Isabella Moon

Isabella Moon
Laura Benedict
Ballantine
ISBN: 978-0-345-49767-3
Fiction, Mystery, Supernatural
Reviewed by Chris Gerrib

Last night I finished reading Laura Benedict’s debut novel, Isabella Moon. It’s a real doozy!
Set in a small town in Kentucky, it’s part mystery, part ghost story, and all enjoyment. Isabella Moon is a small girl, eight or so, who disappeared a couple of years back. For reasons known only to the spirit world, Kate Russell, fairly new in town and with secrets of her own, gets visited by the girl’s ghost. She tells the local sheriff, Bill Delaney, who starts investigating.
To say a whole bunch of bad things happen next would be an understatement. And I do have to say that the novel does not end happily. However, Laura Benedict takes us down a very interesting road on the way.
Laura lives in a small town in Southern Illinois (near Carbondale, but unspecified) and I grew up in one. Let me assure you that Laura gets “modern small town” right. It’s a fun read, and perfect for Halloween or the start of winter.