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The Ghost Wife: A short tale of suspense by C.G. Twiles
4.5
emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
 4.5 Stars

One Liner: Intriguing premise and good presentation

Tabitha is dead, but her family continues to act as if she’s alive and with them. She roams around the house, watching her husband and teen daughter navigate their lives in a haze. She wants to know what to do to move on to whatever happens next but doesn’t know how, when, where, or why.  

Christmas arrives, bringing relatives, past, and new revelations. It appears Tabitha has a decision to make. What will she do? 

The story comes in Tabitha’s first-person POV.  

My Thoughts:

  • The blurb gave me the vibes of I Liked My Life by Abby Fabiaschi, and I knew it would be just interesting. Gotta say that I liked this short story more than the book. 
  • The random sprinkling of dry humor keeps the tone light despite the heavy topic of death, mourning, grief, etc. 
  • The writing sometimes goes into an introspective mode (a little too much) but pulls back before the reader loses interest. (As an author, I know the temptation to keep a few favorite sentences even if they slow down the pace, lol). 
  • The structuring is fantastic. The hints start around 30% and present different endings. I’m glad I wasn’t off the mark despite not knowing certain crucial information. 
  • The ending has a wee bit of info dump through dialogues, but that’s fine. The reader needs to know those details at that point. 
  • Jax is such an adorable little kiddo! His speech made me chuckle. That kid is going places, I tell you. 

To summarize, The Ghost Wife is indeed a short story of suspense but of a different kind. It is well-written and executed to keep you hooked. 
Thank you, Book Sirens and C.G. Twiles, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

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