Sam had fallen in with a bad crowd in New York and Jake had hoped getting him away from them would get him away from drugs and drinking. Sam fell in with a similar crowd up north, and just when he almost had his problem under control, his father died of a brain tumor. Now Jake fears Sam has slipped back into his old ways while mourning his father, and though Jake and Victor had finally made peace with their relationship, she can’t imagine why Victor has chosen to haunt her.

Also back to haunt Jake (in the flesh) is her friend Jemmy who saved her life when she was a teenage runaway in New York but who is now the target of a hit man, Walter Henderson, who by coincidence is also in Eastport, Maine. Walter’s daughter Jen was having a relationship with a local handyman who Walter considered to be beneath his daughter. Now Cory is missing, only to be found hanging in Walter’s barn, an apparent suicide. As Jake learns more about Cory, and at the pleadings of her housekeeper Bella, she begins to look into his death, certain it was not a suicide. And her fugitive father is puttering around with the holes in the roof, the refrigerator is protesting and wallpaper is coming down around Jake’s ears.

Walter seems as surprised as everyone else is to find Cory hanging in his barn. Jake knows the man is a cold blooded killer, but it is usually business with him and somehow this one doesn’t feel right. Single-minded as she is, Jake pursues the young man’s death while protecting Jemmy, all the while keeping one eye on Sam, knowing he has to come to his own decisions about his sobriety.

Husband Wayne and best friend Ellie provide support whatever Jake decides, as always. There are plenty of suspects, though when the murder is solved, many may not have seen it coming and may have missed the signs for the motive. Interspersed throughout the chapters are correspondences between two used book dealers who are evaluating a book found in Jake’s basement in her last outing. The book appeared to very old, listing the owner’s of Jake’s house, but the oddest thing is, Jake’s name is written in as the current owner, in the same script as all the other names.

Another mystery is brewing and the teasing has begun. An obituary of one of the book dealers at the end of the book is sure to hint at what Jake’s next adventure will be and will make readers eager for Jake’s return.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry