A ghost story, a suspense/thriller, a mystery, a love story all rolled into one – A Reason to Believe by Diana Copland is a story that is captivating and intriguing from the beginning to the very end.

When Detective Matthew Bennett was called to a case of a missing six-year-old on Christmas Eve, the last thing he expected was to have the ghost of that little girl lead him to her body. Forced to take administrative leave after trying to explain the events to his superiors, Matt is confused by what he’s seen and unable to get the murdered little girl out of his mind. On the recommendation of his best friend and sister-in-law, Sheila, he reluctantly agrees to visit renowned medium Kiernan Fitzpatrick.

After Kiernan is visited by a deceased girl’s spirit, he seeks out Matt, the detective the little girl spoke of, and offers his services in order to help find the killer. Still on an extended administrative leave and removed from the case, Matt finds it hard to walk away from the investigation and now a medium, who is either the real deal or an extremely good actor, has latched on as well. The further the two delve into the mysteries of Abby Reynolds’ death, the more dangerous their situation becomes.

After the death of his lover eighteen months ago, Matt isn’t sure he’s gotten over it, or if he even wants to. The mutual attraction between Matt and Kiernan is strong, though Matt is afraid to act on it. As their feelings for each other intensify, Matt reluctantly opens his heart to Kiernan. The more time they spend together, the stronger the attraction becomes. As the investigation gets even more dangerous, it becomes obvious that the killer has clued in to their investigation and has set his target on Matt and Kiernan.

A Reason to Believe is a tale of love and loss, and of joy and sadness. It’s the story of a man who lost the love of his life and felt that there was no reason to move on without him, only to have his perspective changed by a little girl who died far too early. It’s a wonderful, exciting, intriguing story that sucked me in immediately.

Matt is a pretty complex character. He’s broken and damaged, but he’s also strong and determined. He’s the man that fights for those who can’t fight for themselves. For Matt, this tale is one of growth, facing his fears, moving on, and finding something to believe in. Kiernan is a great character – so full of life. The man with a million different t-shirts that had me laughing out loud. He is what Matt’s life was missing. He’s energetic, open, and honest. Kiernan’s faith is very grounding for Matt.

The attraction and flirtation between Matt and Kiernan is more subtle at first, but becomes stronger and hotter as they spend more time together. They are a great match – Matt, who only believes in the things he can see and touch, and Kiernan, the man who talks to the dead and believes in things unseen. Their journey is cautious and supportive, but also heart-warming.

This world Copland has built is fantastic – a world where spirits communicate with the living for a purpose. The rules of the world are original and imaginative:

“When we die, there are usually two options available to us, because believe it or not, it is about choice. We either cross over, as in the whole go-into-the-light thing, or we choose not to.”

“There are generally two recognized kinds of hauntings. Residual and intelligent. Residual is more like an imprinting on the space. The spirit remains, doing what it always did, repeating scenes from their lives over and over. They aren’t aware of the passage of time, or the people who are there now. Intelligent is like Abby. They have a mission, a purpose, something they want to accomplish. They want to make contact, for whatever reason. Residual hauntings are much more common, frankly.”

It’s a world that I find quite wonderful and believable. It’s a world where reality meets spirituality. It’s poignant and beautiful.

The love story takes a back seat to the mystery for a good part of this book. That’s not to say there is no romance, because there is and it’s hot and delightful. But what brings Matt and Kiernan together is the mystery, the violent murder of a little girl that both are determined to solve. The mystery is suspenseful, exciting, and will keep you guessing. To be honest, I guessed the killer, but not for a while as there were several suspects. And the reasoning behind the murder was a surprise.

It’s a ghost story. It’s a murder mystery. It’s a suspense/thriller. It’s got action and adventure. And it is a love story. A story about new beginnings. A story about faith. A story about trust. A Reason to Believe by Diana Copland is all of those things and more. I highly recommend it and can only hope that maybe, just maybe, I’ll get to see Matt and Kiernan in another story somewhere in the future.

3.5 stars

This book first came to my attention a few years ago when another blogger brought it to my attention. She was raving about it on twitter and when I expressed interest in it, she said that it was up on NetGalley. I trotted off and requested it but then kept shoving it down my TBR pile. Two years later (hangs head) and I finally got around to reading it. I enjoyed it and wish I'd read it sooner.

Matt is a police detective whose lover Brad, also a detective, died almost two years ago. He's been in mourning all this time. He's also been outed. At the funeral for Brad, Brad's mother unintentionally outed him and he's had problems at work ever since. After months of desk work, he gets pulled to help on a child abduction case. He finds the child with help from her ghost. He's never seen a ghost before and he's freaked out. The ghost creates more problems for him at work and then he meets Kiernan, who communicates with the dead. There's an instant attraction between the two of them despite Matt's skepticism. Kiernan is funny, goofy, wise, and both level-headed and impulsive. Matt is steady, solid, honest, closed off, and loyal. Together, they make a great pair.

Copeland has a gentle, easy style and she weaves a captivating story that combines romance and mystery with a light touch of paranormal. Running through the story is the theme of hope - hope of justice, hope of new love, hope for a life after death, hope that life is really worth living.

The romance between Matt and Kiernan is both sweet and hot. Kiernan's irreverence combined with his understanding is just what Matt needs to break through his fear of loving and caring again while Matt is the calming, reliable romantic interest that Kiernan has been lacking. Both Matt and Kiernan have strong female presences inn their lives - Kiernan has his older sister and manager, Aida, while Matt has his sister-in-law Sheila. Both are important to their respective men and help move the story forward.

The mystery was a sad one, involving a young child's death. Matt's involvement in the investigation is iffy and mostly unofficial but he can't walk away, even if it means losing his career. I was kept guessing and was just as lost as Matt and Kiernan as they worked the case. The investigation was well done and believable. The paranormal aspect, that ghosts are real, talk to some people, and can interact with the human world, occasionally stretched credibility but worked for the most part. The story's ending was a bit predictable and sappy but I didn't mind too much give how much I enjoyed the rest of the story.

"A Reason to Believe" was a sweet love story and an interesting mystery that kept me reading. I had to put the book down at 95% and wanted to scream in frustration. I'll be looking for more of Copeland's books.