Simon Canderous and his retractable metal bat are doing a favor for an undead friend when he runs into a bit more psychometry than he is used to. With girlfriend and technomancer Jane at his side he succeeds in dispatching a nasty revenant, a goth tattoo artist roiling with hate and jealousy, but not without a great deal of property damage. The ghost is gone but her emotions linger on in Simon, making it hard for him to keep an even keel when dealing with Jane or his coworkers in Manhattan's Department of Extraordinary Affairs.

Former thief Simon is worried about recent budget cuts; the last thing he wants is to be cut loose with only his old life of crime to maintain his current lifestyle. The SoHo apartment is the last remnant of who he used to be and it's impossible to think about giving it up. It's even hard to think about sharing it, despite Jane's hints about wanting more than an old underwear drawer to put her stuff in for when she comes over.

Rather than being fired, Simon has plenty to keep him busy. He and his ghost-whispering partner Connor are part of the skeleton crew left after the budget cuts pare the department down to the bone, and are working day and night to do the work that keeps crawling in (and the tons of paperwork that always follows). Most recently, an old friend of their boss Inspectre Argyle Quimby is found dead in his ritzy digs, drowned but with his clothes and immediate surroundings bone dry. Further investigation puts not only Simon but Jane at risk, while digging up old memories Inspectre Quimby may not be ready to face.

DEAD WATERS is the fourth Simon Canderous novel and continues the wry look at the seamy paranormal underside of the New York Anton Strout has created. Favorite venues like the Lovecraft Café are used as well as several of the quirky co-workers and undead acquaintances connected to Simon's uneasy life on the right side of the law. New characters and old mysteries are plumbed as well, making for a delicious noirish dip into urban fantasy.