Ghostly Paws

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at the premise initially—another ‘woman sees ghosts after an accident’ setup? But *Ghostly Paws* disarmed me within chapters, mostly because Wil Chance is the anti-Hallmark heroine. She’s prickly, flawed, and refreshingly *tired* of pretending to be otherwise. Dobbs writes her like a cross between Jessica Fletcher and a hungover Sam Spade, and Rodgers’ narration sells every eye-roll, every muttered ‘*oh for god’s sake*’ under her breath. The chemistry between Wil and her ghostly ‘clients’ (yes, she charges them for her help—because even the dead should pay their bills) crackles with dark humor. The mystery itself is twisty without being convoluted, though the pacing stumbles slightly in the middle when Wil’s detective work gets bogged down in small-town red tape. A subplot involving her estranged daughter feels undercooked, like Dobbs wasn’t sure whether to lean into family drama or keep the focus on the supernatural shenanigans. That said, the séance scene is a masterclass in audiobook tension—Rodgers’ hushed, layered voices made my skin prickle, and the sound design (subtle echoes, distant whispers) elevates the creep factor without overdoing it. If you love your horror with a side of wit and your protagonists with a chip on their shoulder, this is your next listen. Just don’t blame me if you start talking back to your cat afterward.