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5.0étoiles sur 5
life goes on . . ., Sep 11 2001
It can be very frustrating to the reader to come into a series mid-way. This book, number 4 of a series called "A Jersey Shore Mystery" is so inviting and easy to read that I never found myself wondering what had happened in the earlier books. I enjoyed it so much, however, that I do intend to find out. Set in Oceanside Heights, just a bit north of the famous Cape May, the ocean is an ever-present backdrop to the events that happen in Anne Hardaway's life. Anne is a 30-something ghostwriter, who inherited her small ocean-front home, and resides there with an elderly, one-eyed cat, Harry. A lot seems to have happened in Anne's life since the first book (I've yet to read books two and three, but will remedy that lack very soon.) Thank goodness, there is a new policeman in charge--the handsome, enigmatic Mark Trasker. (This is a relationship to which I look forward with great anticipation., but you'll have to read the book to find out just exactly why.) To find a grandmother caring for a grandchild or other young relative isn't exactly news any more, in today's world. Delia Graustark, the town librarian, has her teen-age niece Tracy, living with her; a typical cynical teen-ager who thinks no one in the world can understand her problems. When one of her friends is found dead, the aura of witchcraft quickly raises it's head, linking the two young women with others in town. Anne is still supporting herself with her ghost-writing, and the current live pretend-author, Dr. Arlene, as she's known to her supposedly adoring public, is a self-help guru, particularly in the field of parenting. For reasons mostly known only to herself, Dr. A. descends on Annie for the duration--ostensibly to help with the book, but in reality, because Dr. A. has an entirely different agenda. The two sets of stories are beautifully interwoven throughout the book. One set is Anne and Mark and the old-timers of the town who haven't forgotten Anne's mother, and aren't going to let Anne forget it either--and the other set is the loneliness and isolation of the teen-agers, set against the frantic Dr. A. Wonderful. On every level, this is a terrific book. Highly recommended!
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