Just Jennifer

The Life I Left Behind by Colette McBeth (Minotaur, February 24, 2015)

Six years ago, Melody Pieterson was a vibrant young woman until she was attacked and left for dead, her friend and neighbor David convicted of the crime.  Since then, Melody has become introverted, trusting no one, hiding behind locked doors and fences, from everyone, including and except herself.  Shortly after David is released from prison, another young woman is attacked in a similar way; but Eve Elliot was not as lucky as Mel (as she now calls herself).   Now Eve’s ghost remains and tells her story, alternating with Mel’s as the two young women form an unusual alliance to catch a killer.  As Mel learns more about Eve’s murder, she begins to think that David was not responsible for the attack on either woman, an idea that leaves her more unsettled than ever, but also oddly resolved to uncover the truth, something that Mel finds liberating as she finds her voice and herself once again.  Haunting and suspenseful, McBeth’s elegant storytelling is by twists and turns surprising, healing and redemptive and while some readers may see the end coming, McBeth makes the trip more than worth it.