About the Book:
http://www.cynthiakumanchik.com
When Lily Lane first accepts the job in the small town of Lakeview Shores, she thinks she’s destined for a lazy summer serving food at the local hangout. She couldn’t have anticipated the disastrous turn her life takes before it ends.
Lily dies on the lake, but she has no idea who killed her. Instead, she is stuck in limbo as a spirit. Lily can observe others but has no way of affecting the physical world—that is, until Rose shows up. Rose, a magazine reporter, is Lily’s biological mother. Rose is determined to get justice and shares a special psychic connection with the daughter she has never known.
Together with Lily’s best friend, Jeremy, Rose begins investigating a series of crimes occurring in Lakeview Shores. Is Lily’s death connected to the thefts plaguing the community, or is it due to the actions of someone no one would have suspected? As Rose and Lily grow closer, both mother and daughter will discover that nothing is as it seems in this quiet community. Rose’s mission is important, but if she isn’t careful, it may just doom her to the same fate her daughter suffered.
Read an Excerpt:
Featured in June/July Issue: Summer Reads
Labor Day weekend,
Friday 11:00 p.m.
I followed my instincts for love, which ended my life. You know when you think someone’s in love with you and all you can think about is that person. And I felt that way about Mike. From the day I met him, with his beautiful piercing eyes and sexy smile, I knew he was the one for me. He towered over me and could easily scoop me up in his long arms. My heart melted when I saw him, and I felt goosebumps all over my body. The way we looked at each other and especially that text he sent me. He said he wanted to see me and had something important to tell me—maybe that he loved me. So I rushed out of work, not caring about the customers or my coworkers. Just wanting to see Mike tonight. I know it was impulsive and selfish, but I didn’t care. Besides, I needed a break from that chaotic place—the Shorebird, the most popular place in Lakeview Shores, where everyone goes after boating on the lake.
But then it happened so quickly that I don’t know who or what hit me. I got to the end of the docks to meet him, and it was more than a shock—something I pushed out of my mind. All I can remember is that someone shoved my body off the side of a boat. I fell to the bottom of the clear lake, bouncing off the sharp coral along the way. Ow, the pain that traveled through my body like an electric current. It ran deep and swift as I headed downward, bubbles rising from my mouth. But it was not like the stabbing pain in my heart after realizing he wasn’t there.
Where was Mike? He said he loved me and wanted to see me and had asked me to meet him here. But someone or something hurt me instead. I don’t understand why anyone would want to harm me. Not now, not ever. I was just a teenage girl looking for fun at the lake and spending the summer with my grandma.
Water rushed through my mouth, lungs, and stomach. Panic hit when I heard the boat’s motor roar as it took off across the lake. They were leaving me. I smelled seaweed and pee as I moved rapidly to save myself, probably wetting myself. I felt sick to my stomach, knowing that I was in this desperate situation.