3 starsWell, I adore Suzanne Brockmann. Her Troubleshooters series is one of my most favoritest series ever...please don't read this book if it's going to be your first by her, PLEASE! This is not a good example of this outstanding author. There were two different stories being told at the same time...one past, one present. The present story is being told by Alison Carter and Jamie Gallagher, who is the great grandfather ghost of Alison's new love interest, AJ Gallagher. WTF, you ask? Yes, I asked that too. Jamie has inexplicably shown himself to AJ, reasons unknown and never really explained. Since only AJ sees him, this cause quite a problem. See, Alison wrote a book about Jamie's arch nemesis, the old time US Marshall Silas Quinn, whom supposedly shot and killed Jamie back in the year 1898, earning the hero title from modern day gunslinger fans. But Jamie is the real hero, and AJ now feels the need to defend his great grandfather's actions and tamp down the rumors of his evil nature. The past story is told through the diary entries of Jamie's wife Melody, who is AJ's great grandmother, now deceased. I thought that the story itself was beautiful and could have had it's own book. SB is such a great author, I wish she would have fleshed out Jamie and Melody's tumultuous meeting and subsequent love affair and let me see the entire story instead of just the bits thrown into this book as a secondary plot.Without the ghost, this would have received a higher rating from me, but the paranormal aspect just got in the way of the actual plot. I think the ghost element was supposed to add some humor and depth, but it was just annoying for me and ended up making it feel hokey. Also, if you know this author at all, you know that her son is gay and that she tends to fit in each book some homosexual characters, usually men, and it tends to work. But this book seemed to tout a lot of her own political agenda and liberal views a bit too much... she touches on oil drilling, the US military's choices during the first Gulf war, gay rights, of course, and even goes so far as to state her religious views pretty definitively. Or maybe I assume too much there, but it sure seemed like a statement to me. Maybe I'm sensitive, who knows? I was just annoyed and felt like she used this book to air her beliefs, which again took away from the book and made me focus on something entirely different. It's never bothered me before with her, but too much was shoved into this book. I hope that Brockmann goes back to her SEALS, but maybe she's just trying to branch out. I say, please don't cave and start trying to go mainstream PNR. Your loyal fans became enamored of your men and women in the military for a very good reason...you shine when you write romantic suspense.
