Chance of a Lifetime by Laura Hayden is an unusual story of a ghost that haunts the local mall.  Yes that's right - not an old mansion, castle or ghost town for this spook but a modern shopping mall.

Stacy Reardon is the owner of a lingerie shop in the Chapel Valley Mall and in the first sentence she thinks she manages to gain my sympathy for the entire novel.  "I hate mimes".  So do I, but the mime that is gathering the children outside of her shop is no ordinary pest, for he is a ghost, as Stacy soon discovers.

Annoyed at the fact that he is causing a disturbance outside of her shop Stacy decides to have a quiet word with the mime and ask him to move his little show elsewhere.  This is something of a surprise to the ghostly mime as Stacy is the only adult who can see him.

Chance Johnson had died in the mall, but he had lost his memory and could not remember the circumstances surrounding his life or death.  Together he and Stacy decide to solve the mystery of his death, but there are lots of complications, one of which being the mysterious being who is also lurking in the mall with the mission of taking Chance to the "other side".

Stacy and Chance soon discover that when they are touching Chance is visible to other adults to and that she can only see him in colour when they are in contact.  At other times she sees him in the black and greys of an old movie character.  She also discovers that Chance has the ability to read her mind.

Soon she and Chance are involved in more ways than one as Chance begins to romance her with roses and entertainment for he won't allow anything, not even death to keep them apart.

With a host of other characters and plenty of suspects this story is a delightful mystery/romance.  A whodunit with the ghost trying to solve the mystery of his own demise.

See if you can figure out the mystery and settle back to read the answer to the other big question - is there any chance of a future for the couple when death is keeping them apart?

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Also by Laura Hayden:  Margin in Time

For more information on Laura Hayden and her books you can visit her  website.