The Ravenous Dead

Coates’s follow up to The Whispering Dead takes readers on a spooky thrill ride that continues the adventures of “Keira,” the name adopted by an amnesiac fugitive taking refuge from a group of shadowy operatives hunting her in the rural English town of Blighty. Keira has no memory of her past or her real identity—but she has discovered that she can see and converse with ghosts, a power well suited to her newfound work as cemetery groundskeeper. This time, Keira has two especially restless spirits to deal with: a “hollow-faced” being who can’t speak and a ghost who feeds on other ghosts. Investigation leads Keira and her new friends Zoe and Mason to believe this cannibalistic ghost is Gerald Barge, a serial killer active in the town in the 19th century. The facts the trio uncover to tie the two spooks together underpin a ghoulish local history full of surprising plot twists. It’s an intriguing episode in its own right, while also keeping up the series’ momentum. This bodes well for future installments. (Mar.)