Charlene Williams’s short stories are set in ordinary places—an airplane, a park, a living room, or a bar. The characters, too, don’t seem particularly remarkable until the author brings them to life by revealing their hopes, fears, and regrets. Extraordinary events occur, some of them supernatural and paranormal. The stories might also be considered short morality tales with flashes of self-realization as the various protagonists change for the better or face the truth about themselves and the people in their lives. All in all, the stories are haunting and memorable.

Unexpected Places is a collection of short ghost stories that have underlying messages, from heart-warming to redemption. The stories are fast moving, entertaining, suspenseful, and have that eerie feeling comes with good ghost stories. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. The stories weave together lives centered on separate themes, but all with ghostly context. While not scary as many ghost stories try to be, these stories have twists and turns while they take you to a destination that offers you a message and something to think about.