Dead To Me by Anton Strout

Go me, I read another book that wasn't paranormal romance! I'm really glad I did, too. This book was awesome, and I would definitely recommend it. If you like the Harry Dresden books, you'd definitely like this one. It's serious and funny at the same time. There were a couple of lines that actually made me laugh out loud. I wish I'd written them down, because then I would share them.

Set in New York City, Simon Canderous is a psychometrist that works for the Department of Extraordinary Affairs(DEA). Each time he touches an object, he can see the object's past owners and what happened to them. He uses his powers not only for the DEA, but hunts down antiques and returns them to their previous owners...for a small fee, of course.

Simon is meeting with his mentor Connor in the DEA's front cafe when he spills his drink through a woman at another table. It turns out that the woman, Irene, is one of the recently living. Connor's power and thus responsibility, is to guide the recently living to the other side. Irene's spirit is being held on this side for some reason.

Due to underfunding and the number of other ghosts, ghouls, and zombies the DEA has to deal with, Irene ends up staying at Simon's place. The search for her identity and her murder leads to a group of cultists who have been legitimized. Simon ends up with not just a ghost to deal with, but also one of the cultists' employees who isn't as Evil as she should be to work for the forces of darkness.

Strout has a very recently published sequel to this one, and I can't wait to read it. This one's got it all--psychic powers, good vs. evil, humor, and even a teeny bit of romance thrown in there. Pick it up!