A small boy drowns in a Pennsylvania pond, enters the ranks of the ghostly and seemingly returns decades later to haunt the family indirectly responsible for his demise. The rest of the novel follows Michaels Adams - the wealthy playmate in question - who, a few decades later, is well into a robust dental practice. Mike is married to the extra-loyal Donna and is the happy father of seven-year-old Kim, when his fairly wicked mother passes away and leaves him the estate. He soon learns the diffculties of mansion ownership-updating the kitchen, removing the thick, dust covered drapes and dealing with Kim's invisible and slightly aggrieved new undead playmate. Lawrence mixes things up with a particularly un-neighborly and meddlesome next-door couple. The author is a step ahead of her peers when evoking the daily routines of rural life, and there's potential in the material, especially in the forking paths taken by Rich Mike and Poor Carl. 

A few good ingredients in an undercooked ghost story.