Ghost of a Chance

Clever, witty, and engrossing, "Ghost Of A Chance" holds the reader's attention from the opening sentence. (This is, in fact, such an enjoyable novel that I think I can even get past the absurdity of capitalizing every word of the title!) In typical fashion, Janet Quin-Harkin manages to create a likeable, round main character who, despite her flaws, the reader will enjoy immensely. Narrator Meredith Markham is in for the ride of her life when her mother receives a letter from eccentric Aunt Harriet, who has broken her leg and needs someone to come take care of her as she finishes writing her latest novel in a spooky rental house on the Maine coast. Much to her chagrin, Meredith is designated for the assignment, and a series of comical mishaps ensues, culminating in Meredith meeting intense Nat Franklin, a dead ringer for the dreamy subject of a family portrait that hangs in Meredith's bedroom in the creepy old house. Once she realizes once and for all that Nat is just a regular guy and not some supernatural reincarnation of the guy from the painting, Meredith feels an immediate attraction to him - despite the fact that she has the "perfect" boyfriend, Peter, waiting for her back home in Illinois. To complicate matters, Nat also has a steady girlfriend in prissy Sandi Cabot. Nat and Sandi's relationship is the one sour note of the novel; Sandi comes off as a caricature of superficiality (as the villainesses in these novels so often do) and it simply doesn't make any sense why down-to-earth Nat would ever be interested in her, unless he is really shallow and superficial himself, in which case, why would Meredith be interested in him anyway? The novel may actually take the point about how Meredith grows up over the summer and realizes that there are more important things in life than clothes and makeup a bit too far by making it seem as though anyone who dresses well or takes an interest in her appearance must automatically be flaky, shallow, and self-centered. The novel also takes an odd turn when a tropical storm batters the town and an oil spill cleanup effort finally draws Meredith and Nat together, and the conclusion is bittersweet, but fitting.

Meredith is finally starting to make some headway with the cool croud in school- her boyfriend is a BMOC -when she finds out she's being sent to help out her kook of an aunt with a broken leg for the summer. Faster than she can say "Rebecca," she's at a dark seaside mansion with a mysterious past. And the ghost of a young man keeps showing up. And he's kinda cute. Janet Quin-Harkin is one of the more prolific writers for "Sweet Dreams," and with due cause. This is one of the best of the series I have read so far, and its very entertaining, through each turn of the plot. Meredith leaves her cozy Chicago suburb for a small seaside town and does a little growing up along the way. Nary a wrong note hit.