Book Review: "Love Me If You Must" by Nicole Young

I see Dead People in My Basement

Tish Amble has moved to the small town of Rawlings with the intent of renovating an old Victorian house. Her plans are thwarted though when she sees a dead body buried in a cistern in her basement. However to her disbelief, no one believes her and worse no one will help her try to get started in the renovations. A cast of supporting characters help to fill out the story including the cute British neighbor who's getting over a divorce from his high profile wife and the cute cop who seems to be everywhere Tish is. With a past that keeps haunting her, Tish is determined to find out why there is a body in her home, why other dead bodies keep popping up, who is behind all this, and how to let go of her past.

I thought this was an excellent debut for Nicole Young. This book got me hooked from the very beginning. Tish was such a complex character, yet because the book is written in first person the reader sympathizes with her. She's a very headstrong woman who is very suspicious of everyone because of her past. It makes it hard for her to trust people. Thus she has problems at first with trusting her neighbors especially Brad, the policeman. Tish's past is told throughout the story, intertwining with the current events. It's very heart wrenching to read about what she had to go through. The mystery itself is played out really well. There are very spine-tingling scenes that will make you want to read this book in the daylight. She's really brave to stay in the house even after other people have told her it was haunted. I also liked learning about the renovation plans Tish had for the house. It's interesting to think about how one can make something old and decrepit into new and worthy. The ending caught me by surprise and really makes me look forward to reading the next book. This book is a great start for a new author.

Love Me If You Must by Nicole Young is published by Revell (2007)