City of Ghosts
compare prices
City of Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, #3)
by
4.47 of 5 stars
IT’S A THIN LINE BETWEEN ALIVE AND UNDEAD.
 
Chess Putnam has a lot on her plate. Mangled human corpses have started to show up on the street... read full description

reviews

Sep 22, 2011
Book Chick City rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I have now read all three books of the 'Downside Ghosts' series in quick succession and I am so glad I did. I don't think I could have waited a year for each book to be released. I am already having withdrawal symptoms knowing I have to wait until autumn 2011 for book four, it's well...agonising.

This is such a fantastic series. There's enough kick-arse action to keep urban fantasy fans happy, but with the addition of the most heart-wrenching romance between Chess and Terrible, Parano More...
3 comments like (8 people liked it)
Dec 06, 2011
Penny rated it: 4 of 5 stars
(Hey everyone! If all goes well this will end up being an honest to goodness--traditional!--book review. Before I get started I feel I should warn everyone I have ADHD and my medication is starting to wear off, also I dislike doing things the way they should be done--did I mention I also have Oppositional Defiant Disorder? Because I totally do. Anyway, my point is, despite the fact that I'm attempting to write a legitimate review I might go off on a few tangents like this. Just thought I'd More...
6 comments like (4 people liked it)
Jan 21, 2011
Erika rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I owe Stacia Kane an apology. The first book was good, but I was put off by drug use. I let it cloud my mind and it took away from the reading experience for me. However, I still was fascinated by Chess and the host of characters in the Downside Series. Saying that... This book was SOOOOO GOOD!!!! From the very first page, to the very last word, this book brought out every emotion. It was riveting and draining. Emotionally unbalanced and frustrating. You really feel everything Chess feels More...
3 comments like (9 people liked it)
Apr 30, 2011
Chichipio rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This is the third one in what, I just found out, was supposed to be a trilogy. The mysteries always were more or less standalone but there are a few things that have been going on since the first book that get nicely resolved.

After reviewing the first two books, there's not much left to say about the series. For more details, check my review of the first book.

This is a very good addition to the series where we get to know more about some characters, the city and the inner More...
0 comments like (3 people liked it)
May 06, 2011
Jenn rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I do really like this series, but of the three this is the book I have the most complaints about. Mostly due to the 'mystery' storyline and because I do not think that some parts of it were adequately cleared up. But otherwise that one beef, I love the underlying story and romance angle. Chess is a mess and through out the books her drug use has escalated. Mostly in this book because I think she knew she did some horrible stuff and didn't know how to deal with the consequences so she liked s More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jul 14, 2011
L-D rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I really love this series. I was literally on the edge of my seat through Unholy Magic wondering how Chessie's life could possibly get any worse. If you are looking for a series full of love, flowers, and sunshine, this series is not for you. But I enjoyed the gritty honesty of the books and the way Ms. Kane created her own Downside dialect to draw you in even deeper. The fact that Terrible is not the stereotypical romance hero with perfect looks and a rakish style endears him to me all the More...
0 comments like (3 people liked it)
Oct 20, 2010
Donna rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Not surprising, another 5 star rating from me for the 3rd book in this series. This is exactly what I'm looking for everytime I open a book by an author new to me, a story that grabs me and holds my attention, makes me laugh, cry, get angry, etc. The funny thing is, I don't always like the main character, Chess. She really makes some awful choices. But at the same time, her character is so believable and her story so compelling that I can't help but to root for her through all the ups and downs. More...
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
May 25, 2011
Cat Russell rated it: 5 of 5 stars
"She knew what she saw, and that was all that mattered. Knew what was behind those hard dark eyes, and wanted it more than anything."

This is one of the few series that I will drop everything for. I miss the Downside when I'm not there.

Terrible and Chess frustrated me but I'm glad things worked out the way they did in the end.


"A promise to the Church is far more important than any other promise. Not just because the Church protects you, bu More...
3 comments like (2 people liked it)
Jan 23, 2012
Carolyn F. rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Re-read by audiobook. I loved re-reading/listening to this series! I think I may have enjoyed it more than I did the first time. Love the ending. The next book is supposed to come out in February or March. I can't wait.

Review on 01/23/11The best of the bunch - loved it! For some reason I've gotten used to the constant drug use, I guess because now I know why she finds it necessary. Chess is working with the witch policing group, but finds there are secrets everywhere. I lov More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jul 25, 2011
Donna rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Not surprising, another 5 star rating from me for the 3rd book in this series. This is exactly what I'm looking for everytime I open a book by an author new to me, a story that grabs me and holds my attention, makes me laugh, cry, get angry, etc. The funny thing is, I don't always like the main character, Chess. She really makes some awful choices. But at the same time, her character is so believable and her story so compelling that I can't help but to root for her through all the ups and downs. More...
0 comments like
Jan 24, 2012
Jeanne rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I had trouble getting into this series. It is very different than most of the others I have read and was not what I was expecting. This is a fairly dark world and story and nothing comes easy for the characters - in fact there are a lot of dark aspects to all of the characters. We see crime, drug usage/abuse, mos style killings and other seedy types of action, but the characters are strong and draw you in. You route for them and want to see them step above their circumstances and situations. More...
0 comments like
Jan 20, 2012
Nazrin rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Wow, what a book. Quite impressive. A firm 5, even 5+ in my mind.

A fine example of a book with perfectly defined multi-dimensional characters. It is not every day I come across a book where even when I'm annoyed by some of the main character's actions and sometimes want to smack her on the head I still know that she couldn't have acted any other way, that all her flaws and mistakes are what defines her and makes her so real, and surprisingly so likable.
Any other time I would te More...
2 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jan 12, 2012
Amanda rated it: 5 of 5 stars
The plot layout for CITY OF GHOSTS is different to the earlier books in that there is only one case Chess is working - before she always had one professional case and one secret one running parallel to each other. This means that the author was able to spend more time fleshing out all of the secondary characters and make the villains even more menacing.

The concept of a magical binding is also used to full advantage; It adds real tension to the story as Chess is unable to warn anyone a More...
0 comments like
Jan 03, 2012
Ljilja rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here
0 comments like
Aug 30, 2011
Amanda rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Redonk Nutshell: Churchwitch battles dark magic, addiction, and heart ache as she teeters between her allegiance to the Church and her dealers

The Downside Ghosts series by Stacia Kane is a righteous urban fantasy mix of punk goth dystopia, drugs, and gritty adventure. Chess Putname is a Church sanctioned witch, sort of like a cop that polices ghosts, but instead of carrying a gun she carries things like grave dirt and a dog skull. She's good at her job, but her personal life is a wre More...
0 comments like
Jul 07, 2011
Kathy rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Third in the Downside urban-fantasy series set in a world where the Church of Truth governs all.


"The Church…watches you, so you can relax and live a safe and happy life."


Sounds a bit 1984 until I got further into the book where Kane makes a good point—multiple governments battling for supremacy, racism, xenophobia, intolerance, clash of beliefs and cultures versus Downside Church rule. Makes ya wonder...freedom or safety...

The Story
City of G More...
0 comments like
May 15, 2011
comfort rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I have not read this author before and was wholeheartedly absorbed into her first book of this seriesUnholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, #1) an Urban fantasy/PNR book about a flawed heroine who debunks ghostly hauntings on behalf of THE Church. Chess is a wise-ass/kick ass abused woman who is heavily into drugs to get her through her tough job. She is blackmailed by one drug dealer into helping him (off the radar) and used both sexually and for her knowledge by the rival dealer (though it is his son doing the sexy stuff).

Sh More...
2 comments like (1 person liked it)
Mar 20, 2011
Amanda rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Love it, love it, love it... Chess is the target of all of Terribles fury, he busted her and Lex only a few days after he told her how he felt about her. He isn't very nice at all, and makes some pretty rude comments. Which is exactly why I love this series.. In real life I am pretty sure if a guy catches you in the act, he isn't going to be all "It's ok, you are my soulmate." Nope, he will more than likely act just like Terrible. So Chess has to move on as soon as she confesses to her More...
0 comments like
Mar 17, 2011
Alyssa rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I definitely liked this one the best so far in the series. Chess gets another very important case that gets her working with Terrible again, forcing him to speak to her, and there is a lot of emotional turmoil along the way, but progress is steadily made with him and the case (It's amazing the things Chess figures out when she's high as a kite!). This definitely felt like a break in the series and the wait for the fourth won't be too painful (no cliffhangers), but I still want the next installme More...
0 comments like
Feb 09, 2011
Tracy rated it: 5 of 5 stars
~* 4.5 Stars *~
Chess continues to move up in the world...sort of, anyway. She's offered a lucrative opportunity to help the Black Squad investigate a grisly case for the Church of Real Truth and the advance for taking the job is more money than Chess could smoke, snort, or pop in years. Problem is, she has to submit to a binding oath to take it. That means she can't mention anything about the case to anyone not directly connected to the chain of command under penalty of extreme magical pain More...
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Feb 07, 2011
Kenna rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Dec 13, 2010
Julie rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Oct 19, 2010
Bernard rated it: 5 of 5 stars
City of Ghosts is Stacia Kane’s third ‘Downside Series’ installment. When I read her first book in this series, Unholy Ghosts, I didn’t think a sequel could top it. Unholy Magic did just that with an excruciating roller coaster ride with Church Debunker Chess Putnam and Downside Enforcer Terrible ending a string of murders in ‘Downside’ while turning back a threat to Chess’s employer, The Church of Truth. City of Ghosts picks up right where Chess left off, alienated from Terrible because of dall More...
0 comments like
Oct 15, 2010
David rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here
0 comments like
Oct 07, 2010
Kelly rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Oh, Chess. Oh, screwed-up, completely unable to do the right thing in a relationship Chess. You broke my heart at the end of Unholy Magic when you realized what you could lose with your foolish choices and buckets of lies. You broke Terrible's heart when you lied to yourself. And I just won't stand for that.

I'll admit that I spent a lot of this book giving Chess the stink eye. Of course, Terrible was being kinda hard-headed with the not listening, but then he had been betrayed i More...
0 comments like (3 people liked it)
Sep 24, 2010
Amanda rated it: 4 of 5 stars
City of Ghosts is the third book about Chess Putnam, as she goes through the business of debunking hauntings. In this novel Chess is drawn into a Black Squad (government department) investigation, bound to silence about her doings. She struggles to work through the meagre clues of the case as danger tightens around her, throwing everyone she cares about into the gravest peril.

I’ll say straight out that I adore this series, but I find that most series tend to have a weaker book. In my o More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Sep 22, 2010
Michelle rated it: 4 of 5 stars
opens with Chess basically walking around in an emotional daze after dealing with all the horrible aftereffects from Unholy Magic (hey! just like me!). She's surprised and a little wary when the Church Brethren call her in for a special job which would require her to work with the exclusive Black Squad and Lauren, the daughter of the Grand Elder himself. Usually Chess would use any excuse to get out of working with another Church employee (especially stubborn, spoiled Lauren) but the paycheck is More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Sep 19, 2010
Sharon rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Chess goes through the ringer in this last installment of this great series, she's been magically bound so that she cannot talk about a black ops investigation, which makes it rather difficult for her when her drug dealer demands to know why she is investigating one of his warehouses.

Her black op partner is a pain in the ass, the drugs don't seem to work as well any more & she just wants to forget how she hurt Terrible & fill that gaping empty hole that is filled with pain remorse e More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Aug 16, 2010
Mardel added it
City of Ghosts is the third book of the Downside Series by Stacia Kane. In this novel, Chess has a huge mystery to solve and is paired with a member of the Black Squad, an elite section of the Church's investigative section. While she is dealing with this member, who is arrogant and hard for Chess to work with, Chess is also dealing with her broken heart of extreme feelings of guilt and low self-esteem. She has less respect for herself, and is using even more drugs. She gets thrown together w More...
2 comments like
Aug 05, 2010
Jackie rated it: 5 of 5 stars
City of Ghosts is the third installment of the Downside series by Stacia Kane. Here be wraiths, psychotic magic men, and enough drugs to stabilize the American populace. Chess has come a long way since Unholy Ghosts, and I love her rationalizations against it. It’s detailed best in the beginning of the book: “You let people into your life and you ended up getting hurt. Or hurting them. Either way, the road to pain was paved with other people, and she wanted no part of it anymore.”

She More...
0 comments like