The Ghosts of Thorwald Place

Kae Archer, the narrator of Power’s enticing debut, a paranormal thriller, moves from Ottawa to Toronto after her husband’s murder, fearful the killer is also out to get her. Under a new identity, Kae resides in Thorwald Place, a luxury apartment building known for its impeccable security, where she volunteers for a distress line service. One night, Kae gets a call from someone who says he knows who she is and announces, “I’m coming for you.” Kae tries to flee the building, but her pursuer catches her and slits her throat, leaving her soul trapped in her body. Confined now to Thorwald Place, where others can’t see or hear her, Kae soon learns that its inhabitants present personas to outsiders quite different from their true selves. While Kae’s murder is investigated, she becomes intimately familiar with a woman whose husband is having an affair with a man, a pregnant woman living with an abusive husband, a mother keeping her husband in an induced coma because he has threatened to take away her son, and others, possibly including her own murderer. Distinctive characters complement the original plot. Power is off to a promising start. (Oct.)