The Darkness Within
Short Story in Moon Fever Anthology
By Maggie Shayne
Pocket - October 2007
Paranormal Romance
Life wasn't what Caroline Connelly had expected it to be at this stage of her life. She was divorced, but wasn't receiving the payments agreed to by her ex. She was in a dead end relationship with a loser who only seemed to come by when he needed money. As if her day hadn't been bad enough, she now had a woman who had broken into her home.
Learning that the woman possibly was a ghost was not as shocking as the guy who now seemed to be singularly interested in her. Johnny Lipton was hot, any woman would be thrilled to have his interest, but he was also over a decade younger than she was. Caroline was older, with financial and emotional baggage, and she couldn't understand why any man in the prime of his life would be interested in her.
Then the questions began. What was his interest? Could he truly be interested in her, or was he conspiring? It was obvious that he had secrets, but what were they?
Maggie Shayne is an absolute master at romantic suspense. You might think that this is just a romance with a ghost mystery, but there is so much more than that. This short story is full of suspense, passion, and emotion. All of the characters are fully developed. I loved Johnny's absolute love for this woman, and his determination to overcome her fears. This was my favorite story in this anthology.
The Darkness Within is a short story in the exciting paranormal anthology Moon Fever. Additional stories include Tempting Fate by Susan Sizemore, Cobwebs Over the Moon by Lori Handeland and Crazy for the Cat by Caridad Pineiro.
Kathy Andrico - ReaderToReader.com