A Surprise Visit From A Stranger May Save Annie's MarriageAn Older Woman and a Younger Man Are Thrown Together in Unusual CircumstancesLeft on her own on Black Mountain, Vermont, in January when the North Eastern states are experiencing one of the heaviest snow storms for years, Annie is slowly rec...
Left on her own on Black Mountain, Vermont, in January when the North Eastern states are experiencing one of the heaviest snow storms for years, Annie is slowly recovering from a hysterectomy. Her husband, John Jackson, is attending a conference in New York City. Her two grown-up children live a long way away, her daughter in Montana and her son and his family in Florida.
Annie is exhausted both from the operation and the problems of trying to deal with her husband’s inattentions and the fact she is unable to work at the job she loves: teaching children in an all age school in rural Vermont.
Once John has set off for New York she is both relieved and worried. At last she falls asleep and sleeps for over twenty hours.
When she awakes she hears a voice from the garage asking her for help.
And so begins Annie’s dilemma for once she revives the young man she finds in the garage does she succumb to his attentions?
Will is very young, 18, very clever ”” he is in pre-med before beginning his training as a doctor ”” and Annie’s loneliness vanishes as she is drawn closer and closer to Will. Annie enjoys cooking for Will. He enjoys her company too and seems to be suggesting that they should get to know each other better.
Annie points out that she is far too old for Will and in any case is happily married and would never betray her husband. Will senses that something is not quite right with the marriage and wonders what she would do if she knew, absolutely knew, that her husband could never ever possibly find out if she had an affair.
An evening spent discussing some of the most erotic poetry ever written in English ”” the Songs and Sonnets of John Donne, the great metaphysical poet ”” draws Annie and Will dangerously close to Annie doing something she may regret for ever.
An absolutely glorious afternoon spent playing in the snow in the magical fairy-like forest brings Annie alive again and makes her determined to make her marriage glow once again.
Unfortunately a silly race back to the house results in Annie falling. Will tries to lift Annie up but his face is so close to hers she is helpless and pulls Will down on top of her and kisses him passionately.
Annie is shaken by her own actions and becomes more and more determined to keep Will at arm’s length.
As the week draws to a close a number of questions arise. Is Will really who he says he is? Where has he come from? Why is he so keen to stay as long as he can and then suddenly eager to leave once Friday dawns?
For Will time is running out. He appears to be desperate to get to know Annie intimately. In spite of her fierce determination to remain faithful to her husband Annie feels irresistibly drawn towards Will until she feels compelled to do something utterly against her natural instincts.
Annie’s Ghost is a deeply romantic love story with a shocking twist at the end that will break your heart.
Praise for Annie’s Ghost
“I think it (Annie’s Ghost) could be one of those books that becomes part of you, a quiet unassuming gentle book that grips your heart so tightly that it won’t let you go.”
“I began by thinking what is this about but afterwards I thought this is a lovely little book that I would recommend very much.”
“This is a small book but it packs an intensity that many so called big books lack.”
“An intelligent little book.”
