Great characters, folk tales, dialogue. Needs a little plot finesse; resolution is abrupt and almost an aside. ( )

First of the Verity-Dominic shorts, best read before book #5 of the series. Rose also appears in this, although the character feels much changed.

The short reads more as an episode of Friends than a ghost story.

Verity wants to introduce Dominic to her family and she starts small, from her most distant and deceased family members. Enter Rose.

The couple finds themselves in New Orleans, goes for a drink, and somehow manages to promise to a ghost that they will calm down another ghost and deal with his tantrums.

We learn that there can be ghost carriage people, ghosts who are, at the same time, both the person driving the carriage and the actual vehicle.

Verity is annoying and her dancing references feel forced, Dominic is a duce. Rose and Verity act like the same person. The usual.

Better than the first two books. Mainly because it was shorter, filled with ghosts and without dancing. ( )

The story's ok, until the denouement, at which point Aunt Rose steps in and has a heart-to-heart with the baddie ghost and *poof* everything is hunky dory -- except that no part of the heart to heart is explained, including why it changes the baddie ghost to a friendly one. Entertaining, but not up to the usual standard. Did love the ghost world and the character of Amelia (part carriage). ( )

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After Half-Off Ragnarok, this short story continues Verity's and Dominic's story as they travel across the country in order to meet up with Verity's parents. On the way they will meet some more members of the extended family.

It was a nice story. I was wondering what would happen to the characters, after the events in the second book and with the switch to Alex, I was afraid that it would take a time to find this out. The story itself was not that special, but I read somewhere that there are references to another of Seanan McGuire's series that I haven't read. I can imagine I would have really enjoyed those, if I had gotten them. ( )

With the free fiction on her site, Seanan McGuire often opens a door for new characters that might find their way into existing series, or start new ones: this is exactly what happens in this short story, set into the Incryptid universe and introducing Rose Marshall, the protagonist of her upcoming book Sparrow Hill Road.

Verity Price, the heroine of the first two Incryptid books, is on a long, roundabout journey toward her family's home where she's taking her fiancé Dominic to meet her parents. Since Dominic used to be a Covenant operative - which means he hunted the cryptids that Verity's family tries to protect - she wants to make matters easier by having Dominic meet other relatives first. And who better than her aunt Rose, ghostly hitchhiker?

Threaded by the tongue-in-cheek humor that is this series' trademark, The Ghosts of Bourbon Street takes us to New Orleans on Mardi Gras, on a journey through a city that's only visible to those who walk with ghosts, a parallel world with its own rules, laws and - of course - dangers. Rose immediately appealed to me: tough, street-smart, sharp-tongued, she's a perfect addition to McGuire's parade of strong female characters, one I look forward to knowing better when her book will be available.

As for Verity and Dominic, it was fun to meet them again - I confess I missed them both in Book 3, where Verity's brother took center stage - and the quick cameo from the Aeslin mice was a very welcome surprise. The interplay between matter-of-fact Verity and straightjacket-stiff Dominic made for a few humorous moments, as did the renewed impression that the poor man will need all his inner strength to keep his sanity with the Price family. Hopefully McGuire will show us more along the way.

Also... more mice, Ms. McGuire? Prettyplease?



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