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Lee Bartholomew is a ghostwriter who prefers to stay in the shadows as she writes about the lives of her famous subjects. After her fiancée announces that he doesn’t want to get married, she heads to New York from London to begin work on a book that aging rock star Shotgun Marriott wants her to write about his life. He even promises to tell her what really happened on the night when a groupie was found dead in his bed.
Once in America, Lee attends a commitment ceremony between her mother and a wealthy American businessman. After the ceremony, a man washes up on the beach, dressed in a wedding gown and with a bullet through his chest. It turns out to be Shotgun Marriott’s son, Sean. Later, a rival ghostwriter, Bettina Pleshette, is found dead in the woods, with an arrow hole in her back.
Suddenly Lee is thrust into a mystery that could very well end her life. Not everyone seems to be telling the truth about where they were when the murders happened—but neither do any of them have a real motive for wanting Sean and Bettina dead. The local investigator seems to have an agenda of his own and is working hard to pin the murders on Shotgun, but Lee can’t quite picture Shotgun as a murderer—even though she knows he’s lying about the night the groupie died.
The past rises up and haunts the current murder investigation, and things come together with a wickedly good twist.
A blend of character-driven and plot-driven mystery, How to Marry a Ghost is a fascinating story that takes place on a peaceful stretch of beach in Long Island, before heading back to London, where the mystery comes to a climax. The only thing that bugged me about the story was Lee’s wishy-washy attitude toward her ex-fiancée, Tommy. I didn’t even like the guy, and I couldn’t see why she kept clinging to him, hoping they might still get married, even though she didn’t really seem to want to.
The hopelessly tangled plot will keep you guessing about what really happened when Sean and Bettina were murdered. A shadow of evil seems to cover the little town on Long Island, and Ms. McIntyre makes you feel as if you’re right there, watching from a dark stretch of beach. How to Marry a Ghost will definitely spook you while keeping you entranced.
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