SULTRY SECRETS

In Braswell’s debut thriller, a woman’s life takes an unexpected turn when she begins having violent nightmares and visions of a phantom. 

Lindsey Johnson’s accounting job in New Orleans keeps her busy and away from her beloved husband, Brian. So when her friend, Leslie Peterson, offers her a position as a controller in Dallas, she jumps at the opportunity. It certainly doesn’t pay as well, but it will give her more time with Brian to start a family, and it also involves helping troubled teenagers. Lindsey settles into her new job with relative ease, but then she starts having vivid dreams in which a ghostly figure drugs her with a “death shot.” Brian and Leslie initially attribute the nightmares to Lindsey’s stress at work but they soon become worried about her mental health. Then she has a vision of a ghost when she’s awake, while others around her see nothing. This puts a strain on her long-standing friendship with Leslie, and on her marriage. Then Lindsey inexplicably vanishes. As Brian and Leslie desperately search for her, they realize that she may have been close to revealing a secret about someone sinister. Braswell maintains a sense of ambiguity for much of the novel, keeping the nature of the apparition veiled until rather late in the game. Early scenes with Lindsey and Brian effectively establish their playful, endearing relationship, which makes their eventual problems, such as an alleged infidelity, more meaningful. However, there are also repetitive, excessively detailed descriptions of characters preparing, consuming, or discussing food. Such specificity works to better effect when Lindsey recounts her eerie dreams to others. Her disappearance significantly ramps up the suspense in the final act, which provides shades of the supernatural and a few solid plot twists.

Engaging characterization and surprises elevate this unconventional ghost story.