Lucy Diamond, daughter of an adventurous earth-hugging mother, best friend of the handsomest gay man in the universe, Nigel, and the badly behaved Jojo Gray has always been able to smell things others haven’t, played with imaginary friends, and fear places others deem perfectly fine. Now she can see and argue with dead people, and as if that wasn’t awkward enough, especially on a first date, he wants her to do something for him.
One day whilst travelling on the tube she is visited by Jonathan Rayburn, an attractive man in a trench coat, with an insistent nature and an urgent request for Lucy to help him get a message to his girlfriend. The only problem with this is that Jonathan is dead and apart from appearing in the most unexpected places, and most inconvenient times, she isn’t exactly sure how she is supposed to do what he needs her to.
This book made me laugh and cry - not a good thing when you’re at the hairdressers, although I did gather myself before anyone noticed, I think – and although I enjoyed it from the beginning, the second half of the book was better than the first, and brilliantly written.
The characters are well rounded and Lucy’s relationship with Nigel is complex, but nicely thought out. I especially enjoyed Lucy’s grandmother, as so many of the things she came out with made me laugh, and her hero, Simon, who has a few surprises up his sleeve, was gorgeous as well as mysterious.
I defy anyone to read this book and not enjoy it, and the only reason I didn’t give Trick or Treat a rating of five, was because I would have preferred Simon to be introduced earlier, as the chemistry between him and Lucy was excellent, and it’s also probably why I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first.
8/10
