Ms Downing manages to pack a lot of personality and atmosphere into a comparatively short excerpt. The likes and dislikes of the main character, along with her relationship with her brother, are illustrated with a very natural grace. Dispensation of information requires some skill in a mystery, where so much depends on what is known, what is discovered, and what is deduced. This is perhaps more true of a supernatural murder mystery, where a significant part of the story depends not on common knowledge but on the author's imagining of how things work. If this excerpt is any indication, this will all be handled and introduced with expert smoothness.