Now You See Her

Sweeney is not your everyday artist. A clairvoyant loner, she sees ghosts, guesses "Jeopardy" questions in advance and, most dangerous to her, paints in stages a real but unwitnessed murder scene with the killer in it. That you care about Sweeney's survival and her budding desire for the victim's ex-husband is due to Howard's prose and deft handling by reader Balsam. Sensual in the sex scenes, she keeps the main story line humming even as she brings out touching minor bits, such as that of the ghost of a recently deceased 10-year-old following around his own grieving mother. Suspense builds until Sweeney confronts the knife-wielding murderer alone. J.B.G. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine