In Dani Cessna’s captivating debut novel, Ghost Orchid, readers are immediately drawn into the hidden world of the Everglades. Beyond the view of the stream of daily visitors to this National Park, lies another world unseen by many, a world where longtime residents live off the grid in desolate shacks, where the swamp’s beauty haunts more than scares, where fens, glades and bogs host egrets, alligators, water moccasins and other creatures., It’s a world with secrets that gradually unfold over the course of this gripping story.

Park Ranger Miranda is returning to work at the park service at the Everglades after an extended leave. She is deeply grieving the loss of her dear friend, Aggie, a loss whose indelible effect on Miranda unfolds over the course of the novel. Miranda’s boyfriend, Clay, has helped her get a job at this park where they will be working for a period of time. What starts out as a rash idea by Clay to break into what appears to be an uninhabited shack nestled deep in the swamp, is a fateful decision that will permanently alter their destiny. While inside the shack, they encounter Estelle on the other end of her gun and make a run for it. Clay jumps into the driver’s seat of their jeep and Miranda is barely able to make it to the passenger’s seat as he speeds away, a prescient view of how their relationship will unfold. When they get back to park housing, Miranda realizes that she has left her phone at Estelle’s shack and goes back a few days later to retrieve it. This is one of many decisions that will alter the course of Miranda’s life as she struggles to overcome the grief which has consumed her.

Estelle, known locally as the swamp witch, is recalcitrant and fearsome when Miranda knocks on her door. She agrees to return the phone if Miranda will help her with the many plants in the shack. Miranda is initially afraid but becomes fascinated by Estelle’s unique ability to connect with the many varieties of plants which seem to grow and respond to Estelle’s voice. They eventually build a simpatico relationship. Cessna seamlessly weaves the art of magical realism into this world. Miranda’s grief and sadness are both heightened and relieved by her determination to learn the language of plants from Estelle; orchids, strangler figs, peace lilies, passion flower vines, ZZ ravens, desert root and others.

As more people enter Miranda’s world - her empathic supervisor, Woody, Shonda, a park botanist, and Gordon Davis, a grief stricken man who is beyond reason at the loss of his wife, she is forced to confront her own pain and trauma in ways she had never anticipated .As these well developed, complex characters become entangled in the web of Miranda’s emotions, I kept turning the suspense-filled pages, sometimes afraid of what may happen, but at the same time unable to put the book down, the hallmark of a well-paced plot.

The setting in the Everglades, a short distance from the city of Miami, yet miles away from the everyday world, immerses the reader in a place that is unpredictable, secretive and haunting. Miranda’s day job, greeting visitors at the entrance booth to Shark Valley, a popular part of the park is in sharp contrast to her time with Estelle, as she learns more about the benefits and perils of plant magic, the irresistible pull of the swamp, and the real meaning of love and friendship. Against this background, the ghost orchid, a plant rumored to have the power to bring the dead back to life, holds both promise and terror for the two women.

Ghost Orchid has a well-developed plot, authentic characters, and suspenseful twists and turns. The themes of grief, self-awareness, life and death decisions, and believing in the unbelievable are deftly woven throughout. As I turned the page after the epilogue, I knew this story would stay with me for a while. So many passages resonated - life, loss, relationships, friendship, and opening one’s heart to the unknown. I look forward to more stories from this talented author.