Whew. It's so nice to have a break from the "detective eternally haunted by her/his past" in this one. Although I wasn't keen on meeting yet another detective, I really like Antoinette Conway. Physically I more closely resemble Cassie Maddox from the earlier books in the series, but I really relate to Detective Conway's feisty, socially prickly personality. The supernatural bit was a little weird, but it was an effective way to represent the indefinable magic that happens in a group of close friends during adolescence. For all of these reasons, this might just be my favorite in the series so far. I'm a little hesitant to read The Trespassers now for fear French will fall back on the tortured detective theme again.