Readers may wonder whether there’s anything the tenacious investigator can’t handle—while eagerly awaiting sequels.
A schoolteacher takes a second stab at sleuthing when a possible ghostly presence at an all-girls academy is compounded by a definite murder in this mystery.
Jesse Graham’s understandably horrified when her precarious thunderstorm drive ends with a body in the road. Turns out it’s only a dummy with a dreadful but grammatically incorrect message, “Your next,” written on it, a potentially dangerous prank from one or more of the students at nearby St. Bartholomew’s. The next day is Jesse’s first day as the new English teacher, just three months after moving to Seneca Corners in upstate New York in the summer of 1968. Jesse suspects the school’s haunted, based on inexplicable sounds of drums in the locked basement, as well as a now-familiar sensation, having contended with a ghost in her own home. That spirit, however, was benevolent, whereas the one at school is, Jesse believes, more threatening. Looking for clarification regarding the prank and the basement gets Jesse nowhere, as it seems no one wants her snooping or making inquiries. The mystery deepens when, at a gathering, someone fires a shot at Jesse, and later there’s another body in the road—a human one this time. A missing student and a suspicious death subsequently confirm an unmistakable menace, who may next be targeting Jesse. As in Meyette’s (The Cavanaugh House, 2016, etc.) preceding novel, the likelihood of a phantom doesn’t unnerve as much as it augments the mystery. Learning who the ghost is, for example, takes precedence. The dense plot’s undeniably riveting, even its melodrama: Jesse, fresh from a horrid relationship, has two worthy suitors in affable construction worker/company owner Joe Riley and dashing equestrian coach Scott Stanton. She’s also determined to be self-reliant, despite her recent discovery that she’s heir to a fortune. Jesse’s an indelible protagonist, never afraid to say what she’s feeling but readily acknowledging when she may have hurt someone—like emphasizing Joe’s a friend in front of Scott. Unfortunately, though thriller components generate suspense (for example, what exactly is happening in the school’s tunnels?), an explanation near the end isn’t wholly satisfying and leaves behind quite a few questions.
Readers may wonder whether there’s anything the tenacious investigator can’t handle—while eagerly awaiting sequels.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9960965-2-2
Page Count: 324
Publisher: Boris Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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