THE SPIRIT OF VANDERLAAN by Susan Harris Howell

Fiction, Paranormal,

4****

Blurb: When beloved professor, Samantha Hayes, learns that her favorite four students live in as many of her old dorm rooms, she wonders how it happened and for what purpose. As she and her student entourage explore the possibilities, they uncover a death years ago and what appears to be the ghost of the dearly departed. All of this stirs up Samantha’s long-held fear that she was responsible for that death, challenging all she thought she knew about herself and the work she holds dear. They must figure out what happened before Samantha gets fired for “dabbling in the paranormal.”

Thoughts: This was an interesting story. Samantha Hayes is a college professor who has a group of five students who help her with research. Then they discover that all of them live in the same rooms she had in college years ago. The blurb pretty much tells it all as far as that all goes, but there is a lot more going on. But there’s a lot more going on as well. She’s up for tenure, but the professor who is the head of her committee is an old rival. He gets her blackballed and put on suspension, but she’s determined to fight back. But how do you fight old lies and ghosts from your past that may be real ghosts?

I enjoyed this story even though it was a little slow at times. But the whole issue with her tenure and her past creates interesting challenges that keep you reading to the end.

Recommended.