Second Glance: A Novel

I didn't want this book to end - lots of twists and action, a real page turner! The book had everything - great character development, a real sense of place and time. I love "ghosty" stories - this had ghosts, and so much more. Jodi Piccoult is a wonderful writer and I really enjoyed how she wove her characters together through place and time in this book. I want more!!!

After reading Jodi Picoult's "19 Minutes", I wanted to see what else she wrote about. "Second Glance" is the second book I have read. I am not quite finished with it but I would recommend it highly. Her themes and plots are wide-ranging. "Second Glance" is part history, part romantic ghost story. If any of you have read "Madeline's Ghost" by Thomas Girard, you will like this too. I am very pleased to find an author who has written so many books I have not yet read.

This is by far Jodi's most paranormal book, encouraging the reader to have an open mind. In short, it's a ghost story, one that involves a seventy-year old murder. Luckily, we have on hand a paranormal investigator whose experience is quite convenient, plus a cast of other characters who very willingly except their town haunting, rose petals snowing from the sky, and other unexplainable peculiarities. Upon beginning the book, I was a bit bogged down by the sheer number of characters. It's a pretty large cast that spans the two storylines, one in the 1930's and the other in the present. The first third of the book introduces us to the town, the characters and the plot, but is suddenly interrupted for another third of the book to tell the first person account of the dead woman who is responsible for the present haunting. Then back to the main plot again for the final third of the book.

This is a very multi-layered book that explores how lives are intertwined and how the past dictates the future. It is it about death and its impact on life, even decades later. It is written in the style I have come to love about Jodi and with the mystery she presents as she unfolds the plot. Unlike many of her other books, this one does not include lawyers or courtroom scenes, just the haunting story of love, life, death, and destiny.

Not quite as good as other Jodi Picoult novels, but I haven't put it down yet either.

I truly enjoy Jodi Picoult novels but this IS the best. The characters are unique but very well defined; the action is absorbing; and the ending fascinating. I highly recommend this novel to all Picoult fans.