Embers

Stockenberg ( Emily's Ghost ) cements her reputation for fine storytelling with this deft blend of mystery and romance. Meg Hazard has big troubles. She's trying to keep her family's bed-and-breakfast in Bar Harbor, Maine, afloat. Then handsome former Chicago cop Tom Wyler moves into the neighborhood looking for peace and quiet, and becomes infatuated with Meg's gorgeous sister Allie, a recovering alcoholic. To top it all off, the reclusive town eccentric, Orel Tremblay, summons Meg to his side, eager to impart details of a dark and tragic past before he dies. Meg finds herself caught up in the mystery surrounding the Great Fire of 1947 and her grandmother's death. When Meg begins to see visions from her grandmother's past, she is forced to take Orel's hints of murder and thwarted love seriously and soon becomes determined to dig up the long-buried truth. Undeniably attracted to Tom, Meg tries to deny her feelings for Allie's sake. By seamlessly alternating the suspense of a growing romance with that of an evolving mystery, the author keeps the reader hungry for more. Stockenberg, who won a RITA for the paranormal category in 1993, is sure to win more kudos for her latest. (Aug.)