Shadowed Summer

Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.

Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?


From the Hardcover edition.

Saundra Mitchell’s short story, “Ready to Wear,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize; she has been published in Common Ties, SmokeLong Quarterly, Edgar Literary Magazine, and The Parnassus, among others. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her husband and two children. Visit her at www.saundramitchell.com.


From the Hardcover edition.