Clear Harbor, Texas - Present Day

Emma St. Clair died in the emergency room after a hit-and-run accident. She was moving toward the light when she was jolted back to life…twice. While she was floating, a voice asked her to help him. Later she would recognize 'him' as Detective Jason MacKenzie. The associate with her at the time of the accident didn't fare as well; Brian died.

Six weeks later, Emma returns to work at her job as a medical examiner in Clear Harbor. At her first autopsy back on the job, the ghost of the victim on her table appears. Emma believes the woman is an intruder, but at her next autopsy, the ghost of the person she works on tells her how he died. Emma eventually realizes the ghosts of the bodies she examines are coming to her with the stories of their last hours. These bizarre occurrences drive Emma into counseling, not that her psychiatrist helps her much.

Detective Jason MacKenzie lost two friends the night of Emma's accident: Brian, in the accident with Emma, and a fellow cop, Tyrone, in a shooting. Since the death of his sister a year ago, Jason has felt haunted by his actions. If he'd been a better brother, more understanding and there for his sister when she needed guidance, maybe she wouldn't have rushed from him to her death in a hit-and-run. Since her death. he has put aside his series of love 'em and leave 'em romances, although his reputation as a ladies' man continues. Something about Emma attracts Jason, but guilt makes him believe he is unworthy of a woman like her. He is curious, however, about where Emma is obtaining her information about the victims brought to the morgue.

Author Teri Thackston takes the reader on two trips: one a twisting path to find love, and the other a deadly drive to find a killer. Both paths inevitably blend into one as Jason and Emma become more involved. Her unnatural conversations with the dead make Emma doubt her sanity. Trusting Jason with her secret is hard. She worries telling the truth will drive him away, that he will think her either a liar or crazy.

What makes this story even more interesting is the interweaving of circumstances between victim and perpetrator as shown through the investigation conducted by Jason, and the victim's final words given to Emma. Defining the line between accident and murder is sometimes the difference between fact, perception, and the dead's last confession. I highly recommend FINAL WORDS for its fine blending of paranormal with romantic suspense.

Robin Lee