Live Ringer
Lynda Fitzgerald
ISBN 978-1-59146-327-6
Crystal Dreams Publishing
Oshawa, Ontario
Reviewed by Marlene Pyle
Sometimes you meet someone new and you feel an instant connection. Even though you barely know the person, you can tell you’re going to be great friends. For those of us who are avid readers, it’s the same with fictional characters. From a novel’s first pages, some characters seem so real that they catch our interest immediately and hold it until the story’s end.
Allie Grainger is that kind of heroine. Fresh from a bitter divorce and still reeling from the death of an aunt she was very close to, Allie escapes to the Florida beach house her aunt left her. She’s hoping to relax and try to figure out what to do next. All she wants is time to think and make plans for the rest of her life. But on her first day back in what is supposed to be a haven, she discovers the body of a woman floating in the water, a woman who bears a strong resemblance to Allie herself.
The retreat Allie had envisioned is not to be. Her two closest childhood friends still live in the area, and both have joined the police force. Though Allie hasn’t seen them in years, she’d hoped to rekindle those relationships from a less complicated time. She just hadn’t imagined it would happen quite like this, and now she isn’t sure who she can trust.
Fitzgerald has created an appealing and well-developed character that could easily carry a sequel. Allie has a background in the newspaper field at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. By the end of this novel, she is considering a reporter’s job at a local paper, so it would make sense for her to research story lines and become involved in crime investigations. The door has also been left open for a possible love interest, so there is a romantic path to explore as well. Readers will look forward to meeting Allie Grainger again.
DISCLOSURE: I have a material connection because I received a review copy that I can keep for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was not expected to return this item after my review.
Copyright Ⓒ2010 Marlene Pyle