Delia's Shadow by Jaime Lee MoyerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
Delia Martin is the daughter of a wealthy couple who died during the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. She was spending some time travelling with her best friend, Sadie, and Esther, her best friend's mother which was why they survived. Esther took her in and treated her as a second daughter.
After the tragedy, Delia finds herself seeing spirits and ghosts. Due to the large number of deaths attributed to the tragedy, there are so many of those ghosts all around her. Delia moved to New York to teach and to leave those ghosts and all the painful memories behind.
However, she begins to notice a spirit that seems to haunt her. The shadow that seems to be with her everywhere she goes somehow makes her decide to go back to San Francisco. When she does return, she is greeted by hundreds of ghosts -- the spirits of all those who died in the earthquake and the fires that followed it.
She comes back during the time that San Francisco has risen from the ashes to host the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915. It is a proud moment for the city as people from all over the world visit the impressive fair.
She comes home to find that Esther is unwell and that Sadie feels her mother's time is short. Because of Esther's condition, Sadie wants to get married to her betrothed, Jack, within a few weeks time and Delia is more than willing to help. But, Delia's ghost seems to want Delia's help and will not leave her alone. It also makes Delia doubly nervous that Esther seems to be able to see Shadow. Delia believes it is a sign that her time is near.
Sadie's betrothed is a policeman who is helping detective Gabriel to find a serial killer who is killing more and more people. The killer leaves notes on blue stationary signed with some weird looking symbols. The killer demands that his crimes be published in the papers and promises to kill more people when his demand is not met.
It appears that Delia's ghost, whom she decides to call "Shadow" was one of the serial killer's victims and is asking for justice. And now the killer has gotten wind of Delia and Sadie. Are they safe? Will Delia be able to help Shadow get some peace? Will the serial killer be found before he kills more people? Who is the killer and why does he kill?
Delia's Shadow is an exciting paranormal thriller with some romance thrown in. The story has enough twists and turns that it becomes impossible to guess who the killer is correctly until the end. The book is definitely a good read and will keep readers engrossed until the very last page.
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