THE GHOST NEXT DOOR by Ginny Baird is a sweet and slightly suspenseful romance, perfect for Halloween-time reading. I give it 3 stars because I was disappointed by the poor editing, but pleasantly surprised by the ending.
In THE GHOST NEXT DOOR, Elizabeth and Claire Jennings move to a small town in Virginia so that Elizabeth can resurrect the defunct local paper recently acquired by her Richmond-based employer. The ladies are a bit unsettled by the location of their house – across the street from a cemetery and next door to a spooky old Victorian house. The people in the town, save a small few, are warm and welcoming, though.
Elizabeth and Claire soon develop romantic interests and gradually become settled into their new life. The whole town is worried, though, about the disappearances of several families over the past few years. (Cue the creepy music.)
I was definitely intrigued by this novel when I read the synopsis, especially given that it is nearly Halloween. The characters are likable and engaging, and they interact well. I like the subtle commentary on bullying and how to deal with it.
The plot is believable in that Claire has problems with a bully at school and Elizabeth has annoying challenges at work. The romance is sweet and realistically timed. THE GHOST NEXT DOOR reads like a Young Adult novel, but I think that adults would enjoy, too.
The pace moves a bit slowly, but the reader can attribute that to the slow pace of small town life.
The ending was a complete surprise, even though in retrospect, I wonder why I didn't see it. I love it when a suspenseful novel surprises me. Sometimes I feel like I've seen it all, so it's nice to be surprised.
My only disappointment with this novel pertains to the editing. There were blatant misspellings and misuses of everyday words, disagreements between subjects and verbs, awkward sentence and paragraph structuring, confusing pronouns and inconsistencies in the characters' timelines. I recommend the novel be reviewed with a fresh pair of eyes, so that all readers can enjoy the fantastic plot without these issues to distract them.
Overall THE GHOST NEXT DOOR is a good read for all ages.
**Review originally written for The Romance Reviews.com at http://www.theromancereviews.com/viewbooks.php?bookid=10790.
