Thirty something Sarah Mackie is on vacation in her native England when she meets Eddie David. They have a passionate seven day affair that concludes with talk of love and being together permanently. But then Sarah never hears from Eddie. He ghosts her. And then Sarah proceeds to behave like a complete lunatic.

As the story unfolds, we learn that Sarah moved to Los Angeles when she was seventeen in the wake of a tragedy involving her younger sister. She eventually got married and she and her husband started a successful nonprofit. Despite her success, she is, at her core, a very fragile person. She has taken to visiting England once a year, coinciding with the anniversary of the accident her sister was involved in. This time, newly separated from her husband, she meets Eddie as she is walking back to town after visiting the scene of her sister’s accident. She and Eddie connect immediately.

Eddie is a carpenter who has lived in that area of the Cotswolds all his life. Sarah is attracted to his sense of humor and how he seems so comfortable with himself. Their grand passion seems mutual and when they part ways because Sarah has to go to London and Eddie is leaving on holiday, he professes that he is falling in love with her. Sarah expects to hear from him the next day, but not a word. She is supposed to pick him up from the airport a week later, but still no communication from Eddie.

Sarah begins to unravel in a serious way. She messages him A LOT. She obsessively checks her phone. She stalks him on Facebook. At first she is worried that something happened to him while he was on vacation. But then she saw signs that he was alive and kicking, but ignoring her. She continues to stalk him electronically, at which point I wanted to tell her, “Have some self-respect, woman!” Several months later and back in LA, she is still a mess. Two thirds of the way through, the book shifts to Eddie’s perspective. There’s a good plot twist, and we finally learn what happened.

I’m not sure why I kind of liked this book. Sarah was really very annoying. Parts of the book were quite maudlin. The main premise of the book, involving a 20 year old grudge, was a little tough to swallow. But the author kept me engaged. I wanted to know why the heck Eddie ghosted Sarah. And when I smugly thought I had it figured out, the author surprised me with a good plot twist. Also, I really appreciated Rosie Walsh’s writing style. She has talent.

So I give Ghosted a cautionary recommendation. How’s that for a wimpy reaction?