Whispers in Autumn Paperback – March 15, 2010

Whispers in Autumn, the latest in M Jean Pike's Love on the Lake series, is a fantastic read.Dove Denning has come to Shadow Lake for the wedding of her friend, Emma. Dove is both blessed and cursed with the gift of seeing the spirits of those who have passed on. And from her first day at the resort it's obvious those spirits have important things to tell her.Dusty Martin works at the Shadow Lake Campground. He is desperate to put closure on the death of his teen aged daughter eight years earlier. The two of them are instantly drawn to each other; and they begin to find that they can help one another overcome their respective demons.I don't want to give away the surprising, emotionally charged ending. But I will say that Ms. Pike has outdone herself in making all of her characters come alive and in making Shadow Lake a very real and enchanting place. And just as important, she has an amazing ability to make the paranormal real, and very believable.Whispers in Autumn is smart, powerful fiction that pulls you into the lives of complex people and makes you care about them. I strongly recommend it to anyone who loves a good story.

This is a novel that will keep you guessing until the very end. It contains love, suspense and intrigue. Masterfully crafted. A delight to read.

Once again, M. Jean Pike delivers the goods with a paranormal romance that is as full of heart as it is spirit. A great read, you won't be able to put this one down!

M. Jean Pike is a great author. I love the way she has been able to keep the church a part of the story. She has lead you into a believable part of our world.

I've read all M Jean Pikes books from her debut novel Winds of Autumn to this latest one. Autumn is Jean's favourite time of year, mine too,and she always describes it beautifully. There are scenes in Whispers when Dusty is rowing on the lake in the early morning, finding some peace from his inner pain, that make one feel oneself there with him, wanting to hold him and heal him. Jean Pike makes her characters so real you feel they are best friends that you love and care for. I think in fact that Dusty and Dove are my favourites of all her characters so far. Rather than becoming stereotyped or formulaic, Jean makes her people more and more real to the reader.I can't wait for her next one.

[...]"His dark blond hair teetered on the edge of brown." What a fabulous description! And this is just one of several such eye catching phrases that draws you right into the story, from the first page. Dove Denning is no simpering chit of a girl. Indeed she has reached the age when `Life begins again'. And when, instead of introducing us to a vindictive ex husband we learn that Dove and Max - and his new wife - the reader discovers they are all good friends. You may be forgiven for wondering where the conflict lies.Not in the direction you may assume that is for sure! Ms. Pike leads her reader down the path of misconception with a skill that dupes her readers; who, when they discover the deception, shrug, grin, and say, yeah, that's cool, and read on.Dusty, is no front-cover-model-of-a-man either. He is more in the style of a `rough diamond' of average height and his first encounter with Dove reveals his caring and concerned nature, his courtesy. It also reveals an aspect of Dove's personality she is trying to recover from.Into this old-world setting of charm and good manners and caring she drops her conflicts and sets Dove and Dusty several challenges. I have to say any man called Dusty, has a challenge from the moment of his birth, but then that's just a personal assumption on my part. Our hero certainly rises above the challenge without any problem at all.The climax of the story will have you sitting on the edge of your seats, because although you know the genre requires a HEA, there are moments when you seriously wonder how Ms Pike can pull it off. Her writing is fluent and vivid. As mentioned earlier she is a superlative word-smith, and every character in this book pulses with `life'.This is the first of M. Jean Pike's book I have read, but I will be looking out for more in future.

I won't bother giving plot details, as it's been done by others. Dusty and Dove are mature, charming characters you can't help caring about and watching their romance develope was a pleasure. The stalker villain is frighteningly real and although the ghost of Dusty's daughter means no harm, she's a little scary too. The suspense builds slowly throughout the story until it reaches nail biting intensity towards the end. Since this is the second in a series, I recommend reading Shadow Lake too, but Whispers in Autumn is solid and can stand on it's own.