Rory is your average high school senior. Or she was, until her mother banishes her to hell, also known as Trumbull, Connecticut. The small suburb with only a mall and movie theater, sure feels like the netherworld until Rory’s first day at her new school. That’s the day she meets Bowen, who begs her to join him on a class project. But when Bowen drags her to a graveyard after dark for research purposes, Rory wants to fly back home to Atlanta, or at least return to her aunt's house unharmed and unmolested.
Nothing could go wrong, right? They talk, they laugh, and they wander among the tombstones looking for information on the local ghostly legend known as the White Lady. Then they have to run, but they cannot outrun a ghost. In addition to the ghostly woman, a half buried dead body leads Rory and Bowen into a deadly game of cat and mouse, but who is the killer? Is it human or something long dead and otherworldly?
The police are of little help, Rory's aunt just wants her to remain safe, and Bowen, who she can't stay away from, keeps finding ways to get her into more trouble than she has ever known. Whether breaking into a suspected killer's house, being followed by a menacing ghost, or being stalked at school, Rory hopes finding the killer will put an end to the supernatural haunting. Before Rory can discover the identity of the killer, she is drawn into the mystery of the White Lady, which opens the door for some very real danger.
Excerpt:
Bowen sent her a text early the next morning as she sat at the kitchen table drinking her first cup of coffee. Nora was nowhere to be seen at this hour. She couldn’t imagine that Bowen had anything to do with seeing a ghost, but one tiny little part of her continued to wonder. She had no other rational explanation. Still, he would have to be an amazing actor if he had set everything up and pretended to be scared of the White Lady. Rory doubted it, but she didn’t know him that well. Although after their time together, Rory felt she could trust him.
“That was a great first date,” he sent the text.
“Yes it was,” Rory replied, not sure if Bowen was serious or not. The fact that Bowen considered it a date made Rory happy, and she had enjoyed their time together after the ghost and the graveyard. She wanted another date. “When’s the next one?” She typed.
“I can’t wait to see your pretty pimple.”
Rory looked at the screen. What did he mean by that? Had she broken out with all the stress lately? She didn’t think she had any blemishes when she had prepared for the date.
“Dimple.” The words appeared quickly on Rory’s phone screen.
“What?” She texted back.
“I meant that I can’t wait to see your cute dimple. Stupid auto correct.”
“Smooth.”
“I don’t want to write anything else and risk more embarrassment. I’ll see you in journalism.”
“I’m not worth the risk?” Rory wrote back.
“That’s not what I meant. You’re definitely worth the risk. I just don’t want to mess up.”
“You mess up often?” Rory texted, again not sure how serious this early morning conversation could be.
“Now this is just getting awkward. Be nice to me.” Bowen begged in text.
“I’m always nice.”
“This conversation indicates otherwise. I’ll have to wait and see for myself. Got to get ready for school. See you soon.”
“K.” Rory chuckled as she sent the text back to him. She clicked off the phone and prepared for school, a little more excited for the day than when she woke up.
Bio:
Lisa Acerbo is a high school teacher and adjunct instructor at the college level, holding an EdD in Educational Leadership. This is her fourth novel. In addition to writing fiction, she has contributed to local newspapers, news and travel blogs including The Patch and Hollywood Scriptwriter. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two daughters, three cats, dog, and horse, where she is an active part of the community. Her poetry won first place in a local writing competition and she is a judge in the annual town literary competition and arts festival.
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