Kara Was Here

August 12, 2013
Conescu’s latest is a light, engaging novel about a man, his deceased ex-girlfriend, and the mystery of her death. Brad Mitchell is a realtor with a comfortable life in North Carolina. At the funeral of his ex-girlfriend, Kara Tinsley, whom he dated in college, Brad reconnects with Margot Cominsky, another college friend. Margot, too, has settled into adulthood, running a muffin business, but Kara was wild to the end, dying of a drug overdose. At the funeral, Kara’s oafish roommate, Steve Donegan, astonishes everyone by revealing that he and Kara were engaged—something neither Brad nor Margot knew, even though both kept in touch with Kara after college. Doubting the circumstances of Kara’s death, Margot investigates and uncovers some unnerving information about Steve. Reluctantly, Brad is drawn into Margot’s investigation, though he is distracted by the specter of a miscarriage that haunts his marriage. But that’s not the only ghost haunting Brad: Kara appears periodically for a chat. Although the denouement is disappointing, Conescu’s characters are believable, and he carries off Kara’s ghost scenes without melodrama or portent. Neither a true ghost story nor a grisly murder mystery, this novel is a solid, entertaining read. Agent: Bill Clegg, WME Entertainment.

October 1, 2013
Some called Kara irresponsible, some called her wild, some called her selfish. Whether she was any or all of these things, the 34-year-old failed actress is now dead, presumably of a drug overdose. However, her college friend Margot believes she was murdered by the man who claims to have been her fianc'. Meanwhile, Gwen, Kara's 17-year-old sister, feels her older sibling's presence and even hears her voice. As for Brad, Kara's ex-boyfriend, is he actually seeing Kara's spectral self and communicating with heror is it only his imagination? He is suffering from vision problems, after all, which may be symptomatic of a serious illness, a fact he is keeping secret from his pregnant wife. As the point of view shifts among these three players in Kara's dramatic life, the reader sees how the respective lives of the three survivors become inextricably linked and impacted by Kara's past and her spectral present. Resolution to their problems may come a bit too easily and tidily, but the characters are sympathetic and readers will welcome their ultimate successes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)