Review: The Other Side (Anthology)

The Other Side


Authors: J. D. Robb, Mary Blayney. Patricia Gaffney, Ruth Ryan Langan, Mary Kay McComasPublication: Jove; Original edition (November 30, 2010)
Description: Five New York Times bestselling authors cross over to a realm where suspense, desire, and love have no bounds. 
J.D. Robb: Lieutenant Eve Dallas has always sought justice for the dead, but now, a victim will seek her own vengeance-through Eve.

Mary Blayney: An earl and his countess struggle to understand one another, until they spend a day in each other's shoes-and bodies.

Patricia Gaffney: To prove her ancestral home is haunted, a woman hires a spirit investigator, but they end up debunking the mystery of love.

Ruth Ryan Langan: A couple who dies in a car accident struggler to stay in their daughter's life to save her from the wrong man.

Mary Kay McComas: A practical woman is faced with the most impractical ghosts, who can't rest in peace until they find what they have lost.
My Thoughts: I buy anthologies frequently if they contain a story of stories by authors I already read. They sometimes lead me to new authors too. I chose this one because I am a huge fan of the Eve Dallas mysteries by J. D. Robb.
J. D. Robb -- This story was a great episode in the series. Eve is quintessential Eve even when she is possessed by a ghost who wants to find her great-granddaughter. The interactions between Eve and Roarke are a wonderful example of lovers knowing and accepting each other despite their faults.
Mary Blayney: This was a cute story about how men and women don't really understand each other. It took place in England at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. A countess and count learn to communicate better after switching bodies for a couple of day.
Patricia Gaffney: Angie needs an investigator to prove that her grandparents house is haunted. Otherwise her evil cousin will sell it because the bank foreclosed on it. Angie is an inventor like her grandparents were. Henry needs a job. He was a newspaperman but lost his job because of a scandal. They meet, fall in love, live happily ever after (in the house.)
Ruth Ryan Langan: This was a touching romance. Christina loses her parents in a car accident and is left to care for her younger brother. She should be able to depend on her fiancé, shouldn't she? Or is the handsome carpenter the true hero?
Mary Kay McComas: The busy exec comes home to sell off the old family home and finds that the ghosts of her mother and aunts still inhabit the place and will until they can find what they lost. MJ meets the man next door and his adorable young son who sees the ghosts. Looking for what the ghosts lost makes her reassess her life too.
All of the stories were good. They were just long enough. I liked the wide variety of time periods and reasons for ghostly presence.
Favorite Quote:

"You'd have done the same damn thing." Peeved, she shifted away again. "And you're a civilian. I'm a cop. Protect and serve, goddamn it."
"Which rarely includes blood pacts with dead travelers."