Not Even a Ghost (Ghost Trilogy‪)‬

L. E. Modesitt, Jr. returns to his Ghost series with a standalone prequel, Not Even a Ghost, a modern political thriller with the slick alt-history sensibility and a touch of the supernatural

Johan Eshbach is an environmental bureaucrat working in the Federal District of Columbia. In this alternate universe, history unfolds differently: North America is occupied by the global superpowers of Austro-Hungary, New France, Quebec, and Columbia.

When the senior staff member of the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources dies unexpectedly days before flying to New France, Johan is tapped to accompany the Deputy Minister. What should be a straightforward meeting in New France turns out to be anything but. Johan's involvement spirals out of control as he tries to make the connections between oil executives, arms smugglers, and deaths by unnatural “natural causes”. His revelations will come with a heavy price.

In this alternate world, ghosts are real, tangible embodiments of misdeeds, but how do you solve a crime when the murderer didn't leave any?