The Mystery of Grace is a beautifully written and thought-provoking novel about loss, love, redemption and the power of the human spirit. Charles de Lint blends contemporary fantasy and magical realism to create a story that is both familiar and otherworldly.

The novel follows Grace, a hot-rod mechanic who dies unexpectedly and returns to the world of the living as a ghost. She falls in love with John, an artist who is haunted by the death of his younger brother. Together, Grace and John must learn to let go of their attachments and find peace. The characters are complex and well-developed, and their journey is both heartbreaking and hopeful.

[Disclaimer: I am not very good at writing reviews so I asked Bard, the Google AI, for help] ( )

Really loved this book!

Grace meets John at a bar and they really hit it off. They seem to make a connection beyond a casual one-night fling. But right at dawn, Grace simply disappears. She didn't leave, didn't climb out a window - so John is baffled about what happened to Grace.

I don't want to give any spoilers so it's hard to give many more details. This was a creative and unusual urban fiction/magical realism/fantasy novel.

Definitely will be looking for more by Charles de Lint! ( )

Grace has always followed her own path–or followed in her Abuelo’s in any case–what with her tattoos and rockabilly and her passion for hot-rodding old cars. Not what her mother would have wanted for her, perhaps, but it suits Grace just fine. Well, it did, until she happened to get herself killed–wrong place, wrong time. Which is when she found that those who die in said place, in the few blocks around the Alverson Arms apartment building, don’t move on like they’re supposed to. They become trapped in this strange afterlife world consisting of those few blocks. But unlike most of the people in this Alverson Arms world, Grace isn’t content to just “sleep” or fall into an endless routine. Especially after she goes back to the world of the living on Halloween–one of two nights each year when the boundaries are thinnest–and meets (and falls badly for) John, just a couple weeks too late.

I firmly believe that Charles de Lint is one of the best writers of urban fantasy out there, and I would highly recommend any of his books. The Mystery of Grace is no exception. It carries the feel and mechanics of his Newford books, but places the story in the Southwest–and he does a great job of incorporating the people, the culture, and the feel of that area into the story seamlessly. The whole concept of the story is really interesting, also, as is the way in which the reader gradually finds out more about what’s really going on. I really enjoyed the characters, especially Grace–and it wasn’t so much that I especially liked her, although I did, as just that she was so much herself, so complete and complex a character, that she was a joy to read. I really appreciated all the detail that de Lint casually scattered in to enhance her character. John was interesting as well, although I didn’t enjoy his chapters nearly as much as I enjoyed Grace’s. I did like the way the chapters switched perspectives back and forth though. And I loved that, while this is an a sense a “love story,” it wasn’t a mushy romance at all–it’s not chick-flick-y at all. What it is is unique and passionate and creative and thought-provoking and slightly creepy at parts. I would definitely recommend The Mystery of Grace, especially to those who like a good urban fantasy or ghost story. ( )

Altagracia Quintero, Grace to her friends, is a lover of classic cars--specifically, classic Ford cars. She works at Sanchez Motors customizing hot rods. She's a fan of rockabilly music, and has enough tattoos to make those unacquainted with her believe at first glance that she's a tough, scary, gang member.

John's an artist, doing commission work for his friends' company while pursuing his serious art independently. He's a melancholy and somewhat solitary young man, still coping with his grief and guilt over the death of his younger brother, when they were still children. When he and Grace meet at the local music hall on Halloween, he's immediately attracted to her, and she to him. Before the night is over, John and Grace are well on the way to being in love.

Unfortunately, Grace has been dead for two weeks.

Grace died when she was shot by a strung-out junkie robbing the local grocery when she stopped in to buy a pack of cigarettes. After death, she woke up in a very odd afterlife, a tiny pocket universe which reproduces her apartment building, the Alverson Arms, and a few blocks around it in each direction. Everyone who dies within those few blocks winds up in this pocket universe when they die. There's no way out, except for two "free trips home" a year, on Halloween and May Eve. On those two nights, they can, if they choose, return to the living world from moonrise to sunrise. The people who knew them before, though, won't recognize them, and at sunrise, they find themselves back in the Alverson Arms world.

In alternating voices, John's and Grace's, we learn the story of their romance, John's struggles with the discovery that he's in love with a ghost, and Grace's discovery of the nature of the Alverson Arms world and her struggle to set things right. This story is truly a stand-alone, unrelated to anything de Lint has written before, but if you've enjoyed his gentle, lyrical telling of tales whose characters have to confront their own character strengths and weaknesses, as well as a world more complex than they were prepared for, you'll enjoy this.

Recommended.

I borrowed this book from a friend. ( )

I was surprised by thee ending, but I shouldn't have been. ( )