The Ghost by Danielle Steel

ISBN: 0440224853
Pub. Date: November 1998

Charles Waterson thought his life was perfect. He was a respected architect living in London with his wife, whom he loved, Carole. Much to his emotional devastation, Carole leaves Charlie for a much older man, and he is left with the memories of their ten year marriage, and is now struggling to move on. It is shortly after the loss of his marriage that his company moved him back to New York, a city he is not fond of at all, and into an office environment that leaves much to be desired. He feels trapped and alone. Taking drastic measures he decides to take a sabbatical and try to get his life back together.

He leaves New York without a second thought and heads for the ski slopes of Vermont, and immediately feels free. During his road trip to Vermont a snow storm traps him is a small town in Massachusetts, and he takes a room at a boarding house of an elderly widow. He soon learns that the elderly widow has another home, one much older, secreted away in the woods. Charlie falls in love with the house upon first sight, and convinces her to let him rent it.

Strange things begin to happen in the old house, and soon Charlie realizes that it isn't the neighbors playing tricks on him, but in fact a ghost. The ghost of Sarah Ferguson to be exact, and with Sarah's help Charlie gains the courage to move on with his life and out of his past, as well as the ability to grasp a future that is spread out right in front of him.

This book had my attention from page one. I had to put it down from time to time, as I have a child and a chaotic life, but doing so wasn't an easy task. I was captivated by the story, and wanted to know what was going to happen next. It was a very fast-paced novel, and at times seemed to have two independent stories traveling along at the same time, but the two intertwined beautifully, and guided one another along. The story was a heart warming, and touching. It brought to life that pains that can be inflicted on a person's heart, and the anguish people suffer when hearts are broken. I showed that although times may change and technology progresses, the human heart has always remained the same.

This is a novel that I enjoyed throughly, right up to the end, which completely and totally fell flat. I was into the story, and enjoying it immensely, and still gripping the book with both hands wanting to know what happens next and then, nothing happened. I am not sure that I could use that one flaw and call the novel a flop, as I still took a lot away from reading it. It just left me hanging, and sorely disappointed after hours of being enthralled. It was kind of like a Christmas when the only presents you got were boxes, and boxes of underwear, and socks, after spending six months thinking you were going to get something much more cool.