What do you think?
Rate this book
The Flour Girl
He woke up dead—and already running out of time.
Frankie Jones can’t remember much, but he’s pretty sure life after death shouldn’t be this busy. Shortly after Frankie wakes up dead, an angel tasks him with helping Amelia Fournier, the daughter of a local baker and fellow spirit stuck between life and death. If either of them wants to move on, they’ll have to work together and solve Amelia’s murder.
Her case is strangely high priority. With a rare ability to possess the living, Frankie teams up with the detectives on her case—but the deeper they dig, the less it adds up. A victim once under protective custody. A ruthless gang with a missing hitman. Clues that refuse to line up.
With angelic warnings that time is running out, and no memories of who he was—only the growing realization that the truth of this case may define him—Frankie must solve Amelia’s murder before it’s too late… and decide what it means to be a good man, no matter who he used to be.
"A supernatural mystery with plenty of heart." — Kirkus Reviews
"A paranormal crime thriller with a surprisingly tender center." — Literary Titan
"Prepare for impact, because Sean Esson is about to catapult you straight out of your comfort zone! He created a whole new world after death in The Flour Girl, and if you think it is peaceful or even boring on the other side, you’ve got another thing coming. Fast-paced, cleverly structured, unputdownable." — Lizzie Mac, author of Family Secrets
"Sean Esson's engaging book has all the thrill of a fast paced detective novel and the metaphysical subtlety and psychological complexity of a mystical journey. A modern day Crime and Punishment, we explore the themes of grief, evil, crime, redemption and finally — acceptance. Esson has cleverly left the door ajar for further adventures and I very much look forward to his next book." — Nigel Utton, author of Where Have My Other Mummy and Daddy Gone?
"Sean Esson constructs a cleverly grounded dual mystery [...] I cried, I laughed, and I rooted for the characters that felt familiar in a place I have never been." — Readers' Favorite
"It is inventive, sharply paced, emotionally grounded, and written with the kind of confidence that makes a reader settle in and trust the ride. It’s a murder mystery worth chasing, but most importantly, the characters are worth following into the dark. I would absolutely recommend it to readers who enjoy paranormal crime, afterlife stories with rules and some bite, and redemption arcs that come with bruises instead of bows." — Independent Book Review
Frankie Jones can’t remember much, but he’s pretty sure life after death shouldn’t be this busy. Shortly after Frankie wakes up dead, an angel tasks him with helping Amelia Fournier, the daughter of a local baker and fellow spirit stuck between life and death. If either of them wants to move on, they’ll have to work together and solve Amelia’s murder.
Her case is strangely high priority. With a rare ability to possess the living, Frankie teams up with the detectives on her case—but the deeper they dig, the less it adds up. A victim once under protective custody. A ruthless gang with a missing hitman. Clues that refuse to line up.
With angelic warnings that time is running out, and no memories of who he was—only the growing realization that the truth of this case may define him—Frankie must solve Amelia’s murder before it’s too late… and decide what it means to be a good man, no matter who he used to be.
"A supernatural mystery with plenty of heart." — Kirkus Reviews
"A paranormal crime thriller with a surprisingly tender center." — Literary Titan
"Prepare for impact, because Sean Esson is about to catapult you straight out of your comfort zone! He created a whole new world after death in The Flour Girl, and if you think it is peaceful or even boring on the other side, you’ve got another thing coming. Fast-paced, cleverly structured, unputdownable." — Lizzie Mac, author of Family Secrets
"Sean Esson's engaging book has all the thrill of a fast paced detective novel and the metaphysical subtlety and psychological complexity of a mystical journey. A modern day Crime and Punishment, we explore the themes of grief, evil, crime, redemption and finally — acceptance. Esson has cleverly left the door ajar for further adventures and I very much look forward to his next book." — Nigel Utton, author of Where Have My Other Mummy and Daddy Gone?
"Sean Esson constructs a cleverly grounded dual mystery [...] I cried, I laughed, and I rooted for the characters that felt familiar in a place I have never been." — Readers' Favorite
"It is inventive, sharply paced, emotionally grounded, and written with the kind of confidence that makes a reader settle in and trust the ride. It’s a murder mystery worth chasing, but most importantly, the characters are worth following into the dark. I would absolutely recommend it to readers who enjoy paranormal crime, afterlife stories with rules and some bite, and redemption arcs that come with bruises instead of bows." — Independent Book Review
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2026
About the author
Sean Esson
3 books1 followerSean Esson’s childhood, filled with saving the world in epic video games and long days with friends establishing reasons they could use all their different toys at the same time, fueled his overactive imagination and built an unabashed love for telling stories, making it clear that being a writer was the only thing he wanted to do. He’s been chasing the dream ever since.
He currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
He currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
Review of advance copy received from Author
The Flour Girl by Sean Esson is a supernatural mystery thriller that takes a clever crime-fiction premise and pushes it into the afterlife. Frankie Jones wakes up dead, stripped of his memories and unsure of who he was, only to learn that his ability to move on is tied to Amelia Fournier, a murdered baker who needs answers of her own. From there, the novel becomes an afterlife mystery, a paranormal crime thriller, and a detective story all at once. Frankie and Amelia can float through walls, spy on the living, and navigate a version of the city they can no longer truly inhabit, while Frankie discovers he has the unusual ability to possess living people. Those supernatural rules aren't just window dressing. They become investigative tools, complications, and eventually sources of real danger.
The strongest part of the novel is Frankie himself, especially once the investigation begins uncovering uncomfortable truths about the life he can't remember. Esson builds the mystery around a question that's more interesting than simply identifying Amelia's killer: how responsible are you for the person you used to be when you no longer recognize that person in yourself? Frankie develops from a sarcastic, confused spirit into someone increasingly invested in Amelia, Detective Royce Sheffield, Detective Jason Phillips, and the idea that doing something good still matters even when the moral ledger looks hopelessly unbalanced. Amelia gives that arc its emotional center. Their banter makes the darker stretches of the supernatural detective fiction surprisingly warm, and their growing attachment gives the investigation consequences that aren't limited to solving a crime.
Esson also gives the thriller side of the story plenty of room. The South Side Cartel investigation unfolds through surveillance, police work, interrogations, possessions, gunfights, hidden evidence, shifting suspects, and several revelations that substantially change what both Frankie and the reader understand about the case. The action is unusually detailed, particularly when it comes to firearms, tactical movement, and police procedure, which gives this paranormal thriller a methodical, physical quality even though its protagonist is incorporeal. At the same time, the book regularly returns to death, grief, guilt, justice, forgiveness, and the uneasy difference between punishment and redemption. The pacing moves between extended investigative or reflective passages and sudden bursts of violence, allowing the crime plot and the metaphysical story to develop alongside each other.
What makes The Flour Girl memorable to me is the way its supernatural mystery becomes a story about identity and choice. Frankie can't undo Franklin Jones's life, and the book doesn't treat redemption as a convenient eraser. Instead, it asks what someone does with the opportunity to choose differently now. By the conclusion, Amelia's murder has been resolved, but Frankie's larger question has only become more interesting, and the final turn expands the premise naturally into a broader supernatural detective series. The result is a paranormal crime thriller with a surprisingly tender center, a strong first-person voice, and an afterlife mythology built to support more than a single mystery. The Flour Girl works as a murder investigation, a metaphysical thriller, and a character-driven story about discovering that who you've been and who you choose to become don't always have to be the same person.
The strongest part of the novel is Frankie himself, especially once the investigation begins uncovering uncomfortable truths about the life he can't remember. Esson builds the mystery around a question that's more interesting than simply identifying Amelia's killer: how responsible are you for the person you used to be when you no longer recognize that person in yourself? Frankie develops from a sarcastic, confused spirit into someone increasingly invested in Amelia, Detective Royce Sheffield, Detective Jason Phillips, and the idea that doing something good still matters even when the moral ledger looks hopelessly unbalanced. Amelia gives that arc its emotional center. Their banter makes the darker stretches of the supernatural detective fiction surprisingly warm, and their growing attachment gives the investigation consequences that aren't limited to solving a crime.
Esson also gives the thriller side of the story plenty of room. The South Side Cartel investigation unfolds through surveillance, police work, interrogations, possessions, gunfights, hidden evidence, shifting suspects, and several revelations that substantially change what both Frankie and the reader understand about the case. The action is unusually detailed, particularly when it comes to firearms, tactical movement, and police procedure, which gives this paranormal thriller a methodical, physical quality even though its protagonist is incorporeal. At the same time, the book regularly returns to death, grief, guilt, justice, forgiveness, and the uneasy difference between punishment and redemption. The pacing moves between extended investigative or reflective passages and sudden bursts of violence, allowing the crime plot and the metaphysical story to develop alongside each other.
What makes The Flour Girl memorable to me is the way its supernatural mystery becomes a story about identity and choice. Frankie can't undo Franklin Jones's life, and the book doesn't treat redemption as a convenient eraser. Instead, it asks what someone does with the opportunity to choose differently now. By the conclusion, Amelia's murder has been resolved, but Frankie's larger question has only become more interesting, and the final turn expands the premise naturally into a broader supernatural detective series. The result is a paranormal crime thriller with a surprisingly tender center, a strong first-person voice, and an afterlife mythology built to support more than a single mystery. The Flour Girl works as a murder investigation, a metaphysical thriller, and a character-driven story about discovering that who you've been and who you choose to become don't always have to be the same person.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review