Haunting Melody

Melody Flynn has it made--a perfect apartment in New York and a dog. Sure a love life would be nice, but a perfect apartment in New York is what's really important. Except this apartment seems to be haunted. When Melody tries to get to the bottom of the haunt, she's transported back into the Ziegfeld Folies of 1919--and meets Briley MacIntyre, a man who's sure she has been sent to spy on the follies for one of the tabloid publications that makes money off of misery.

With her height and dancing ability, Melody scores a part in the Folies, inspires Irving Berlin, and even manages to end up in the same apartment where she'd lived in contemporary New York. With the show in the evening and parties all night, 1919 looks to be a pretty good year for Melody--and there's quickly a line of men hoping she'll join them for dinner--as well as whatever comes afterwards. Now, if only she could get Briley interested, because she can't help being interested in him. All looks great, all right--except for the young women who have been vanishing, and the one found murdered. When Melody becomes a target, she resolves to solve the mystery--and drag Briley along for the ride.

Author Flo Fitzpatrick combines a fascinating look at New York and the world of the theater almost a century ago with some fun mystery and a charming romance. The theater scenes ring true, as do Fitzpatrick's look into the occult of time. The romance itself is charming, with the injured Briley gradually learning to trust again, while Melody deals with the certainty that eventually she will leave Briley - probably just when he'd come to believe she wouldn't. After all, time travel is a sneaky thing. Fitzpatrick fills her story with fascinating secondary characters and a look at white slavery in the early 1900s. I'm happy to recommend this well-written and compelling novel. Rob Preece Books for a Buck (200