Kara Was Here

Conescu’s latest is a light, engaging novel about a man, his deceased ex-girlfriend, and the mystery of her death. Brad Mitchell is a realtor with a comfortable life in North Carolina. At the funeral of his ex-girlfriend, Kara Tinsley, whom he dated in college, Brad reconnects with Margot Cominsky, another college friend. Margot, too, has settled into adulthood, running a muffin business, but Kara was wild to the end, dying of a drug overdose. At the funeral, Kara’s oafish roommate, Steve Donegan, astonishes everyone by revealing that he and Kara were engaged—something neither Brad nor Margot knew, even though both kept in touch with Kara after college. Doubting the circumstances of Kara’s death, Margot investigates and uncovers some unnerving information about Steve. Reluctantly, Brad is drawn into Margot’s investigation, though he is distracted by the specter of a miscarriage that haunts his marriage. But that’s not the only ghost haunting Brad: Kara appears periodically for a chat. Although the denouement is disappointing, Conescu’s characters are believable, and he carries off Kara’s ghost scenes without melodrama or portent. Neither a true ghost story nor a grisly murder mystery, this novel is a solid, entertaining read. Agent: Bill Clegg, WME Entertainment. (Nov.)