Despite the weeping angel on the cover, this book has no reference or connection to Doctor Who. Still, it was as good as it could be under those conditions. ( )

This is such an unusual series with a lawyer whose "practice" centers around the supernatural due to her clients being deceased.

In this installment Bree is accosted by a spirit connected to a piece of furniture that she is standing next to at an estate auction. Believing that the spirit is the previous owner, Bree sets out to gather the information regarding his life and the manner of his death. With the assistancee3 of her staff of Angels, Bree soon figures out that not only has the details wrong, but others may be in danger.

The plot and clues were well placed and the characters both corporal and heavenly were very entertaining. ( )

Cover is creepy because of the weeping angel statue (al la Dr. Who). The new character, Mrs. Billingsley, appears to be a nice spash of comedy. Good clues throughout, however, the manner in which the murder was accomplised is implied rather than explained in the wrap-up. ( )

This is such a neat favorite of mine series. It's a great example of the paranormal mystery genre. I love the characters, the premise of a human working with angels to help people who might have been wrongly put in the nether reaches of the afterlife.
This one had a lot of twists and turns as much as it showed the evolution of Bree in her new role as an advocate. She enjoys what she's doing, even if it causes sleepless nights and haunted law offices.
There is not as much scary stuff as in the past two books in the series. The first one scared the bejeezus out of me, the second one eased up and this one is only a weensy bit scarey. It's more about the relationship Bree has with her sister and her angels and her clients.
I really enjoyed this read and can't wait til the next one, ANGEL'S VERDICT, out next year.
Five angel beans.... ( )

I finished the third book in the Beaufort and Company series at the Halifax airport yesterday during our 3-hour layover.

Bree Winston-Beaufort, Esq., has accompanied her gorgeous sister Antonia to an estate auction. While inspecting a desk, she is surprised to hear someone ask her to help him. Since the Russell O'Rourke, owner of the desk had recently committed suicide, she assumed that the voice belonged to him, and set out to help his spirit "pass through".

Upon investigation, though, the death seems more and more like a murder, and Bree and her otherworldly staff intend to prove it. When there is another murder with a similar m.o., this becomes easier.

Bree's deductive process is described fairly completely, but the conclusion seemed a little abrupt to me. It felt as though there should have been one more expository chapter before the last one, but perhaps that was because I felt somewhat distracted while reading.

The concept of a legal advocate for the dead is an interesting one, and Ms. Stanton's legal explorations are interesting. I don't know enough about the technicalities of law to comment on their accuracy, but they certainly seem so, to me.

That most of her staff, including the three dogs, Sasha, Miles and Belli, exist on both the temporal plane and the celestial one is a concept I'd love to see explored in more detail. ( )