Right off the bat, you meet our hero. And she is dead. Already you want to know why and you want to know what she plans on doing about it. I love the intro and can't wait to read more!

I’ve read a multitude of comments from reviewers about a book “drawing them in” but it’s not something I usually notice happening to me until I’ve finished a book. Cody Pearce’s Spectral drew me in. The mystery of how Lauren wound up in a lake, the nature of her continued existence, the strange creatures she begins to interact with, all combined to propel me through his first chapter. I’m reminded of Neil Gaiman and Charles de Lint, and I’d be hard pressed to think up a better compliment than that. 

Now this is how you open a gripping story :) It is a gripping first chapter full of mystery, opening the readers to the world of the dead.