Ghosted: A Novel

Rosie Walsh brilliantly mixes mystery and romance in her novel Ghosted. The title, inspired by the popular dating term “ghosting,” captures the essence of the seemingly simple plot. Sarah and Eddie meet by chance on June 2nd, which happens to be the anniversary of a devastating event from Sarah’s childhood. Her mournful day develops into an enjoyable date with Eddie. The pair proceed to spend an entire week together falling in love, both confident in their genuine connection. When Eddie leaves for vacation, he promises to keep in touch, and they plan to reunite after he returns. Except Sarah doesn’t see or hear from Eddie at all, despite her many texts, phone calls, Facebook messages, and letters. Sarah’s search for answers regarding her unrequited love brings heartbreak and confusion but eventually leads to the shocking truth that she wasn’t expecting.

This seems like an obvious debut novel in the way that it fails to solidly show the journey from initial attraction to the unusually deep bond between two people who have only known each other for one week; as a result, the romance doesn’t feel believable enough to justify Sarah’s obsessive behavior. However, the grief that various characters convey throughout the novel is wonderfully communicated, and the details of the overarching tragedy from Sarah’s past unravels in a very satisfying way, showing Walsh’s promise as a writer. Ghosted would be a perfect introduction to anyone new to reading romances.