Kimberly Cates, Picket Fence

Picket Fence

Kimberly Cates

HQN, Jan 2005, $6.50, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0373770251

In Whitewater, Illinois, new librarian Finnoula O'Grady buys March Winds; this is her first real home, ironically using her late estranged dad's legacy to make the purchase. Finn meets her young next door neighbor Emma, who becomes angry when she learns that the house has a new occupant; Emma insists the house belongs to a ghost haunting the place. Emma's guardian Uncle Cade McDaniel arrives to collect his niece, but he acts sexist and condescending towards their new neighbor. Both visitors hurt Finn by telling her she does not belong, her biggest fear after a wanderlust childhood.

Emma tries to drive Finn out of her home with mischievous pranks. However, when she finds a century and half old diary, she and the two adults become engrossed in the story of a previous resident. As Cade and Finn fall in love, they begin to shower his lonely niece with love. Still, these are three tortured individuals who in their own way have never been able to relate to anyone on an intimate level so unless a matchmaking ghost can change a house into a home, the future remains bleak.

PICKET FENCE is a terrific relationship drama starring three lost souls who desperately need one another, but none has the ability or courage to reach out for fear of rejection. The storyline grips the audience from the first skirmish between enemy combatants Finn and Emma; the plot takes several fascinating spins including the diary so that fans never lose interest. Kimberly Cates provides a discerning look at love offering its healing power if only the lead trio would take a chance.

Harriet Klausner