Barbara M. reviewed on 12/28/2024 + 159 more book reviews

Just finished this book. Think it was in a box of books I got from someone on FB marketplace. Never heard of this author before. It was an OK book. The story is about Emma, the protagonist, who moves from NYC to a small town on the Long Island coast. They buy an old mansion which is in the country so rather isolated. There is some mystery about the last owner of the house. There are strange noises in the house. Emma, who writes novels (featuring haunted houses) also finds disturbing writings on her computer (e-mails, drafts of her recent novel). To add further drama, Emma was involved in an accident a few years earlier and each anniversary of the accident, Emma gets a card, presumably from the spouse of one of the victims. So, there is some mystery as to who/what is responsible for the computer hacking--a ghost or Emma's stalker.
For whatever reason, I didn't find Emma particularly likeable. Also, her son Zack (about 10 years old) was a star soccer player. There were a few lengthy passages about different plays that Zack and his teammates made. I don't think those added anything to the story--to me it seemed like the author was showing off her knowledge of soccer.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS: The haunting was a red herring and didn't add much to the story. I had a hunch as to who the stalker was (after the accident years earlier, the victim[s spouse dropped out of site) and turned out to be correct. And, of course, as so often happens in scary movies or suspenseful books, one of the characters ends up making an utterly stupid move that puts him/her in danger. END OF SPOILERS

The writing was OK. This is the first book I've read by this author and doubt that I will read any others

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