A year ago, archaeologist Leslie MacIntyre barely survived an explosion that took the life of her fiancé, Matt Connolly. Since then she’s slowly come to terms with both her loss and an unsettling ability to communicate with ghosts, a “gift” received in the wake of her brush with death.
I have read a few of Heather Graham’s novels, so she is still a new author for me. I was not disappointed, but it took me a bit to get into. I do not know why, but it gave me a little of a Temperance Brennan novel with a ghostly twist. This book felt slow-paced to me, but that could be me reading faster-paced books beforehand. I did not feel it was a terrible thing as the book it is.
I rarely read prologues, but I am glad I did on this one. The two characters I enjoyed in this book are Leslie and Joe, the two key characters. You can still feel the mental and physical heartbreak and love she had for Matt and the newness of her communicating with ghosts. She wants to communicate with Matt, even staying at the location of the accident and only seeing the ghosts that have been there before him. Joe, I enjoyed how the author made him the opposite of his cousin. He even explains this to Leslie and the others who mistake him for Matt. Joe is troubled like Leslie but different, and it shows. He is investigating a case as a private investigator but does not seem to forget the accident that took his cousin’s life.
I also enjoyed Nikki and Adam when they arrived later (they were mentioned in the earlier chapters). They helped with Leslie on the paranormal side as Joe helps her on the human side. The other characters felt flat. Some of these characters needed fleshed out more and given what had happened, I felt a little disappointed. Matt did not live up to the hype or expectation as I was hoping.
The paranormal side of this story did not downplay. It blended nicely and did not boggle down the story. There was enough for the ghostly side to feel natural and did not take me out of the story. I could have done with a smidge more, but it was unnecessary. If there would have been a lot, I believe it would have dragged the story and lost the primary plotline. If there was too little, I believe it would have felt like a second thought and be overlooked.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. I do not know if it is her strongest or my favorite out of the few I have read, but it is not the least. I will read more of her books.
I give this book a 4/3
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