The Haunting of Avis Lovelock, by MK Hardy

A professional skeptic having to join forces with a professional spiritualist who she seeks to unmask is a hell of a premise, but if you add to the mix using a Victorian transatlantic as the setting and a slow burn romance, you have a hell of a proposal. And that's exactly what MK Hardy delivers with The Haunting of Avis Lovelock, their most recent novel published by Solaris.

Avis Lovelock is a professional skeptic, a woman set to debunk any medium or spirit talker with her sharp insights and her power of observation; American businessman Carlton Brooksbank invites her aboard the ocean liner Excambion, hoping she can help him prove to potential buyers that the ship is not haunted. At the start of her investigations, she crosses paths with the two famous twin spiritualists, Rachel and Gideon Dufresne; she's determined to unmask them and prove them a fraud. But the more she investigates, the more visions she has of drowned bodies, a cabin filled with water, until a passenger is found dead; despite her reluctance, she will be forced to join forces with Rachel to find the truth behind all the strange things happening aboard the Excambion.

A novel that works in part due to how powerful Avis is as a main character, starting from the own contradiction inside her: a professional skeptic haunted by the ghost of her sister; far from the image of a respectable Victorian lady, sharp and witty, trying to bring justice to the world by unmasking those people that falsely claim to talk with spirits, fleecing marks of their money. A perfect character to be at the center of a mistery set in an enclosed space (in this case, a boat in the sea); but it's how she interacts with the Dufresnes, especially with Rachel, what adds the final touch needed to make this a really enjoyable novel.
An arc that starts with both characters in opposite positions, especially as Rachel gets under Avis' skin, but which evolves in the way of a slowburn romance, especially getting tender as both characters open to each other, all while trying to find the truth behind the deaths aboard the Excambion.

The historical setting helps to ground the story a bit, while also helping our characters to shine in contrast with the background; the pacing was pretty much on the spot, a good fit for the story.

The Haunting of Avis Lovelock is a solid sophomore novel by the Scottish duo MK Hardy, a perfect choice if you are looking for more sapphic Gothic horror mistery in your novels with a sharp and witty main character. Go give it a try!