The Ghost of Avalanche Mountain is the final book in Vancouver Island writer Julie Lawson’s Goldstone trilogy. The stories span several generations, each propelled by a mystical gem and its effects on the people who wear it.

We enter this story early in the 20th century and deep in the recesses of Mount Revelstoke, British Columbia. Young Jonathan Silver (the ghost) and his grandfather eke out an isolated existence by fashioning exquisite goldstones. When a goldstone that has been rendered magic by lightning is lost, Jonathan makes a fateful promise to his grandfather to return it no matter what happens or how long it takes. The language in the Jonathan chapters is particularly evocative and sure.

We enter the present through 12-year-old Ashley Gillespie, who has been given the goldstone by Aunt Jo (a character readers met in the second book, Turns On A Dime). By now, we’re aware that the goldstone allows the bearer to dream the future, but Ashley’s dreams become increasingly unsettling and ominous. Is the gem cursed? Is Ashley’s life threatened? Eventually, she encounters the ghost when she’s caught in an avalanche.

Lawson neatly intersects past and present, historical fact and clever fiction. She is less sure-footed with her modern characters, who seem curiously bland. We’re with Ashley for more than 200 pages but witness little change or growth. Her interaction with her friends (for example, when she accuses Erica of stealing the goldstone) often feels engineered to serve the plot rather than to reveal more of the heroine. That said, the plot – two people, one out of time, heading on a collision course toward each other – is compelling. The Ghost of Avalanche Mountain is a fine conclusion to the Goldstone trilogy and a satisfying read on its own.