The Fetch

Calder has been escorting souls into the afterlife for over three hundred years since his death at age 19. He has been a guide, a Fetch, at peace with role until he arrives at a death scene and sees a beautiful woman taking care of a dying child. Calder becomes obsessed by the woman, believing her to be a Star Fetch, a mortal present at the death bed of another who can see and hear the visiting Fetch. Drawn to the woman time and time again, Calder breaks his vows and enters the mortal realm, occupying the body of the soul he was supposed to fetch, Rasputin. Calder becomes involved with the royal family before and after their deaths creating a rupture between the spiritual and mortal world he must put right. The imperial children, Alexei and Anastasia exist between life and death and accompany Calder around the world as he tries to right the wrongs of his mortal past and find the key to return them to their family while spirit of Rasputin and the other lost souls try to stop them. The story has an interesting premise for the afterlife but it is, at times, confusing. The Fetch will appeal to readers who enjoy fantasy, romance and historical fiction. It would have benefited with the addition of author pages about the historical events of the time. 379 pages. Recommended by Patricia Wilcox, Librarian.