The Keeper of Lonely Spirits - Hardcover

by E. M. Anderson (Author)

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2025 BY LIBRARY JOURNAL AND REACTOR

"Anderson writes a curmudgeonly immortal protagonist and a (literally) haunting story full of heart; a delightful novel." --Library Journal starred review

"This heartwarming, thrilling book cleverly uses horror tropes to achieve a powerful effect, suffusing the reader with warmth and kindness." --The Washington Post

In this mesmerizing, wonderfully moving queer cozy horror fantasy, an immortal ghost hunter must confront his tragic past and solve a centuries-old mystery in order to embrace his found family.

Find an angry spirit. Send it on its way before it causes trouble. Leave before anyone learns his name.

After over two hundred years, Peter Shaughnessy is ready to die and end this cycle. But thanks to a youthful encounter with one o' them folk in his native Ireland, he can't. Instead, he's cursed to wander eternally far from home, with the ability to see ghosts and talk to plants.

Immortality means Peter has lost everyone he's ever loved. And so he centers his life on the dead--until his wandering brings him to Harrington, Ohio. As he searches for a vengeful spirit, Peter's drawn into the townsfolk's lives, homes and troubles. For the first time in over a century, he wants something other than death.

But the people of Harrington will die someday. And he won't.

As Harrington buckles under the weight of the supernatural, the ghost hunt pits Peter's well-being against that of his new friends and the man he's falling for. If he stays, he risks heartbreak. If he leaves, he risks their lives.

Tropes:

• Cozy Horror/Fantasy crossover
• Found family
• Paranormal Mystery
• Irish Mythology
• Immortal hero
• Ghost hunter hero
• Grumpy X Sunshine
• LGBTQIA+ representation