I See You So Close

The Last Ghost #2

by M. Dressler

The dead and their secrets refuse to stay buried in this thrilling sequel to M. Dressler’s award-winning The Last to See Me

Emma Rose Finnis has never made peace with her death . . . or with her ghostly afterlife. Finally free from the mansion she haunted for more than a hundred years, she takes on a new, daring form, one that allows her to pass for living among the citizens of the remote Sierra Nevada town of White Bar. But the town is hiding its own deadly truth, buried in its Gold Rush past. As the sleepy town’s secrets come to life, they inevitably bring Emma Rose’s past back to haunt her.

In this second book in M Dressler's Last Ghost Series, Emma Rose must unlock the secrets of the living, the dead, and even of time itself, if she hopes to be more than an endless fugitive and outlast the ghost hunter who relentlessly stalks her.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Gothic

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 2020

About the author

M Dressler's work has been praised by the New York Times as "splendid" and by Library Journal as the writing of a "natural-born storyteller." Her stories and essays have appeared in the Kenyon Review, Literary Hub, the Washington Post, and many other journals and magazines. She always knew she would one day write a book about a ghost. "Characters," she's written, "they come to you. It's very strange how it happens. They're like ghosts, in the beginning. But ghosts who haven't lived, or even been born yet. So you work backwards . . . looking for clues about them, about who they might have been, from the way they haunt you. And in this way you never get away from them, and they never leave you." She writes from her homes in Utah and in North Carolina, where she is a professor at Guilford College. You can read more about her work at mdressler.com.

Reviews

[Cindy Burnett (Thoughts from a Page) · Rating 3 out of 5]

M Dressler’s second installment in the Last Ghost series focuses on ghost Emma Rose Finnis and her attempts to exist in a human world that fears such creatures. Emma stumbles upon a town named White Bar whose secrets are well guarded, and she is determined to uncover the truth about the history of the town. I See You So Close balances character development with a creative tale, and Dressler paces her story well. While it is the second in the series, details from the previous book are rehashed, and readers can leap into this one without trouble if they have not read the first one.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly 1/2 way through this one- my thought was "WOW, another 5 star novel". This is just not any form of usual for me to give top marks in succession. VERY RARE. But then I got into the last parts of I See You So Close- and particularly the last 10 pages. (Did NOT think the Epilogue belonged there at all actually.) Don't get me wrong- the entire read was super good, far above average and a full 4 stars. But I feel she did so much philosophizing and existential construct (especially for these 5 schoolhouse kids and their "sir" teacher) in those last chapters? Well, it went over the top and instead of keeping the mood "visceral, base, elemental core" for "the others"- what it did was make it WAY too much an intellectual exercise and not the crux personality/soul/identity power that truly fueled their onus. And the entire entity world of the first 160 pages that M. Dressler created.

Hard to explain. But read it. First book first and second book second. Please.

Emma Rose is superbly defended here within the first parts. As is her new skill- which is gross. And the White Bar (town in old Gold Rush country) prime 30 citizens ultimately get their welcome, good intent, highly inclusive "say", feel, touch, material reality for helping and clothing/shelter- all that goody/ goody action in. (The boots progression and the eating or lack of it with Rose?) This might be a slight spoiler or not. But I had a STRONG inkling from the very get-go that their hospitality was seated with full knowledge of Emma Rose. Maybe it was and maybe it wasn't? But that kind of nice is just TOO nice, IMHO. For someone coming in so off the path with no winter outer gear and flat slipper shoes?

It holds a few more good characters that the first book, and some new ones for the town too. Su is going to be a hero to many readers. I felt from her very introduction the force that is 90% destruction proclivity and a "stir the pot" factor and none of the alliance factor she proclaims. Not truly an alliance with anyone or anything for my eyes. She seems much closer to an anarchy admirer. Or at least an easy enabler of such viscous deeds.

So with all the symbolism and high minded memes of the last part of the book, I'm sure there will be a book 3.

I found the entire ending to be understandable but at the same time more than just a subtle bitter and revenge filled. I was more than 1 star disappointed, to be truthful. I think the elemental threat power was nearly lost somehow in all that manipulation criteria. Being what IS, THAT is far worse than words or threats? No? It sure is to me.

The extreme width of a ghost life on such a narrow bridge was supremely done. She sure can write.

But it's also way, way too problematic (author's and Rose's posits/ all the ghosts)- for an endless pouting, unhappiness, lack of true affinity for much of anything- for my taste. Giving the evil entities an endless hell or the flawed/ ambivalent but effort making entities a heaven would be at least, in a sense, more finite. Or not?

Regardless, Rose and Su and Pratt- all of the set ups and dialogue too- it just got "too smarty pants" at the ending portions of this book. But of course, the middle book of a trilogy will often seem unappetizing in this very manner of being "unfinished"?

If you don't believe in ghosts before you read these books? You sure might afterwards.

It made me recall all those who I've known who died young, especially from "accidents". Or the 3 year old or 13 year old watching tv in Chicago last weekend. Ones of dozens of innocents. There would be so MUCH endless retaliation in M. Dressler's portent here.

[Aristotle · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Those who can't sleep, haunt. We use the night to learn what only the night can teach us: how to face loneliness." -Emma Rose

A well written adult ghost story. Not a ray of sunshine in the whole book. It was like a dark heavy angry storm cloud was hanging over Emma and the entire town of White Bar.

Emma Rose Finnis is a ghost, running from a ghost hunter, Phillip Pratt. Emma finds herself in a small Nevada town White Bar. Emma is not the only ghost in town. What old and new secrets do the past and present people of White Bar hide?
Read book 1 to better understand Emma and her story. This is not Oda Mae Brown or Beetlejuice. Not a drop of humor. The author can spin a tale. I hope to see Emma Rose again.

[Richard Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Here is the blurb I sent in:

“A haunting story filled with longing and loss, I See You So Close is a magical spell woven with icy thread, and the fabric of lives torn apart. Dressler is a powerful voice—hypnotic at times, speaking eternal truths, while conjuring darkness, a dash of hope tossed in for good measure.”—

[Diya Abdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I See You So Close is a rare thing, one of those books that operates on many levels -- by turns satisfying the reader's thirst for suspense and thrills while speaking, in sometimes gentle, sometimes roaring ways, to big important life or death issues -- the dehumanizing treatment of the "Other." In M Dressler's second installment of the Last Ghost Series, her resilient ghost Emma Rose Finnis is moving east and takes refuge in a small town -- quaint and idyllic. But all is not as it seems, and Emma Rose, like all good warriors for justice, can smell injustice even when it's been tamped down for centuries. This would be enough good reading by any measure. But for a Professor of English like me, one whose work centers on the voice and narrative of the intersectional Other (especially women of color), this book is even rarer than the gold that brought so many to the book's little town of White Bar all those decades ago. M Dressler has found a way to represent the marginalization of the Other without othering them herself -- a hard feat in most texts, especially in popular fiction that attempts to do similar things such as Zombie literature. In such literature, the "Other" is often talked about, discussed, represented, imagined but never speaks and is, therefore, erased. Emma Rose IS the Other in this series; her very existence is a tumor to be excised by those who consider themselves to be the norm. In I See You So Close, the Other speaks from the center, indeed is centered throughout, and facilitates the voice, presence, and expression of others like her. Emma Rose is a constant reminder that those whom supremacist societies have deemed unworthy will rise, resist, survive, and win.

[Wrenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There are those who deserve compassion, and those who deserve understanding, and those who deserve no space in the heart at all, because their hearts are missing the door that would open into another's."

Emma Rose Finnis is a ghost, running from a ghost hunter.
She has taken over the newly dead body of a young woman, and is hoping to exist in the world of the living with her new form.
As she makes her escape, she comes upon the quaint Sierra Nevada town of White Bar.
But the town is full of secrets, ones she will seek to uncover as she probes the town history and discovers more that are like her.
The writing if full of haunting and elegiac beauty.
This mysterious ghost story was captivating.
The second book of the series and though it can be read as a stand alone, I don't recommend it. I feel it really adds so much to the story to read them in order.
Thank you Sky Horse Publishing Arcade for the e-ARC via NetGalley

[Laurel Doud · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a section at the end of this book that speaks to disease and quarantine and infecting others with proximity. Dressler is prophetic on top of being a lovely writer!

It took me quite a few days to read I See You So Close. It's short but dense. Almost every sentence is a thought-provoking one. What is it to be human, alive, a thinking entity? How can we use rage/anger to our benefit? Can there be a just cause for anger? What constitutes a life?

While this second volume can stand on its own, I do agree that the first volume adds so much to this one. Read them in order and enjoy!

[Chamois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Rose Finnis is a fiery young woman, with a temper she labors to control. She’s learned a lot over her years as a ghost and has adapted and grown since we left her in the previous book. Now she’s on the run when she happens into a sleepy little town tucked away in the mountains. But not all is as it seems. Emma Rose lends a helping hand to the residents of White Bar and works to unravel a mystery, all while looking over her shoulder in case the hunter she narrowly escaped is still on her trail.

Ghost Emma Rose occasionally waxes poetic and philosophical in her musings, informed by centuries of contemplation and observations. She is hurt and angry yet compassionate and curious. Despite being dead, she is very much human, flawed and traumatized by her own experiences, longing for a reason to hold onto love and hope (what else is there, she asks?).

It’s been well over a year since I read the preceding book, “The Last to See Me,” but that didn’t even matter. I couldn’t put this book down. A ghost story/girl on the run/murder mystery/thriller, “I See You So Close” is an entrancing adventure. I eagerly wait for M Dressler to publish another book, be it a new installment for this series or something else entirely. Her lyrical style is a pleasure to read, her characters are complex, and her mind must be a curious, wondrous place.

[Janie Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘I See You So Close’ is #2 in ‘The Last Ghost Series, by Author #M. Dressler. The main character is Emma Rose Finnis who is finally free from the mansion she haunted for over 100 years. Now she
can pass for the ‘living ‘.And is in town called White Bar in the Sierra Nevada that has plenty of secrets.
But....can she outlast the ghost hunter who stalks her?
Thank you,
#Netgalley, # M. Dressler, and # Skyhorse Publishing

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent read, enthralling and fascinating.
I loved the style of writing, the great world building and the amazing character development.
I want to read the first book in this series as I loved this one.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent sequel! This story is very different from the first, but it stays true to the characters. It's very fast-paced and quite interesting! (You definitely need to read the first book before you read this, though. A lot of the bad reviews for this book are from folks who tried to pick this one up first and were lost.)

[Angel Dey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time choosing between 3 and 4 stars with this one.

I love the writing, the pacing, and the description is easy to follow. The story itself is unique and marvelous. Seeing the "life" of a ghost who just wants to live and explore the world without being hunted down and told she's a monster is really a wonderful idea. I love following along Emma's footsteps as she begins her new journey. In this book we meet new ghosts who are being kept alive and told they are being protected by people who simply want to feel power over them. They are being kept as slaves (for reasons unknown other than to feel like they are in control because they are a town made mostly of people who had lost all control before they arrived).

Some big issues that I have, however, is that the premise of the world doesn't quite make sense. And sometimes Emma is hard to love.

Emma is quick to anger with humans who are just as sad and desperate as she is. And she's really quick to exact vengeance for what seems to me harmless missteps by the living.

But the biggest flaw I see here is that we're being told that it's the ghost's anger that gives them away to the living and the hunters, so how has she survived for more than a hundred years now if she's so quick to anger? That's partly explained in the first book as the family she was haunting was too ashamed to tell anyone they were being haunted. But in this book, she often goes into her rants while floating above the heads of those who would kill her but somehow she's able to stay cool and out of sight while clearly in a rage.

And while she's in those rage states, I honestly don't know why she's so enraged. I can understand being slightly perturbed by their insensitive, yet not entirely hateful, comments. Mostly the living just don't understand what it's like to be dead (having not died yet) and have been told lies by hunters that they are unfeeling beasts. The comments made by the living come from a place of ignorance, not hate. And Emma gets angry to the point of wanting to kill them for their lack of knowledge. It seems a bit extreme to me, which makes me not really want to be on her side all the time. I understand unlikeable protagonists, but in this case, I think we're supposed to like her and be on her side. But maybe I'm just being defensive as one of the living.

Then there's the case of the body she's inhabiting. She allegedly can't feel the cold that surrounds her because she's wearing the body of a dead person. But she can see, hear, smell and feel the floor under her and the hot breath of a horse. How can she experience all those senses (even better since she's dead allegedly) but not feel cold.

And how is the body not rotting? If she's wearing it like clothing, it should rot. She's gone across the country wearing it and using it to talk, touch, and move among the living, but it's not falling apart like a body would (as they do in the first book, so we at least know the dead bodies respond to the elements as they do in our world). The hunter that's been crossing the country to find her even brings this up when he asks what she did with the body, he asks "did it rot on you". Yes, in this book she leaves the body on top of rooftops where it's snowing and thus "preserved" for her while she's not occupying it, but how is it being preserved while she's using it. We learn that she can't eat or drink because the body no longer needs nourishment, so that means her spirit occupying it can't keep it from falling to the elements.

Those issues aside, however, I was still compelled to keep reading and finish the book. I maintained my anger at Emma for her callousness sometimes, but continued to root for her as she tries to save the ghost children and their schoolmaster from the slavery they've endured at the hands of the townsfolk. The way the story of how the children and their schoolmaster died unfolded was truly beautiful and surprising.

This author is a wonderful storyteller, and I absolutely love how the stories weave about each other with past and present not colliding, but wrapping around each other to support each other.

And in the end, I know that I will be reading the next story when it comes out. There's no cliffhanger to make me anguish. There's the possibility of two or more stories coming out of the ending of this one and I truly can't wait to see where we are led next.

I just really hope Emma becomes a more likable character in the next book. I really do want to love her and her cause.

[Cynthia Rodrigues · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Full & Detailed review https://cynthology.blogspot.com/2021/...

You may have read and heard plenty of ghost stories, but I see you so close, my first 5-star read of 2021, is one of a kind. As Su Kwon, one of the characters says, this one is real.

Irish-born Emma Rose Finnis died of drowning in 1915 and is now a ghost. Having haunted a mansion for over a hundred years, she has only recently figured out how to escape the mansion that she has been haunting. Now her spirit has donned the dead body of another girl, and she is anxious to get away, to stay one step ahead of the ghost hunters, namely, her arch enemy, Philip Pratt.
She finds herself in the secluded town of White Bar, welcomed by the kind townsfolk, especially Mayor Martha Hayley, John and Mary Berringer, Ruth Huellet etc. All the residents recognise the vulnerability in her, and invite her to stay on and build a life for herself in their town, emphasising repeatedly that White Bar is a place of peace and rest, a magical place of joy.
At first she intends to stay just for one night, and leave the next morning, but the sight of two hands in flowered sleeves in the oven in Martha’s kitchen haunts her with its cry for help, and she decides to stay on.
She comes to know of a fire in an old, locked schoolhouse, and becomes consumed by the idea of unravelling the mystery and setting the pain free. There she comes to know of gold-seeker turned schoolmaster Landon Albert Longhurst.
And all along she faces a corporeal danger, in the shape of ghost hunter, Pratt, intent on blasting her to nothing.

The book is written in the first person present tense point of view of Emma and is divided into two parts, The Ghost and The Door.
The hardsell for White Bar made me uncomfortable from the very beginning, leading me to wonder what secrets this perfect place concealed.
I liked Emma. She is an old soul, literally and figuratively. There’s a message of kindness to counter pain through the short fuse of her temper. Pain that must be dealt with in order to strive for reparation and justice.

At first, Emma is a real ghost of a character. The author is careful not to smother us with her back story, letting us get to know her in the present, letting out only an occasional nugget about the past.
I wasn’t familiar with the setting, but the descriptions and the sense of setting emerged beautifully. The description of the small frontier town in the High Sierras is evocative. I enjoyed reading about its gold panning history.
The language is gorgeous, poetic and beautiful, offering us lessons of living from a soul who’s been dead for far longer than she’s been alive.
Some proofing errors mar the overall effect, but only slightly. As when Su Kwon says, “We really do watch for each another.”

Ultimately this ghost story with a heart was one beautiful and lush read with a befitting ending and then an Epilogue that was just perfect.

[Sondra Stark · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tad bit bizarre.

What a bit of a mishmash. Never could get into whatever was supposed to be philosophical musings about life and death.

I was trying to hit one star , but it kept coming up as 2.

Missed the first book, but am not going back or forward if this is series.

[Deborah Mesplay · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed The Last to See Me, but I struggled through this one.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The only way you manage it is by pretending you don’t feel what you feel, don’t know what you know. You blend in and mix… To survive in this world, you must wear a skin that isn’t your own, borrow a coat that fits but will never warm, smile when you want to slash and burn.”

The intriguing follow up to “The Last to See Me” and I really enjoyed it. Emma Rose has hitchhiked to a really small ski town called White Bar. It’s a seemingly ghost friendly town but, that’s what’s on the surface. White Bar like most places, have their own secrets and fears. Emma is such a great character to understand and she’s unforgettable. This story kept me interested and wanting to read more. Four stars!

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book 2 in the Last Ghost Series and I did not read book 1, The last to see me. I think I'll read book 1 and then reread book 2, I think I'll get more from the story with Emma Rose's back story. Emma Rose is a ghost who is now roaming the world since being freed from the mansion she was haunting. She lands in White Bar, Nevada and think she's found home with other ghosts but the ghost hunter is on her trail and threatening the entire ghost population. I like the hints of time travel. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series fascinates me even as it chills me to the bone. I hate the idea of a future where we so actively work to destroy ghosts. But, at least in this one, volume 2, people are starting to grow a conscience and the tides may be shifting. I did appreciate the creative way that the dead got revenge on the living! I am excited to read the next volume in this series.

There was one quote that struck me..."Later on, when she was cruel to him, I understood the devil hands a broken heart the hammer that smashed it, then tells it to smash the next heart closest."

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one book where you REALLY need to read Part One first. It is also a story that a person will love or hate. I was annoyed with Part One, "The Last to See Me' because I thought the ending was lame. This one, Part Two pulls the story together. Would it be better to consolidate them into one book? For me, probably. But it is still, a really unusual story that I enjoyed.

[sharon check · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever ghost story.

Seems like an episode of Twilight Zone. Emma Rose arrives in a little western town , a remnant of the good rush days, where folks maybe are too good to be true. As she explores the museum and the old locked schoolhouse the mysteries create more questions. Who are these people and what really happened to the children and the schoolmaster?

[Jan Verstraete · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amateurish

Full of characters over-explaining, preaching, and philosophizing. There’s no ambience or mood to speak of, just endless explaining and inventing new facts to cover over plot holes.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet Jesus this two-book series is GOOD! If I had known this was a sequel to The Last to See Me, I wouldn’t have put off reading it. Just finished and I’m grinning like a jackass eating briars! Emma Rose is BADASS!

[Nixie Pictures · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in less than a day. It was captivating and I couldn’t put it down. Unfortunately I read the 2nd one before I knew it was a series, so I’ll be reading about Emma Rose after this. On my list of all time favorite books! Also a quick action packed read.

[Hollie Hinkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series so far has been incredible. It’s such an easy read, without too much suspense and drama so you aren’t stressed out, but enough action to keep you interested. Emma Rose is such an interesting character, and the world and plot is a cool concept. I’m excited to read the last book!

[Anna Maynard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope on this one

Loved the first book .... This second one just didn't make the interest section for a reading. It just wasn't there.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea is great
The plot is ok, it’s almost haphazard with sentence structure and character development
Quick read, beach read

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was an easier read. this was sad and i didnt like the ending.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ghost story...I liked it...if you should chose to read this...do both in the series back to back.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and this author. Looking forward to more from her!

[Alicia A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than the first one. I would read a hundred of these if she wrote them.