THE SHAPE OF NIGHT

4 stars out of 5

There's more than a touch of the paranormal in this book, so if ghosts and things that go bump in the night fall outside your credibility wheelhouse, you might want to skip this one. I, however, found it quite enjoyable - even nail-biting in spots.

It's set in an isolated century house on coastal Maine that's been rented for the summer by Boston cookbook writer Ava Collette. Professional carpenters are still finishing up restoration work on the deteriorated upper-level turret, but after they're gone for the day, Ava gets a distinct feeling she's still not alone. Not long after, she gets a more up-close-and-personal look; her "guest," it seems, may be the ghost of the home's original owner, Captain Brodie, who died at sea not long after building the house of his dreams. Ava's vision of him is so real, in fact, that she literally feels him touching her (always at night when she's in bed, so read into that what you will). Because he always seems to know exactly what Ava needs - both physically and emotionally - she begins to look forward to the visits. 

But Ava, who provides a first-person account of what's happening, has a dark secret of her own from which she's trying to escape. And not long after the captain's nocturnal visits begin, she realizes the house holds many other secrets much darker than hers - all of which involve women with whom she bears an uncanny resemblance. Throw in a couple of past and present murders and a real wanna-be boyfriend who can't compete with the ghost in Ava's eyes, and the result is a suspense novel that's a little bit scary and a lot of fun. That said, I do admit to conjuring up the thought, every once in a while, that Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles - much-loved characters from the popular series also penned by this author - would have had a hoot dealing with the apparition that appears here.

Well done, and I thank to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

The Shape of Night by Tess Gerritsen (Ballentine Books, October 2019); 288 pp.