Ghost Finders

A new series by Simon R Green, Ghost Finders follows closely in the same vein as his two other urban fantasy series (Nightside and Secret Histories). It follows the adventures of a team from the Carnecki Institute, which wants to Do Something about ghosts (and other weirdness) - JC Chance, a perpetually optimistic, arrogant blowhard (who always turns out to be right, in the end); Melody, the team's tech guru who turns into a Lovable Sex Maniac after hours; and Happy, a "class 11 telepath" on enough drugs to empty out a pharmacy, who can almost never think positively (unless on certain types of the aforementioned drugs). On their tails are members of the rival group, the Crowley Project - Natasha Chang, a sadistic Rich Bitch of a telepath and her sidekick (against her will) ErikGrossman, a physically and socially repulsive scientist with similarly repulsive scientific interests.

The series books are -
 * Ghost of a Chance (2010)
 * Ghost of a Smile (2011)

This series provides examples of:

 * Batman Cold Open: If it's Simon R. Green...
 * Came Back Wrong: Kim isn't alive, but she's also much more than a ghost.
 * Canon Welding: Not too overtly done in the first book, but the reference to Timeslips and making certain Nouns proper pretty much places this in the same universe.
 * Chekhov MIA: Happy detects three minds outside of his team.
 * Crapsack World: It's part of the same universe as just about every other Simon R Green novel... compared to all the others, though, this one takes the cake.
 * Dating Catwoman: Humans and ghosts aren't supposed to date, no matter which group you're a part of.
 * Deus Ex Machina:
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu: Twice in the first book. The first happened in the Batman Cold Open, where they sent a primordial Presence packing by
 * Distaff Counterpart: Natasha is a twisted mix of Happy and JC. Erik is the Spear Counterpart of Melody, also twisted (and downright inverted in a lot of areas...)
 * Eldritch Abomination: Considering this is Urban Fantasy by Simon R Green, it'd be disappointing if there WASN'T at least one. In this case, it's
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom:  seems to have the   equivalent.
 * Ragtag Bunch of Misfits:
 * Noodle Incident: The team has been working together for several years. These pop up quite often.
 * Who You Gonna Call