A Ghost's Guide to Haunting a Witch (And Other Bad Decisions) by Sharon Ibbotson

Augustine Pepperday is a witch. Non-magical. She grew up in a family of witches, but, while they all had powers, she did not. However, a man has just walked into the store asking her to not only read his fortune, but to talk to the dead for him. She freaks out and kicks him out of her store. Why is she reacting to him so strongly? Neither talking to her roommate nor her sister yield any results. He returns and the story begins to skip around to various timelines and viewpoints.

The conceit of the book is an intereting one but I'm not sure about how successful Ibbotson is in pulling it off. For one, the blurb about the book isn't exactly how the story unfolds. We know that Augustine has two sisters but we really only ever see one until the end. Some of the world building that is purposely hidden until the end could have been introduced earlier in the story; it would have built characters better without spoiling the ending of the story. There is not enough time on page with Theo and Augustine. We get a beginning and an end but not enough about the middle. 

Three stars

This book came out September 10, 2026

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Joffe Books

Opinions are my own