Mystic Memories

A prologue involving the 1815 salvaging of a ""cursed"" ship sets the pace for this rambling, often confusing, time traveler by the author of This Time Forever. After a lengthy decision-making process, aimed, it seems, at establishing the heroine's background and bona fides, PI and psychic Cara Edwards agrees to help find a 10-year-old boy who vanished during a field trip aboard a 19th-century schooner. Dressed as one of the crew, Cara attempts to recreate the events leading up to the boy's disappearance, only to find herself propelled to the year 1833 and into the arms of rakish captain Blake Masters. As Cara and Blake spend the next six months sailing the ancient seas searching for (and finding) the missing child, Cara uses her gift to help Blake come to terms with his horrific past, a past eerily connected to the present. Excessive theorizing about time travel and psychic abilities slows down the final pages and leads to a convoluted ending that stretches credibility to the limit. (Apr.)