In Osgood as Gone, Beckett taps into several popular themes: ghost hunting shows, podcasts, and the love of vinyl are three that are dominant, but for lovers of pop-culture who are nearing forty, there are lots of fun references woven through the book. Prudence Osgood is on the cusp of turning forty and the book follows her through an investigation which reunites her with her best friend and former partner. At the crossroads of her past and future, Os must work through a variety of issues so she can move forward.

Often when considering horror novels that include sex, folx might wonder how explicit or gory a book is. Here, there are a few good scary and squirm-worthy moments but the novel is far more focused on character development and there isn't gore for gore's sake. And, while there are some mentions of sex toy use and harnesses, the book is not explicit in terms of sex scenes. The narrative is fairly well paced, but it does at times seem to slow; knowing this is the first in a series helps move the reader through those slower moments, as those moments are most often set up for later threads of the over-arching narrative of the series.

Beckett presents several strong, compelling characters whose backstories are only partially revealed in this series starter. Prudence Osgood is deeply flawed, but her efforts to make up for her past and present sins make her not only relatable but likeable. As the first book in the series, Osgood as Gone provides a lot of springboard moments that can easily be expanded as the series grows. As a reader, I look forward to seeing how Osgood, Zack, and Frost move forward and what is revealed of their past as they investigate future cases.

Finally, it's nice to see a book where characters are queer but it's not a big deal. There are no coming out stories here, and the character's nonconformity isn't the focus of the book--as in life, it's simply one aspect of Osgood's identity.