I've been waiting a long time for another book by Deb Stover and this one was well worth the wait! I read this book in two days because I simply could not put it down.

Beth Dearborn went from being a high profile Chicago homicide detective to becoming an insurance inspector wherever she was needed. She also has a very special gift that she is trying very hard to push back into the recesses of her mind. She has the ability to live horrific murders to the point that she also feels the victim's pain. She is not released until she sees the murder's face and the victim finally lets go of life. She also developed a small drinking problem as a little side effect which she has tried hard to overcome. Her cousin Sam who has a similar gift, helps her through her hardships. They are more like sister and brother than cousins.

Now she has been given the job of investigating the disappearance of a high profile wife and mother of a rancher in Brubaker, Tennessee. Lorilee Brubaker-Malone has been missing for seven years. Her father received a letter not long after she disappeared telling him that she had run away. Ty Malone, her husband doesn't believe it for an instant. He knows deep down in his heart he knows she is dead and now he and his three children want closure.

When Beth shows up and walks through the front door, she feels it and fights it tooth and nail. She's just not ready for another encounter with the dead. Beth also discovers that there are quite a few people in the town of Brubaker who are harboring secrets. Can she get things sorted out before the ghost attacks her with a vengeance?

THE GIFT had me totally absorbed. Several times I was so engrossed in the story, that when I heard a noise, I nearly jumped out of my skin. This book is vintage Deb Stover! I hope against hope that the next book will be Sam's. I'm sure he has quite a story to tell! For those readers who enjoy a tortured heroine, a hot cowboy rancher and a bit of woo woo in their stories, I suggest you run to your nearest bookstore when this one comes out and grab it up! Be forewarned, have plenty of time to read because you won't want to stop until you turn the last page!