thing I've ever encountered 😂. Also, this character was used a bit like a deus-ex-machina. Not to mention, I didn't particularly buy their connection with Rose. I have to admit they made for some spectacular scenes though, and I...liked them?
Now, judging from the number of points I've made here, it would probably look like the negative aspects balanced the positive ones, except of course they didn't, because when I give 4-5 stars to one of my books, it's earned them. Overall, Angel of the Overpass is a captivating, unpredictable new chapter in a story that I hope will continue for a long time, especially now that McGuire gave Rose new terrain to cover. I know I'll buy a physical copy as soon as it's available.

Angel of the Overpass is the third full length installment of The Ghost Roads series following Rose, a hitchhiking ghost of legend killed when a car ran her off the side of the road. The Driver of cursed car has been chasing her for seventy years but with the Crossroad dead that is about to change and the hunted is about to become the hunter.

There are some pretty big issues I had with this book and I'll get into those in a minute. First let's talk about the good stuff.

I did like that in this book Rose transformed from a ghost running to escape the demon chasing her, to one that is finally ready to do something to get rid of the murderer. She is finally ready to own her death and find a way to help keep the living safe at the same time. With the blessing of three goddesses, she is the chosen one to go after Bobby Cross now that he doesn't have a deal protecting him. She will run into some obstacles along the way and see some interesting stuff in the Twilight as powers realign themselves. McGuire is really good with imagining crazy places and the beings in them. I'm always entertained by that in all of her series.

Now the thing that jumped out like a sore thumb in this story was all the 'woke' stuff. There are multiple scenes that didn't seem to fit and felt like they were thrown in there just to make a speech for the reader to read. The worst offender was with Ocean Lady at a diner. It was the first time I rolled my eyes and was taken completely out of the story as homophobia was addressed. It was done poorly, didn't make any sense and just made me feel preached at. But, that wasn't all, it was like she had a list she wanted to make it through so there was also white privilege, Asian hate, more homophobia, bad cops, and pronoun usage.

Now, I completely admit I'm a little sensitive to all of the 'woke-ism' right now, since it feels everywhere in the real world and in my reading I would like to get away from it. However, if it is so blatant it takes you out of the story you are in, that is a problem. Plenty of authors find a way to have a voice subtly, without jamming it down your throat. It really felt like a solid fourth of this book was spent on some agenda instead of the plot. Again, I admit I'm possibly more sensitive to it at this time and it might not be as blatant to others or bother them at all.

I like Seanan McGuire a lot and have read 40+ books by her. This was probably one of the first times I was really disappointed in the direction she took with a story and felt so taken out of the story so many times it was distracting. I do hope this is a aberration and doesn't start leaking into her other series as well as she is a favorite author of mine.

Angel of the Overpass is the third book in Seanan McGuire's "Ghost Roads" series, featuring the adventures of Hitchhiking Ghost and urban legend Rose Marshall, set within the InCryptid Universe. The first book, Sparrow Hill Road (Reviewed Here) was essentially a collection in order of a set of short stories published originally elsewhere, and while I enjoyed some of those stories a lot - particularly McGuire's imagination as she describes Rose's adventures dealing with the various types of ghosts and other beings that inhabit the Twilight/Other Ghostly Planes - they didn't quite form a fully cohesive whole. The second book, The Girl in the Green Silk Gown (Reviewed Here), was a more cohesive novel but one that took Rose out of the Twilight and back into the living for most of it, which kind of ruined a lot of my enjoyment in the series. So while I enjoy McGuire in general, and very much love InCryptid, which this kind of spun-off of, I wasn't that excited for book 3 of this series.

Angel of the Overpass however delivers on pretty much what I was hoping to find in this series after book 1. This novel, which might or might not end the series, features both a cohesive whole story that still finds time for smaller adventures where Rose Marshall - now back to being a hitchhiking ghost - has to deal with other beings and interactions with the non-mortal planes, and they're an absolute blast to read. And the overall story is nice and conclusive and follows cleanly from what came before, for the most part. If this is the end of this series, it's a really strong one, and if it's not, well now for the first time I'm really excited to read more.

Note: More so than the other two books in the series, events in this book are very much influenced by the 8th InCryptid book, 2019's "That Ain't Witchcraft." You don't need to read that book to enjoy this one - enough is explained I think that you'll be okay without it - but it probably helps.


------------------------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------------------------
Rose Marshall is back to being dead....and back to being chased by her killer, the evil Bobby Cross, and his sinister car that sucks up souls to feed his own immortality. But something has changed in the Twilight, as well as the other ghostly planes like the Midnight and the Starlight - the evil Crossroads that used to power Bobby Cross' bargain are dead. And so the ghostly plains are out of sorts, trying to figure out what comes next....and for Rose Marshall, the opportunity presents itself for her to possibly fight back - and to get rid of Bobby Cross once and for all, before he kills other girls like her.

But Rose isn't just a simple Hitchhiking Ghost anymore - her journey has covered miles of distance and put her on the radar of powerful beings - goddesses, no less. And so to take such a radical action, if it's even possible, will require her to stay on these allies' good sides....and not get taken out by some other ghostly being in the meantime. It's a near impossible task, and Rose would much rather get back to hitchhiking, to the being she was made to be. But Rose's and Bobby Cross' paths have crossed for too many times for her to ignore this quest for justice and vengeance, and the opportunity .to take back her freedom and her "life" once and for all.........
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Angel of the Overpass is not only the concluding book in this three book arc, but also is kind of a sequel to the 8th InCryptid novel, That Ain't Witchcraft. You probably don't need to read that novel to enjoy this book, as this book explains the general essentials - but at the same time, for story (and presumably for spoiler-related) reasons, Rose doesn't go into too much depth with her narrative (Rose again tells the story in first person) and so readers who have skipped out on TAW might still be a little confused when those parts - the Crossroads and their death and the Anima Mundi - come into play.

That said, if you can clear that hurdle, Angel of the Overpass is really really enjoyable, owing to both the creative imagination of McGuire and the strong character voice of Rose Marshall. Rose isn't quite as sardonic or irreverent as some of the InCryptid protagonists*, but her voice is really fun to read and her character journey here, as she's forced to come to terms with what the death of the Crossroads means and how that impacts people she cares for and the idea of conquering her fear and getting rid of Bobby once and for all...it all just works really really well. It was that voice that kept me coming back even though I didn't quite love the last of these books, and It's still great here.

*Oddly, in her cameos in InCryptid, she's a LOT more vulgar and sardonic than she ever is in her own series.

But it's the imaginative aspects of this world that really take this one a step above its predecessor - we again see Rose interacting with various ghostly beings, as well as the various ghostly planes of existence, like the Starlight and Midnight which exist for beings that may never have been alive, or were non-human when alive, or whatever, and carry their own crazy dangers. We see one non-human type ghost who shows up in a fun seemingly irrelevant side adventure only to come back later (not revealing what type because it's a really fun spoiler) and Rose keeps winding up on these mini adventures in between her longer story arc that involve her interactions with all sorts of beings who are part of the ghostly world, and they're a lot of fun. Not all those stories always feel naturally placed in the narrative, but they're fun enough that I never really minded.

And the plot twists in this book all make sense and never really annoyed me like in the last book (which featured a number of really obvious and obnoxious betrayals that were just more annoying than anything). The plot also features an interesting and well done theme of showing how the ghostly world is affected by modernity, as various old types of ghosts begin to reform in more modern counterparts, which is a nice plus. It all adds up to an ending that works really well as both a conclusion to this series and perhaps as a starting point for a new arc for Rose Marshall, which I'd be excited to read.

If I have a complaint about this one, it's that one of the internal conflicts Rose has on the side is whether she really loves Gary (her high school boyfriend who made sure to die in a way that would have him come back as a car for her in one of the book 1 stories), and whether he really loves her, or just do they love the ideas of each other (especially Gary, who wound up having a full life without her). It's a really interesting idea, but it never came up previously I don't think, and just feels out of nowhere as a consideration for Rose in the back of her mind, even as it makes entirely good sense and deserves exploration. But it's a really minor complaint honestly.

In short, if you were like me and merely found okay or merely liked the first two Rose Marshall books, but did love the Incryptid books, I would strongly recommend giving Angel of the Overpass a try. And if you were waiting to jump into the series to see how book 3 was first, I'd say it's earned your faith that it's well worth beginning. I know I no longer regret it.

Series Info/Source: This is the third book in the Ghost Roads series. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley to review. This does tie in to the Incryptid series as well, so if you are reading that series make sure you read the most recent Incryptid book before reading this one.

Story (4/5): This was well done and is a very transformative book in Rose's story. While I always love the intricacy and description in McGuire's stories, this one was a bit too wordy for me. The Ghost Roads stories have a lot of neat themes but also tend to wander more too. The main goal of this story is to finally have Rose eliminate Bobby Cross once and for all.

Characters (3/5): Rose is very alone and, although she interacts with other characters, she never really has many interactions with them. This makes the story feel a bit empty at times. We read a lot about Rose's feelings and thoughts on things and, like Rose herself, these tend to wander a bit off course sometimes. There are some interesting characters in here, they are just hard to engage with because they are kept at a distance.

Setting (4/5): The setting here is very creative. Rose journeys through not only the daylight (our world) and the twilight but also spends a lot more time in the starlight and midnight realms. While these layers of reality are a bit ambiguous and hard to follow at times, it is a very creative concept and I loved learning more about these different layers of reality.

Writing Style (4/5): McGuire’s writing is never as tight and driven for the Ghost Roads series as it is for her other series. There is just a lot of wandering thoughts in this story and it makes the story feel very slow. This is one of those books where you can literally skip a whole paragraph and not really miss anything that's actually happening. However, you will miss a lot of thinking and miss the feel of the story. It's a book that needs to be read with patience and deliberateness...I don't have a lot of either right now. I still enjoyed this but just felt like it could have used some editing to make it a bit tighter and faster paced.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this but didn't love it. I continue to enjoy Rose’s story and enjoy the concept of the different layers of reality. The story felt long; a lot of this story could have been omitted and the reader wouldn’t really be missing much. However, some of the thoughts of Rose during her journey are intriguing and thought-provoking. I just feel like with better pacing and a bit more editing this could have been spectacular. I do plan on continuing the series because I find it fascinating.

"Angel of the Overpass" is the third Rose Marshall novel, and also serves almost as a direct sequel to the InCryptid novel "That Ain't Witchcraft". It's probably best not to read this one before Witchcraft if you want to remain unspoiled. Recent events in the ghost roads mean that for the first time in decades, Bobby Cross is operating without a safety net, and various forces eager to ensure his downfall. After over fifty years Rose finally has the opportunity to go on the offensive and get rid of Bobby for good.

This is another great arc for Rose, and does a lot to expand her character and also flesh out some of the issues touched upon in the first collection of short stories. Importantly, the book finally tackles the issue of Gary and whether his current situation and relationship with Rose is really what they both want. While none of the actual InCryptid characters appear, the shadow of Antimony's actions in "Witchcraft" hang over everything, making it very clear that this is the same universe. I was pleased to see some of the after effects of that book dealt with a bit more closely, since obviously they would hit very close to home for many of the characters around Rose. I don't know where Rose's story will go from here, but while this book serves as a satisfying conclusion to Rose's story arc, there is also plenty of room for more adventures. Another overall great story from McGuire.

AOTO is part of a series of "Twilight ghosts" (no, not like the infamous series of that name). Humor, horror, and detailed plot and dialogue make this a harrowing, page-turning read.

Angel of the Overpass is another entertaining entry into the world of Rose, the Girl in the Green Silk Gown. This book introduces another god-like entity into the mix which is fascinating, if mind-boggling. It also helps further illustrate the very creative and interesting aspects of the different layers to the world - the daylight, the twilight, the midnight. Things are coming to a head with Bobby Cross and its exciting to see how things unfold.

That said, this is not a book to read without having read the prior entries in the world. I've read the prior entries (albeit some time ago) and I still got confused about who and how we got to the why of events in this entry. Although, the book rambles and is at times very repetitive, it's not about things that help you better understand the story, which is unfortunate.

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rose Marshall is an intriguing character. She's been dead for decades, but she still has an afterlife. And the beast of a man who forced her from the daylight into the twilight's debt has come due. Because of the events of Annie's books in the Incryptid series, particularly 7 and 8, there's a huge vacuum in power in the land of the dead that has left Bobby Cross in a precarious position. And unfortunately for Rose, she owes some powerful beings some favors for the things they've helped her with before, which leaves Bobby's destruction up to her.

One thing I always love about Seanan's books is the depth of her characters, and Rose is certainly deep. This is just book three of the series, and we know an awful lot about her. Even more importantly, because of this depth, we've seen Rose's choices and rooted for her, not realizing that every choice she's made has led her down this path. It'll be interesting to watch how these choices and this path forward change her story, and I'm totally there for it.

Highly recommend, but please start with book one... and maybe read up through Incryptid 8 at least, if you've not read that series. It's not entirely necessary, but this will spoil that a bit.

Rose Marshall is a hitchhiking ghost who has been on the run from her killer since she died as a teenager on her way to prom in 1952. Her killer is Bobby Cross, a former movie star who made a dark deal for eternal youth that requires him to feed ghosts to his otherworldly car, the source of his stolen youth. Of course, the most reliable way to get ghosts is to make your own, so he's been killing people in road accidents for decades. Now, Rose is finally going to put an end to him and his murderous behavior because the force with whom Bobby made his deal is dead and can no longer protect him.

As is perhaps appropriate for a hitchhiking ghost for whom time doesn't always have a lot of meaning, the story does meander a bit as Rose gets her ducks in a row before confronting Bobby. It's also a task that she means to take on alone, so there's not a lot of interaction with supporting cast members from the series such as Emma and Gary. Still, I really enjoyed what McGuire did with the character here, exploring how she has grown and changed over the course of the series and how she feels about her relationship with Gary, the high school sweetheart she never expected to see again who is also now her ghost car. (It's complicated.) The world building also expands in some really fun directions in this novel, and its conclusion opens a some fascinating new doors that I hope we readers get to explore.

I hope this isn't the last book in the series, though if it were, it would be a satisfying conclusion. I recommend that folks who are new to the series read the first two books first, though McGuire does do a good job recapping the important bits for readers who happen to jump in here. I also want to warn readers that this book does contain some spoilers for That Ain't Witchcraft (book 8 of the InCryptid series), which shares a world with this one. This is the first book in the series to have any real overlap with InCryptid other than offhand mentions of the Price family.

The series is a love letter to urban legends and life on the road. It's not my favorite of McGuire's works, but it's still a delightful series that has remained consistently good. A solidly fun new entry in the series, I highly recommend it for fans of urban fantasy and the kinds of local legends that get shared around campfires.

You’ve read the first two books in this series right? You should probably also catch up on all the Incryptid series books too. There are a lot of references to events and characters in that series though you could do without them.
As always I enjoyed McGuire’s book so well that I was a bit sorry when it was over. Her sense of humor in the books in this universe is great. The weakness keeping it from 5 stars is it does ramble a bit in the middle but her writing is so enjoyable it’s quite forgivable! I really enjoyed seeing Rose’s story come to a resting point. I would recommend Seanan McGuire pretty unconditionally to any urban fantasy fan.

As always, a wonderfully imaginative tale from Seanan McGuire. Rose Marshall has been dead for decades, haunting the highways of America as a hitch-hiking ghost. The semi-immortal man who killed her, Bobby Cross, has been pursuing her relentlessly, seeking to use her ghostly energy as fuel – but the tables have turned, and now she has a chance to end his existence.

McGuire’s world of ghosts is richly imagined, and ties closely in with the world of her InCryptid series, with some characters recurring and some events of that series having a direct and far-reaching impact on this book. Rose is a badass female character who takes no shit and lets nothing get in the way of achieving her goal. She finds herself caught in a mess not of her own making, but rather than succumbing, she fights her way out and turns it into an opportunity, rolling with every unexpected twist and turn. The side characters are well-crafted and memorable. And the writing is beautiful as well - Seanan McGuire has a real talent for evocative language, and paints a picture with all five senses.

If you’ve never read a book in this series, you should probably not start here, but the series is definitely worth a read. And if you follow McGuire’s work, this installment in the Ghost Roads series is just as solid as the last one, so don't miss it!

ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am so torn over this book. For one thing, I love Rose as a character and her books have always been a fun romp. On the other hand, this certainly felt like the third book in the series. It felt like not much happened just traveling from one point in the story to another. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the journey it just means it felt very, very long.

One thing that I really loved is that I didn't need to know much from the main Incryptid series to understand what was happening here. I have not quite caught up in that series but we were just given enough information to understand the changes in the world without feeling like an infodump. A line a whole lot of authors can never find which is why this book gets from a three to a four stars from me.

Angel of the Overpass is the third book in the Ghost Roads series and continues the tale of Rose Marshall, also known as the Girl in the Green Silk Gown, the Phantom Prom Date, or the Angel of the Overpass. Rose died in 1952 at the age of 16 when she was run off the road by Bobby Cross while on her way to meet her boyfriend at prom. Now she’s a road ghost who hitches rides around the country in order to fulfill her duty to the twilight.

The crossroads are dead and that means Bobby Cross’s time is almost up. When several goddesses ask that she be the one to end his life she can’t say no. After all, Bobby Cross is the one man who she’s been running from since she awoke in her afterlife.

This was a slow, meandering book. I will confess to being a little excited to finally get the chance to see Bobby Cross get his due, but I wasn’t prepared for how long it would take for the deed to finally get done. I guess I should have expected it, Rose is a road ghost, after all, she has to get her rides and visit her diners and drink her malts. But all of the meetings and ghost rescues and explanations of the different layers of this world made the pacing drag. I just wanted Rose to get to the good stuff and triumph over her nemesis.

The ending was satisfying and I liked how everything wrapped up. I’m not sure what the end of this series arc means for Rose. I’m hoping for another release in this world and to see her again soon.

Another stellar installment in the story of Rose Marshall. I was so happy to see the ongoing conflict wrapped up and a new chapter starting for Rose. Can’t wait to read the next story!

It was okay. I feel like it is a transitional book that resolves some issues and is moving the series in a different direction. Eager to see where the author goes from here.

Angel of the Overpass by Seanan McGuire, another installment of the Ghost Roads, always a thrilling read! If you like ghost stories and the supernatural and haven't tried McGuires Ghost Road books yet, GO DO IT!

Angel of the Overpass by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I may be in the minority on this one, but aside from the strong end, this particular novel was a bit too meandering for my taste.

Don't get me wrong. I love the taste of malt and Seanan almost never steers me wrong, but the events in this one just seemed to be checking off the boxes of old plot threads and making all the chickens come home to roost.

That's a GOOD thing, mind you, but my empathy for the character is getting as attenuated as her ghost-memory attachment to the world she hitchhikes. The original thread of Bobby the soul-fuel converting homicidal maniac was a pretty good foil if not perfect, and several of the ghost-ideas (including a certain oil-splattered dino) was cool, but any novel must fly on the strength of its characters.

This one, unfortunately, was always a little middling, which is a shame, because I like the ideas of psychopomps. Especially psychopomps undergoing their OWN transformations.

Still, it's worth the read and the minor intersection with a recent Price novel of Seanan. The Crossroads had a reckoning, after all, and this explores some of those consequences.