Afterlight by Rebecca Lim

Text Publishing, 2015. ISBN 9781925240498
(Age: 13+) Highly recommended. Ghosts. Murder. Mystery. Supernatural. Sophie's world has fallen apart with the death of her parents in a freak motorbike accident. After embarrassing herself with a boy who lives in her street she has made a new start in a different school, crushing on Jordan, an aloof boy. Then she begins to get frightening nightly visits from a beautiful ghost who looks eerily like her dead mother and she finds that she is fixing up things that the ghost Eve wants finished. Sophie is plunged into a dangerous world of drugs, motorbike gangs and an old love story. Together with the reluctant Jordan, she sets out to uncover the mystery of Eve's murder.
This is a thrilling mystery with the added suspense of a ghost who is directing much of the action. Sophie is such a special heroine - tall, gangly and lacking in self-confidence - she just wants to be unnoticed, except that Eve is determined that this won't happen. Once Sophie starts unravelling the secrets surrounding what is going on, she finds that she cannot stop until everything is worked out - and what a spine-tingling and unexpected ending that is!
Afterlife has all the ingredients that make up an enthralling read. Lim carefully lays down questions and hints about what is going on, in a gripping way if the reader is one who enjoys following a trail to try and solve the mystery. For those who just like an exciting read that pulls at the heartstrings and ensures some terrifying moments, Lim has ensured that the action is fast paced and the characters are really believable. The ghostly apparition of Eve and the notion of Guardians is also so well developed that the reader is carried along with their supernatural nature. The slight romance between Sophie and Jordan is just enough to tantalise those who enjoy a love story.
I thoroughly enjoyed this action packed suspenseful story with its Melbourne setting, reading it in a couple of sittings and the ending will engender lots of discussion if it was used in a literature circle or book group.
Pat Pledger