THE FOREVER SUMMER

Author: Suzanne Macpherson ISBN: 0061161268 8/2007 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: AVON

The Awful Truth about Emily Ruth Lucas Griffin has come to Port Gamble for one purpose. To get the Griffin family summer home out of the clutches of his evil ex-wife, Emily Ruth Griffin. But before he can blink twice, she drops dead in the local grocery market. Now he's stuck with her ghost, and her little dog, too. Not-So Dearly Departed Lila Abbott has had her fill of rich summer people who crowd Port Gamble every year. Townie girls and summer boys just don't mix, and she's learned that the hard way. But Lucas Griffin has a ghost problem that only Lila can solve, and she finds herself knee-deep in Cheez Whiz while Lucas and the deceased Emily Ruth duke it out. Working together to clear his name and get rid of their pesky poltergeist, Lucas and Lila find themselves falling in love. Maybe this will finally be the FOREVER summer for Lila Abbott.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Every once in awhile a book makes me laugh out loud from the very first pages and keeps me smiling right up until the end. THE FOREVER SUMMER by Suzanne Macpherson is one of those fun reads that did just that—kept me spellbound and smiling.

This book starts off with a bang when a woman keels over in a grocery store, the apparent victim of a Cheez Whiz demonstration gone awry. When this woman returns as a ghost, and haunts everyone, including her dog, from the afterlife, the plot thickens and really becomes hilarious.

Every character in this story is realistic and likeable, even the yappy little dog, Schatzie. The dialogue is sharp and witty and the plot moves along at a quick pace. I was completely caught up in the story, and didn't solve the mystery of who actually killed the perfume-wearing ghost until the final chapters. THE FOREVER SUMMER is so much fun that I hated to see it end.

Kay James