Ghost Flower

February 27, 2012
Jaffe (Rosebush) tends to focus on the
interior lives of her protagonists, rather than the external events of the plot, for the pacing in her thrillers. It works with an honest character, drawing readers in as emotions unfold and deeply held fears are realized. But with an unreliable narrator like Eve Brightman/Aurora Silverton, readers are warned from the start to withhold trust. Without the page-turning tension of either emotional involvement or event, what’s left is a litany of wealth and spite. Living in squalor, Eve agrees to an impersonation—she will pretend to be Aurora, a cousin of Bain and Bridgette Silverton who has been missing for three years, in return for a cut of Aurora’s inheritance, due when she turns 18 in three months. Aurora is believed to have run away when her best friend Liza committed suicide, but no one really knows. Upon “Aurora’s” dramatic return, the dire warnings of a hired medium set up the haunting that follows, with Aurora being visited by Liza’s ghost, and the interdependence of money and fraud continues to the end. Ages 14–up.

March 1, 2012
In a tense mystery, a former foster kid calling herself Eve Brightman enters a dangerous scheme to impersonate a missing heiress. In the coffee shop where Eve works, an expensively dressed brother and sister approach her with a proposition: Eve, a "dead ringer" for their cousin Aurora Silverton, will pass herself off as Aurora to collect a multimillion dollar inheritance, of which Eve will receive a share. Without asking too many questions about Aurora's disappearance three years prior, Eve agrees to the scheme. After a month of rigorous coaching, the false Aurora arrives at the luxe but cold Silverton home. Tension builds rapidly and effectively from all sides as unanswered questions pile up: Will the Silvertons believe that Eve is Aurora? What are Bain and Bridgette, the siblings who engineered this scheme, hiding from Eve? Was the death of Aurora's best friend Liza truly a suicide? Who--or what--is behind the mysterious door-rattlings and phone calls that make Eve wonder if Liza's ghost is haunting her? Eve's determination to solve the mystery of Liza's death propels the plot forward, and ambitious readers can piece together theories of their own from clues that are revealed at just the right pace. A twist near the end dissolves some of the tension prematurely, but much of the suspense remains until the final moment. A compellingly sinister page-turner. (Suspense. 14 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-After they see Eve Brightman working in a Starbucks in Tucson, AZ, cunning siblings Bain and Bridgette Silverton are sure that she can impersonate their missing cousin Aurora until Aurora's wealthy grandmother dies and leaves her a fortune. As a foster child, Eve has trouble remembering her past, unless you count troubled dreams and sad memories. Why wouldn't she pretend to be beautiful, wealthy Aurora for a share of the inheritance? However, Eve finds out the hard way that easy money is never that easy. The family is suspicious of Aurora's miraculous reappearance, she is a person of interest in the mysterious suicide of her friend Liza, and her presence has enraged an unknown entity. Eve is unsure who or what is after her; she is haunted day and night by the living and the dead. Aurora's unfeeling family, her so-called friends, and even Liza's ghost all seem to want to help her, yet they also appear to be conspiring against her. The more Eve uncovers about Aurora's life and Liza's death, the more troubled and frantic she becomes. Jaffe's suspense-filled, thrilling paranormal mystery has fully developed characters and a well-thought-out, twisting plot. Readers will be kept guessing how it all ends, and, despite its substantial page count, the novel is suspenseful enough to be devoured in one sitting.-Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2012
Grades 9-12 Eve Brightman is a street-smart former foster kid working at a local Starbucks when her life changes in a dramatic fashion. Rich-kid siblings Bridgette and Bain Silverton make her an offer she can't refuse: take $100,000 in exchange for impersonating their cousin, Aurora Silverton, for whom Eve is a dead ringer. Heiress Aurora disappeared three years ago, and if she reappears, her multimillion-dollar fortune will be theirs for the taking. The catch? After initially agreeing to the plan, Eve suddenly has many questions that she never thought to ask. Like, what really happened to Aurora? What happened to Liza, Aurora's best friend, who died the night of Aurora's disappearance? And, most chilling of all, is it really Liza's ghost haunting Eve, claiming more went on that night than anyone is letting on? Sinister details, accurate teenage voices, and an intriguing story line should hold readerswho are interested in tense, dark thrillers with paranormal overtonescaptive.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)