Oh man, Chess Putnam really needs to do something about her addictions, she's a bit of a mess but this book goes a distance to talk about why she's a mess. Her background was full of people who used and in many ways used her, I don't think she really knows how to relate to people properly.
This story sees her near-fatally poisoned by a psychic and wondering how she manages to get into these situations. Then she gets lured into an investigation about someone murdering prostitutes in Downside and at the same time try to work out how a celebrity is being haunted, she's convinced that something isn't quite right about the haunting and what she finds can be very dangerous.
Simultaneously she's dealing with the love of two men and these loves come at a price and what she's willing to pay may not be enough for either of them.
Chess is a mess and the book sets up why she's a mess to a degree. She is overwhelmed and scared and out of her depth a lot of the time and it's not surprising that she uses drugs to help her cope.
