November 22, 2010
Spoiled rotten 16-year-old Tamara Goodwin has everything and appreciates nothing—until her gilded lifestyle shatters with her bankrupt father's suicide at the start of this magic-infused suspense novel from Irish author Ahern (P.S. I Love You). Almost overnight Tamara and the shell of what used to be her mother have to vacate their foreclosed Dublin mansion, relocating to her aunt and uncle's modest digs in the depths of the countryside. But there's more going on in County Meath than meets the eye, as the bored girl discovers while exploring the nearby castle ruins. Then danger lands on her doorstep in the form of the locked leather-bound volume she borrows from the local lending library. It proves to be a diary that appears to write itself—one day before the events described. As Tamara starts to tap the book's powers, exposing some painful family secrets in the process, Ahern's tale-spinning prowess keeps the reader riveted. If only her characters were equally satisfying.