Pen Pal

Pen Pal (2012) is a paranormal, dark romance by J. T. Geissinger. Geissinger has published over 30 works and won the Prism Award for Best First Book, the HOLT Medallion for Best Erotic Romance, and the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy. Geissinger is best known for her Slow Burn, Bad Habit, and Night Prowler series. She has also published a short stories collection and standalone works. Pen Pal follows Kayla, a children’s book illustrator, after her husband’s death. She meets and falls in love with a contractor working on her house while receiving mysterious letters from an incarcerated man. Strange events in her home lead her to believe she is being haunted. Later, she realizes that the paranormal activity is tied directly to her own life and death. Pen Pal explores themes of The Transcendence of Love Beyond the Physical Realm, The Impact of Unresolved Grief and Guilt, and The Contrast Between Sexual and Romantic Equity.

This study guide uses the Kindle Tom Doherty Associates eBook version of the text.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of sexual violence and harassment, mental illness, child abuse, pregnancy loss, suicidal ideation and self-harm, substance use, graphic violence, sexual content, cursing, illness and death, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

Plot Summary

Kayla is at her husband Michael’s funeral. She laments that she does not know how to live without Michael. At home, Kayla notices strange events, such as the doorbell ringing without cause, lights flickering, and a strange smell coming from her dryer. A letter mysteriously appears from Dante, a man in prison who claims he knows and loves Kayla. She also has persistent headaches and struggles to work on her illustrations for children’s books. When her housekeeper, Fiona, arrives, Fiona is startled to see Kayla, who tells Fiona that she will be staying in the house. Kayla asks a confused Fiona to avoid cleaning Michael’s office. After continuing to note issues around the house, including a leaking roof, Kayla seeks out a contractor. No one returns her calls except Eddie, a young man under the influence of cannabis. Eddie appears to be living in the 1970s, and Kayla debates trusting him. Eddie concludes that nothing is wrong with the wiring in the house, and Kayla will need a specialist for the leak. Eddie adds that stress and grief could be causing Kayla to hallucinate the strange events in the house, and he suggests a therapist for Kayla to see.

The next contractor Kayla contacts is Aidan Leighrite, a tall, tattooed man with little patience for small talk. Kayla and Aidan argue immediately; Kayla criticizes Aidan’s rudeness, and Aidan insists he is there to complete a job. Aidan also expresses concern for Kayla’s well-being, noting her visible grief and discontent. When Aidan quotes Kayla $10,000 for the job, she turns him away; Aidan reduces the price to $5,000. Kayla has mixed feelings about Aidan. Yet, she is attracted to Aidan, which makes her feel guilty because of how recently Michael died.

Kayla attends a grief therapy meeting, where she meets Madison, a woman who lost her child. No one in the group acknowledges Madison or Kayla, and Kayla leaves, thinking she was foolish to come. Kayla goes to a bar, where she runs into Aidan. They have a drink. Aidan tries to ask about Kayla’s situation. Kayla’s wedding ring and some bruises make Aidan think Kayla’s husband is abusing her, which Kayla denies. Rather than tell Aidan the truth, Kayla says she and Michael are separated. Aidan flirts with Kayla and says he desires to have sex with her. Kayla rejects Aidan’s advances, though she secretly also wants to have sex with him. Aidan agrees to complete the work on Kayla’s house.

When Kayla continues to notice strange events, like drawers opening on their own and the lights reacting to things she says, she struggles to maintain her sanity. At night, Kayla becomes convinced that someone broke into her home, and she flees to Aidan’s apartment. They have sex, which involves intense dominant/submissive role-playing. Kayla struggles with guilt at having sex with another man after Michael’s death. Aidan’s concern and caution, such as insisting on a safe word, surprises her.

Aidan decides that Kayla’s house needs a security system. He sends Jake, his best friend, to install the system. Jake warns Kayla that Aidan is an introvert who struggles to trust people. During Jake’s visit, Kayla sees a man in a trench coat behind a tree outside her window, but he is gone when she investigates. She finds a 1937 D-type buffalo nickel where the man stood, which Kayla recognizes as Michael’s coin. That night, Aidan arrives and puts up the tarp following a conversation with Kayla about their commitment to each other. Aidan leaves, and Kayla writes another letter to Dante, asking why he is in prison.

Aidan and Kayla meet and have sex, during which Aidan insists on being called “master” or “sir.” Kayla continues to debate whether it is acceptable for her to have sex with another man, noting more differences between Michael and Aidan. Kayla and Aidan discuss their relationship. Kayla finds the buffalo nickel in her car when she leaves Aidan’s house and then sees a young boy playing in her yard, who disappears when she goes to investigate. The next day, Kayla finds Fiona disabling the alarm, and they discuss the possibility of a haunting. Though Kayla does not believe in ghosts, she debates whether a seance is appropriate. Fiona emphasizes the need to avoid telling a ghost that it is dead, and she suggests bringing in Claire, her sister, as a medium.

Aidan and Kayla’s relationship progresses. Aidan takes Kayla to a house he is building, and he tells Kayla about his plans for the future, including having children. Kayla remembers losing her pregnancy, which is violent and includes a menacing voice, but Kayla cannot confront the memory yet. Kayla and Aidan have sex in the woods, and Aidan bandages Kayla’s scrapes after, renewing their conversation about safe words. Aidan admits that he killed his father for abusing his mother, which led to him serving time in prison. Kayla assures Aidan that such violence to protect someone he loves is appropriate, and Aidan says he would kill Michael if he hurt Kayla.

Kayla sees Eddie’s therapist, but she struggles to find his office. Instead, she sees Aidan with another woman, Deb, and concludes that Aidan is dating more than one person. Kayla’s accusation irritates Aidan, and he introduces her to Jake and Deb, Jake’s wife. Jake starts an argument about Kayla’s wedding ring, which he sees as a sign that Kayla is not invested in Aidan. Kayla explains that she is grieving and cannot yet move past wearing the ring, which they accept. Kayla sees the man in a trench coat again in the restaurant where they eat dinner. After dinner, Aidan and Kayla argue about her wedding ring, and Aidan says they should pause their relationship until Kayla is ready to move on.

Kayla tries to go to the therapist again, but she ends up going to a psychic instead. Destiny, the psychic, draws tarot cards for Kayla, concluding that she suffered a great betrayal and is struggling to overcome some illusion in her life, which is preventing her relationship from progressing. Kayla writes to Dante, noting her deteriorating mental health, and Dante assures Kayla that she is in control of her life. Kayla resents Dante’s advice and still cannot find Eddie’s therapist. She sees the young boy again and wonders if he is a ghost. Kayla dreams she is drowning and starts drinking heavily. She finally holds a seance with Fiona and Claire.

At the seance, Kayla thinks the ghost is Michael, and Claire communicates that the ghost wants revenge. Kayla panics, but Claire and Fiona urge her to continue. Kayla discovers that the newspaper she thought reported his death instead reports that Michael killed Kayla. The Wainwright family currently lives in the house. Realizing she is a ghost, Kayla pieces together the novel’s events, which reveal the illusory life she was leading.

After the seance, the characters reveal their perspectives, such as Fiona knowing Kayla was a ghost all along. Aidan reflects on meeting Kayla while they were alive. He knew Michael was physically abusive and struggled to help Kayla during her divorce. Kayla recalls meeting Aidan, starting a relationship after her divorce, and worrying about Michael stalking them. On New Year’s Eve, Aidan and Kayla went to a lake to see fireworks, and Michael killed both, shooting Aidan and drowning Kayla.

Kayla wakes up in her home, but she can now see that the house is no longer hers. The weather clears, and she buries her wedding ring and other mementos from her marriage. She reunites with Aidan, who reveals that he was Dante all along. They agree to get revenge on Michael, whom they haunt in prison.