Susan F. (scoutmomskf) -
Very good combination of second chance romance and intriguing suspense. Charlie has turned her life around since her years as a troubled teenager. She is a talented and successful graphic artist with a good job, friends, and a boyfriend. Life is good until she spots her dead stepsister across the street, bringing back all of the horrible memories of that time. After her mother's death, Charlie's father remarried a woman with her own daughter. Lindy was a vicious bully whose mother thought she could do no wrong. On the night of Lindy's murder, Charlie had had enough and locked her out of the house. Her father died in a car accident that same night, leaving Charlie at the mercy of the foster system. Charlie's guilty feelings about the night of the murder came out in destructive behavior that eventually landed her in front of a judge. Judge WT Landusky sent her to a boot camp for troubled teens rather than juvie.
William "Shep" Shepherd was another of the judge's boot campers. He was drawn to Charlie and set out to help her make it through the camp. The two of them became fast friends, circumventing the judge's no fraternization rules whenever possible. By the time they finished with the camp, Charlie and Shep were in love. Shep wanted them to get married, but Charlie thought they were too young. She left without a word to him about where she was going, breaking his heart. Both went on with their lives, never expecting to see each other again.
When Charlie saw Lindy that day, she called the judge for help, though she later tried to walk that back. By then, the judge had called on Shep to help Charlie find out what was going on. As a middle school math teacher, Shep was on holiday break, so he rushed right to her. He was eager to see her again. Charlie was stunned to find Shep on her doorstep when she came home from work. She's ready to send him away until she sees Lindy again, and Shep insists on getting to the bottom of the mystery.
I loved watching the relationship develop between Shep and Charlie. Shep never forgot Charlie and discovers that his feelings for her are even stronger. Charlie has a boyfriend but quickly realizes that her feelings for Daniel don't come anywhere close to those she still has for Shep. She fights those feelings hard, believing that she doesn't deserve happiness after what she did. Shep has an uphill battle convincing Charlie that she isn't responsible for Lindy's death. Shep is determined to protect Charlie and uses his time to look into the circumstances surrounding the murder. As the sightings escalate, Shep's protective instincts come out. There are some sweet scenes of him taking care of Charlie, showing her how he feels without pressuring her. Charlie isn't sure what to do. Her feelings for Shep keep growing, but she's sure that she's bad for him. Slowly, his steadfast belief in her chips away at her fears. I loved the patience Shep had at the end, as he waited for Charlie to deal with everything that happened. The epilogue was fantastic.
The suspense of the story was terrific. The appearance of a person Charlie knows is dead throws her life into turmoil. Being stalked by a ghost is enough to put anyone on edge. Shep is just as confident that the stalker is no ghost. I loved his attention to detail as he performed his investigation. It seemed as if each person he talked to raised more questions than providing any answers. There were several twists to the story as Shep and Charlie got closer to the truth. I figured out one of them right before they did, but the last one I never saw coming. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as Charlie ended up at the mercy of her tormentor. I loved seeing her take charge of her own rescue, aided by a perfectly timed arrival by Shep.
There were added complications thanks to some issues Charlie had at work. Her boss is a little too appreciative of her work, and his fiancée, who is also the office manager, doesn't take it well. Amanda spends far too much time getting in Charlie's face when it's Greg she should take issue with. Things got even stranger the closer they came to the wedding day, while the wedding itself didn't go as anyone expected.
William "Shep" Shepherd was another of the judge's boot campers. He was drawn to Charlie and set out to help her make it through the camp. The two of them became fast friends, circumventing the judge's no fraternization rules whenever possible. By the time they finished with the camp, Charlie and Shep were in love. Shep wanted them to get married, but Charlie thought they were too young. She left without a word to him about where she was going, breaking his heart. Both went on with their lives, never expecting to see each other again.
When Charlie saw Lindy that day, she called the judge for help, though she later tried to walk that back. By then, the judge had called on Shep to help Charlie find out what was going on. As a middle school math teacher, Shep was on holiday break, so he rushed right to her. He was eager to see her again. Charlie was stunned to find Shep on her doorstep when she came home from work. She's ready to send him away until she sees Lindy again, and Shep insists on getting to the bottom of the mystery.
I loved watching the relationship develop between Shep and Charlie. Shep never forgot Charlie and discovers that his feelings for her are even stronger. Charlie has a boyfriend but quickly realizes that her feelings for Daniel don't come anywhere close to those she still has for Shep. She fights those feelings hard, believing that she doesn't deserve happiness after what she did. Shep has an uphill battle convincing Charlie that she isn't responsible for Lindy's death. Shep is determined to protect Charlie and uses his time to look into the circumstances surrounding the murder. As the sightings escalate, Shep's protective instincts come out. There are some sweet scenes of him taking care of Charlie, showing her how he feels without pressuring her. Charlie isn't sure what to do. Her feelings for Shep keep growing, but she's sure that she's bad for him. Slowly, his steadfast belief in her chips away at her fears. I loved the patience Shep had at the end, as he waited for Charlie to deal with everything that happened. The epilogue was fantastic.
The suspense of the story was terrific. The appearance of a person Charlie knows is dead throws her life into turmoil. Being stalked by a ghost is enough to put anyone on edge. Shep is just as confident that the stalker is no ghost. I loved his attention to detail as he performed his investigation. It seemed as if each person he talked to raised more questions than providing any answers. There were several twists to the story as Shep and Charlie got closer to the truth. I figured out one of them right before they did, but the last one I never saw coming. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as Charlie ended up at the mercy of her tormentor. I loved seeing her take charge of her own rescue, aided by a perfectly timed arrival by Shep.
There were added complications thanks to some issues Charlie had at work. Her boss is a little too appreciative of her work, and his fiancée, who is also the office manager, doesn't take it well. Amanda spends far too much time getting in Charlie's face when it's Greg she should take issue with. Things got even stranger the closer they came to the wedding day, while the wedding itself didn't go as anyone expected.
