Synopsis:

The disappearing hitchhiker is one of the hoariest urban legends, and no one knows that better than Gabriel Walsh, a lawyer who grew up on folklore and myth. When author of books on the supernatural Patrick brings Gabriel a case of a hitchhiking woman in white who vanished on a country road after accepting a ride from a businessman, Gabriel knows the Cainsville elder is just trying to wheedle into his good graces. But Gabriel is a man in need of a mystery, one that will get him back into someone else’s good graces. His investigator, Olivia Taylor-Jones, has blown town supposedly on a simple vacation. But when she left there was a rift between them and…he misses her.

Gabriel is well aware the only thing Olivia loves more than a good mystery is a weird one, and this hitchhiker case more than fits the bill. As Gabriel digs into the story, he’s forced to face ghosts of his own and admit that the woman in white isn’t the only one who has lost her way.

With Lost Souls, New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong weaves an unmissable novella-length tale connected to her fan-favorite Cainsville series.

Oops… I didn’t realise that this book was part of a series! This novella ties in to the Cainsville series, and to be honest… as I’ve noticed with Armstrong’s other work, you need to be familiar with the main series to get the full benefit. Thankfully, her storytelling is so easy to read, I don’t see this being a hardship.

I’ve given this book 3 stars because even though I enjoyed it, I don’t see it sticking with me – the writing is really enjoyable and it automatically appealed to me because it features the old hitchhiker urban legend, this would probably have nailed a full 5 stars if it wasn’t part of a series. The characters have already been established in the main series (I assume) so there were constant references to their past which distracted me from the narrative, I could have enjoyed the story as it was.

Gabriel is an unsympathetic main character, you would have to have affection for him from the earlier books to really connect with him in this. He lacks empathy for regular humans and he’s immature, whiny and self sabotaging in his personal relationships… without the context to work with, he’s just a pain in the ass and a bit cringeworthy to read.

Gabriel takes on a case of the mysterious hitchhiker, thinking that having an intriguing case on board will help him win back the affections of Olivia, his legal firm’s investigator. Of course, things are never as simple as they seem and the ‘fun’ case turns out to be more than he bargained for.

All in all, it’s the writing that makes this story worth a read – unless you’re a follower of the Cainsville series though, I would probably recommend picking up another book by the author to get you started.