Book Review: The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White

The Strangers on Montagu Street
Author: Karen White
Series: Tradd Street (Book 3)
Publication: Berkley; 1st edition (November 1, 2011)

Description: Charleston psychic Melanie Middleton discovers the past isn't finished revealing unsettling secrets in the third novel in the New York Times bestselling Tradd Street series.

With her relationship with writer Jack Treholm as shaky as the foundation of her family home, Melanie’s juggling a number of problems. Like restoring her Tradd Street house...and resisting her mother’s pressure to ‘go public’ with her talent—a sixth sense that unites them to the lost souls of the dead. But Melanie never anticipated her new problem.

Her name is Nola, Jack’s estranged young daughter who appears on their doorstep, damaged, lonely and defiantly immune to her father’s attempts to reconnect. Melanie understands the emotional chasm all too well. As a special, bonding gift Jack’s mother buys Nola an antique dollhouse—a precious tableaux of a perfect Victorian family. Melanie hopes the gift will help thaw Nola’s reserve and draw her into the family she’s never known.

At first, Nola is charmed, and Melanie is delighted—until night falls, and the most unnerving shadows are cast within its miniature rooms. By the time Melanie senses a malevolent presence she fears it may already be too late. A new family has accepted her unwitting invitation to move in—with their own secrets, their own personal demons, and a past that’s drawing Nola into their own inescapable darkness...

My Thoughts: The third Tradd Steet book has a ghostly dollhouse. Melanie is busy restoring her Tradd Steet home. This time it needs a new foundation which means she'll have to move out and live with her mother until the work is done. 

When Jack Trenholm comes asking for a favor, Melanie is torn. Her relationship with him is in a confusing state of flux. But when he asks her to take in his newly discovered thirteen-year-old daughter, she can't say no. She remembers how hard it was when she was thirteen and sympathizes with the child. However, Nola hasn't come alone. Besides a backpack and beat up guitar, the ghost of her mother has also made the journey. 

Things become more difficult when Jack's parents give Nola a Victorian dollhouse along with ghosts. Research shows that the house is modeled on one in town which is inhabited by an elderly woman who is the last of her family. The woman is a retired music teacher from the school Nola will be attending in the fall. Nola reluctantly agrees to take some music lessons, a sore spot since her mother was a singer-songwriter who recently committed suicide, and Melanie gets involved with the ghosts at that house too. 

Nearing forty and not looking forward to it, Melanie soon finds herself dealing with a teenager, a boyfriend with a variety of secrets, and ghosts both benign and malevolent while trying to keep to her schedule.

This was another excellent episode in the Tradd Street series. 

Favorite Quote:

I resisted rolling my eyes and tried hard to push aside my impatience, wondering once again why ghosts couldn't just come right out and say what they wanted. My life was like on long B movie, with me as the lone member of the audience shouting at the screen, "Just tell her already!"

I bought this one November 25, 2017. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Phantoms and Felonies by Lucy Ness

Phantoms and Felonies
Author: Lucy Ness
Series: A Haunted Mansion Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Berkley (April 6, 2021)

Description: Avery Morgan has been hired to breathe new life into the Portage Path Women's Club, but first she'll have to deal with a dead body and a meddling ghost.

When a local theater troupe puts on a new play at the club, manager Avery Morgan is excited. This is just the sort of event that's destined to bring in potential new members. Okay, millionaire banker Bob Hanover has more bucks than talent and has used his position to grab the lead role, but that seems like a small price to pay...until Bob is found dead backstage.

Bob rubbed many people the wrong way, but would anyone want him dead? The short answer to that is: Who wouldn't want him dead? His long-suffering wife had to put up with years of womanizing. The show's playwright has been tricked out of his one great idea by Bob, who claimed it as his own work. And Bob bankrupted one of the town's small businessmen. The choices are many and the time to find the killer is running short.

Avery is working overtime to keep the club open and find the killer. Fortunately, she has help with the latter task. Clemmie Bow was once a singer in the speakeasy in the club's basement. Now she's a ghost who's also a top-notch detective. Together Clemmie and Avery will find the killer—even if it kills one of them.

My Thoughts: Avery Morgan's latest idea to revitalize the Portage Path Women's Club is to host a murder mystery dinner. She has to deal with a prima donna author, a banker turned actor with ideas of his own about the story, a club member who thinks the whole thing is a bad idea, and a number of other characters with their own agendas.

When the banker turned actor winds up dead before the play is well under way, Avery needs to help her boyfriend Oz find the killer. She really hopes that it isn't another club member which would really ruin her plans for good PR for the Club.

Avery is assisted by ghost Clemmie Bow who was killed in the speakeasy in the basement during the 1920s. Part of this case included keeping Clemmie secret from her Aunt Rosemary who is a noted medium from Lily Dale. Aunt Rosemary decided to surprise her niece by attending the mystery dinner but wasn't expecting to discover the body and be accused of murder. She has always thought that Avery had some psychic powers though Avery had constantly denied any such talent.

This was an entertaining cozy mystery with interesting characters and an engaging plot. 

Favorite Quote:

"You haven't seen anything in the house? Anything that makes you think you're being Visited?"

That capital letter is my own doing, of course, but there are certain words Aunt Rosemary uses and a certain inflection in her voice that always make me think capitalization is in order."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

YA Book Review: The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

The Hand on the Wall
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Truly Devious (Book 3)
Publication: Katherine Tegen Books (January 21, 2020)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson delivers the witty and pulse-pounding conclusion to the Truly Devious series as Stevie Bell solves the mystery that has haunted Ellingham Academy for over 75 years.

Ellingham Academy must be cursed. Three people are now dead. One, a victim of either a prank gone wrong or a murder. Another, dead by misadventure. And now, an accident in Burlington has claimed another life. All three in the wrong place at the wrong time. All at the exact moment of Stevie’s greatest triumph . . .

She knows who Truly Devious is. She’s solved it. The greatest case of the century.

At least, she thinks she has. With this latest tragedy, it’s hard to concentrate on the past. Not only has someone died in town, but David disappeared of his own free will and is up to something. Stevie is sure that somehow—somehow—all these things connect. The three deaths in the present. The deaths in the past. The missing Alice Ellingham and the missing David Eastman. Somewhere in this place of riddles and puzzles there must be answers.

Then another accident occurs as a massive storm heads toward Vermont. This is too much for the parents and administrators. Ellingham Academy is evacuated. Obviously, it’s time for Stevie to do something stupid. It’s time to stay on the mountain and face the storm—and a murderer.

In the tantalizing finale to the Truly Devious trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson expertly tangles her dual narrative threads and ignites an explosive end for all who’ve walked through Ellingham Academy.

My Thoughts: The mystery, or mysteries, are solved but not before Stevie and her friends deal with a lot of danger.

There have been three deaths that could have been murder or could have been accidents. You, know which way Stevie is leaning! Looking into them is distracting her from the seventy-five year old mystery of the kidnapping of three-year-old Alice Ellingham which has never been solved. Failing to solve the crime could have big financial implications for the Ellingham Academy and for the person who solves the case.

Stevie is pretty sure that she has solved the case. She knows who Truly, Devious is and who was the mastermind behind the kidnapping but the voluntary disappearance of David Eastman is very distracting to her.

Events come together when parents and administrators decide to evacuate all the students and staff in the face of an on-coming maga blizzard. Stevie decides that would be a perfect time to stay behind and work on the case. Some of her friends stay too including David who has come back with political dirt on his father that he wants his friends to help him read for evidence.

With a storm raging outside, all of the various plot threads come together to let Stevie solve the mystery that has been her obsession since even before she set foot on the grounds of Ellingham Academy.

I liked the way the events of the past and present were woven together in the story. I enjoyed Stevie's obsessive personality and the acceptance she found among the other unique individuals at Ellingham Academy.

Favorite Quote:

Stevie would rather eat bees than share her tender inner being with anyone else - she didn't even want to share it with herself.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

December 15, 1932

The snow had been falling for hours, drifting past the windows, settling on the sill, forming little landscapes that mimicked the mountains in the distance.

Friday 56:

"Ellie was a friend of mine, and I think she came here..."

The guy said nothing.

"I was wondering if...I...I just wanted to find out..."

He stepped back and held open the door for her to come inside.

This week I am spotlighting The Hand of the Wall by Maureen Johnson. This is the much-anticipated finale of the Truly Devious trilogy. Here is the description from Amazon:

New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson delivers the witty and pulse-pounding conclusion to the Truly Devious series as Stevie Bell solves the mystery that has haunted Ellingham Academy for over 75 years.

Ellingham Academy must be cursed. Three people are now dead. One, a victim of either a prank gone wrong or a murder. Another, dead by misadventure. And now, an accident in Burlington has claimed another life. All three in the wrong place at the wrong time. All at the exact moment of Stevie’s greatest triumph . . .

She knows who Truly Devious is. She’s solved it. The greatest case of the century.

At least, she thinks she has. With this latest tragedy, it’s hard to concentrate on the past. Not only has someone died in town, but David disappeared of his own free will and is up to something. Stevie is sure that somehow—somehow—all these things connect. The three deaths in the present. The deaths in the past. The missing Alice Ellingham and the missing David Eastman. Somewhere in this place of riddles and puzzles there must be answers.

Then another accident occurs as a massive storm heads toward Vermont. This is too much for the parents and administrators. Ellingham Academy is evacuated. Obviously, it’s time for Stevie to do something stupid. It’s time to stay on the mountain and face the storm—and a murderer.

In the tantalizing finale to the Truly Devious trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson expertly tangles her dual narrative threads and ignites an explosive end for all who’ve walked through Ellingham Academy.

YA Book Review: The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

The Madness Underneath
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Shades of London (Book 2)
Publication: Speak (December 10, 2013)

Description: A new threat haunts the streets of London…

Rory Deveaux has changed in ways she never could have imagined since moving to London and beginning a new life at boarding school. As if her newfound ability to see ghosts hadn’t complicated her life enough, Rory’s recent brush with the Jack the Ripper copycat has left her with an even more unusual and intense power. Now, a new string of inexplicable deaths is threatening London, and Rory has evidence that they are no coincidence. Something sinister is going on, and it is up to her to convince the city’s secret ghost-policing squad to listen before it’s too late.

My Thoughts: First of all, this is the middle book in a trilogy. The author does enough to let the reader know what happens in the first book. Rory is in Bristol with her parents and healing from a knife wound given her by the new Ripper. She is seeing a therapist but having some trouble because she can't tell her the real story of what happened in London. Besides signing the Official Secrets Acts, she has real reason to fear that telling her story will cause her to be committed to a psychiatric facility. After all, being attacked by a ghost is not something that is easily believable.

Rory misses her friends at Wexford and especially misses Stephen, Callum and Boo who worked with her as a member of the Shade Squad whose job was to eliminate troublesome ghosts. Since moving to Bristol, she has lost all contact with them. She has also developed a startling new power. She is a living terminus; touching a ghost causes them to disappear.

Meanwhile, things aren't going well for the tean in London. As a result of their encounter with the Ripper, all three of the terminus that allowed them to remove evil ghosts have been lost or broken. The team is in danger of being disbanded leaving all three of them jobless.

Things are manipulated to get Rory back to London and Wexford and potentially save the team. Returning to London and school has problems for Rory. She is so far behind in her schoolwork and exams are so close that she doesn't have a hope of catching up and passing her exams. And she is more interested in a new mystery in which a nearby pub owner was supposedly bludgeoned to death by one of his employees. Some research tells her that the school and the are were built over a former facility where those with mental illnesses were warehoused. She fears that the battle with the Ripper has opened up a crack that is freeing some of those patients now as ghosts.

Rory is also still having issues regarding the battle too. When the head girl Charlotte raves over the therapist she is seeing, Rory decides to see her too. Jane Quaint is a mysterious character who does seem to have helped Charlotte and who helps Rory too after their first session. But Jane has a hidden agenda that runs counter to the work of the team. Jane wants to isolate Rory from her friends and family in order to fulfill Jane's agenda.

Rescue by the team leads to heartbreaking consequences and also leads to a cliffhanger ending.

Favorite Quote:

I wasted about a full minute, grinding away the airtime, tilting my head back and forth. It's hard to pretend to think. Thinking doesn't have an action stance. And I suspected that my "thinking" face looked a lot like my "I'm dizzy and may throw up" face.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

YA ARC Review: Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist

Missing, Presumed Dead
Author: Emma Berquist
Publication: Greenwillow Books (May 21, 2019)

Description: When eighteen-year-old Lexi foresees the brutal murder of a young woman outside a club in downtown L.A., she is powerless to stop it.

But then the girl’s ghost appears, seeking vengeance, and Lexi is swept into a dangerous search that could put her directly in the path of a serial killer. From the author of Devils Unto Dust, this fast-paced and literary thriller will haunt fans of Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious and Karen M. McManus’s One of Us Is Lying. 

With a touch, Lexi can sense how and when someone will die. Some say it’s a gift. But to Lexi it’s a curse—one that keeps her friendless and alone. All that changes when Lexi foresees the violent death of a young woman, Jane, outside a club.

Jane doesn’t go to the afterlife quietly. Her ghost remains behind, determined to hunt down her murderer, and she needs Lexi’s help. In life, Jane was everything Lexi is not—outgoing, happy, popular. But in death, all Jane wants is revenge.

Lexi will do anything to help Jane, to make up for the fact that she didn’t—couldn’t—save Jane’s life, and to keep this beautiful ghost of a girl by her side for as long as possible.

Emma Berquist’s second novel is a haunting and atmospheric murder mystery that tackles themes of depression, loneliness, love, and identity. This high-concept novel is for fans of Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series.

My Thoughts: Lexi has a psychic gift that forces her to see how and when anyone will die if she touches them. She thinks of it as a curse. She is achingly lonely and hungry for touch but each touch means pain. When she accidentally brushes up against a young woman outside the club where she works, she sees the girl's brutal death and it makes her sick.

When she learns that the girl is missing as are quite a few other young people who were last seen near the club, Lexi goes looking for her ghost and she finds it. Jane is filled with rage but doesn't remember how she came to be did. She has no memory of her murderer. This is the first strange thing because, in Lexi's previous experience, ghosts do remember how they died. Lexi promises to help Jane find out who killed her and takes her home with her.

Lexi already lives with a ghost named Trevor who died in a car accident. She is hoping that Trevor can help Jane adjust to being dead. Lexi also feels very close to Jane. And she can touch ghosts. But ghosts do have a habit of moving on, either to explore the world or to go on to the next world. Falling in love with a ghost won't really help Lexi's loneliness ... or will it?

This was an excellent story. I liked the world of supernaturals that the author built. I liked that the negatives of psychic abilities made up a big part of the story. The mystery was engaging as Lexi and Jane track down her murderer. The writing was descriptive and emotionally engaging. I couldn't put it down.

Favorite Quote:

It shouldn't hurt anymore. I thought I made my peace with this a long time ago. But it's loneliness that's scraping out my organs, ancient and unmistakable. I shouldn't have let them in, shouldn't have gotten used to the warmth at my back, a voice in my ear. It hurts worse now, because I know what I've lost.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Ghost Manuscript by Kris Frieswick

The Ghost Manuscript
Author: Kris Frieswick
Publication: Post Hill Press (April 2, 2019)

Description: Rare book authenticator Carys Jones wanted nothing more than to be left alone to pursue her obsession with ancient manuscripts. But when her biggest client is committed to an asylum, he gives Carys an offer she cannot refuse. In exchange for his entire library of priceless, Dark Age manuscripts, Carys must track the clues hidden in a previously unknown journal, clues that lead to a tomb that could rewrite the history of Western civilization.

But there are people who would do anything to stop Carys from finding what she seeks—for reasons both noble and evil. The hunt takes Carys to places she never thought she’d go, physically and emotionally; first to Wales, her estranged father’s homeland, then to bed with Dafydd, a mysterious Welshman who agrees to help her with the search, and finally, deep inside her own psyche, when the monk who wrote the journal 1,500 years ago appears and assists her in her search.

My Thoughts: Carys Jones is an expert on medieval manuscripts. She works for an auction house authenticating texts. When the son of one of her biggest clients tells her that his father has been committed to a psychiatric hospital and that he is planning to liquidate the collection, Carys is called in to authenticate the texts and check the catalog.

Carys meets the housekeeper who tells her that there is one manuscript not in the catalog. It's a journal of a monk who wrote of his employer who was a battle chief fighting the Anglo-Saxon invasion. That's when Carys learns that her employer is just another Arthur chaser and she loses respect for him. That is, she does until she does until she reads the diary herself and starts having hallucinations where the author Lestinus gives her clues that may lead to the grave of Riothamus Arcturus who would become the legendary King Arthur.

But Carys isn't the only one on the track of Arthur and the massive fortune including Excalibur that was buried with him. Her boss George Plourde has his own scam going - blackmailing clients to part with items that will yield him massive commissions. He is also working with an antiquities dealer named Martin Gyles who has his own scam going but has gotten himself in trouble with jihadists and needs the tomb to get himself out of it.

Carys is an interesting person who considers herself broken. She has major abandonment issues. Her father left her family when she was seven. Her mother committed suicide when she was fifteen and her father left her with family friends rather than taking her into his new family. Her relationships hit the wall at about three months because of her inability to share anything of herself but her body. The only constants in her life are the manuscripts that are part of her work.

As Carys travels to follow the clues Lestinus left, she travels to Wales where she meets a new guy and where she meets her father again. Both are instrumental in finding the tomb which has been emptied but for another journal, some seeds, and a small amount of ancient jewels. And the search continues with bad guys trailing behind.

The action was fast and furious. The villains were truly dastardly. The treasure hunt was intriguing. And the book ends on a cliffhanger...

Favorite Quote:

"Latin isn't like English. It's very formal. People generally didn't use it to express their emotions. There were so few people who could write back then that they normally saved it only for recording official things. But to find a personal journal - to find two of them - it's like a magic window. Like climbing into the heads of people thousands of years ago. But mostly what you see when you read words that old is that humans haven't changed a bit over all the centuries. I'm not sure if that's comforting or disturbing. It's all the same - pain, anger, fear, joy, passion..."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

YA Book Review: The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

The Vanishing Stair
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Truly Devious Book 2
Publication: Katherine Tegen Books (January 22, 2019)

Description: In New York Times bestselling author Maureen Johnson’s second novel in the Truly Devious series, there are more twists and turns than Stevie Bell can imagine. No answer is given freely, and someone will pay for the truth with their life.

The Truly Devious case—an unsolved kidnapping and triple murder that rocked Ellingham Academy in 1936—has consumed Stevie for years. It’s the very reason she came to the academy. But then her classmate was murdered, and her parents quickly pull her out of school. For her safety, they say. She must move past this obsession with crime.

Stevie’s willing to do anything to get back to Ellingham, be back with her friends, and solve the Truly Devious case. Even if it means making a deal with the despicable Senator Edward King. And when Stevie finally returns, she also returns to David: the guy she kissed, and the guy who lied about his identity—Edward King’s son.

But larger issues are at play. Where did the murderer hide? What’s the meaning of the riddle Albert Ellingham left behind? And what, exactly, is at stake in the Truly Devious affair? The Ellingham case isn’t just a piece of history—it’s a live wire into the present.

My Thoughts: This is the middle part of the Truly Devious trilogy. It answers some questions and raises quite a few more.

When the story begins Stevie is back home in Pittsburgh and willing to do anything to get back to Ellingham. She misses her freedom and her friends and, most of all, the chance to solve the Truly Devious case. But being willing to do anything means that she will have to take a favor from Senator Edward King, a man she despises and a man who is her new friend David's father.

She agrees to keep an eye on David who is an accident ready to happen and to not tell him that her return had anything to do with his father. She comes back to a campus dealing with the loss of one student and the disappearance of another. Both of them were also residents of Minerva along with Stevie, David, Nate who gained fame for writing a book as a teenager and who is struggling with writing a second book, and Janelle who is a mechanical genius.

Things seem to be working in Stevie's favor when she is hired as a research assistant to Dr. Fenton who is working on a new book about the Ellingham kidnapping case. But Fenton, as she prefers to be called, is a confusing character - alcoholic and paranoid - who claims to have new information that will help solve the case.

The story also has flashbacks to 1936 when the kidnapping happened which introduce us to Francis Josephine Crane and Edward Pierce Davenport. Frankie and Eddie want to be like Bonnie and Clyde. Frankie has a fascination with explosives and crime and Eddie is a bad poet. We learn their role in the kidnapping.

We also see in flashbacks more about Mr. Ellingham and a codicil to his will that was hidden by his secretary after his death. Fenton seems to have found about about the codicil and that information aids Stevie's investigation.

This was a wonderfully plotted and twisty story with a mystery in the past and mysteries in the present too. I loved Stevie who deals with anxiety and has a dogged determination to solve the Ellingham case. I can't wait for the next book. I have so many questions!

Favorite Quote:

In life, the murderer is anyone. The reasons, the methods, the circumstances - the paths to becoming a murderer are as numerous as the stars. Understanding this is the first step to finding a murderer. You have to shut down the voices in your mind that say, "It has to be this person." Murderers aren't a type. They're anyone.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal

Ghost Talkers
Author: Mary Robinette Kowal
Publication: Tor Books; Reprint edition (August 8, 2017)

Description: Ghost Talkers is a brilliant historical fantasy novel from acclaimed author Mary Robinette Kowal featuring the mysterious spirit corps and their heroic work in World War I.

Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during World War I, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Harford, an intelligence officer. Ginger is a medium for the Spirit Corps, a special Spiritualist force.

Each soldier heading for the front is conditioned to report to the mediums of the Spirit Corps when they die so the Corps can pass instant information about troop movements to military intelligence.

Ginger and her fellow mediums contribute a great deal to the war efforts, so long as they pass the information through appropriate channels. While Ben is away at the front, Ginger discovers the presence of a traitor. Without the presence of her fiancé to validate her findings, the top brass thinks she's just imagining things. Even worse, it is clear that the Spirit Corps is now being directly targeted by the German war effort. Left to her own devices, Ginger has to find out how the Germans are targeting the Spirit Corps and stop them. This is a difficult and dangerous task for a woman of that era, but this time both the spirit and the flesh are willing…

My Thoughts: This was a wonderful historical fantasy set during World War I. Ginger Stuyvesant is an American heiress who is engaged to Captain Ben Harford, an English intelligence officer. Ginger is also a medium and one of the women who take reports from soldiers who die in battle and then watch them go into the light. Their skills and their location is a secret from the Germans since the intelligence they gather helps in the war effort.

She and Ben are harassed by a drunken soldier one evening when they are out together and Ben fights him off. Imagine Ginger's surprise when the same soldier's ghost comes to her the next day to tell her that he was murdered after overhearing threats to the Spirit Corps. When Ginger brings this news to her commanding officer, he is quick to dismiss her information. However, Ben has also been picking up rumors of a traitor in the ranks. When he is murdered, he comes to give his final report but refuses to go on to the light until he finds the one who killed him and the traitor who endangers Ginger and the rest of the Spirit Corps.

She and Ben are in a time crunch. The longer he stays, the worse his memory gets as his personality fragments. And Ginger is torn between her loss and broken heart, and the best good for Ben. They need to retrace his steps and track down the clues that he found to the traitor when he doesn't remember any of it.

I thought the setting and time period with its endemic chauvinism and racism was well done. One of Ginger's colleagues is West Indian. She's the one who developed the technique that has the dead coming to them to report. However, her skin color makes it easy for the commanding officer to ignore her contributions. Another key character is an Indian truck driver who hides the fact that he is also a medium.

The romance between Ben and Ginger was wonderfully realized. I was heartbroken knowing that the relationship had to end. This was a great story filled with memorable characters.

Favorite Quote:

Without a circle, in the fragile state that she was in, her danger of losing her grip on her body was much increased. But she couldn't let him wander without someone to anchor him, and they had to find out who killed him. "I'll need to be able to hear you while we're in there."

He groaned a little. "I would much prefer it if you weren't right."

"But, darling, I always am. It would be a difficult habit to break now." She raised her hand and knocked on the door.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

16 July 1916
"The Germans were flanking us at Delville Wood when I died."

Ginger Stuyvesant had a dim awareness of her body repeating the soldier's words to the team's stenographer. She tried to hold that awareness at bay, along with the dozens of other spirit circles working for the British Army.

Friday 56:

Helen asked, "Do you need to take a break?"

"No." Ginger forced a laugh, even though everyone in the circle would be able to feel how shaken she was. Sometimes, external appearances could help shape her internal response. "We've only just begun. But I am happy that it is your turn to lead."

This week I am spotlighting Ghost Talkers by Mary Robinette Kowal. This historical fantasy has been on my TBR mountain for is while and is the only book by the author that I have not read. Here is the description from Amazon:

Ghost Talkers is a brilliant historical fantasy novel from acclaimed author Mary Robinette Kowal featuring the mysterious spirit corps and their heroic work in World War I.

Ginger Stuyvesant, an American heiress living in London during World War I, is engaged to Captain Benjamin Harford, an intelligence officer. Ginger is a medium for the Spirit Corps, a special Spiritualist force.
Each soldier heading for the front is conditioned to report to the mediums of the Spirit Corps when they die so the Corps can pass instant information about troop movements to military intelligence.

Ginger and her fellow mediums contribute a great deal to the war efforts, so long as they pass the information through appropriate channels. While Ben is away at the front, Ginger discovers the presence of a traitor. Without the presence of her fiancé to validate her findings, the top brass thinks she's just imagining things. Even worse, it is clear that the Spirit Corps is now being directly targeted by the German war effort. Left to her own devices, Ginger has to find out how the Germans are targeting the Spirit Corps and stop them. This is a difficult and dangerous task for a woman of that era, but this time both the spirit and the flesh are willing…

ARC Review: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

The Broken Girls
Author: Simone St. James
Publication: Berkley (March 20, 2018)

Description: Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . .

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past--and a voice that won't be silenced. . . .

My Thoughts: THE BROKEN GIRLS was an amazing mystery filled with secrets. Fiona Sheridan is a freelance journalist living in Vermont. The year is 2014 and she is still haunted by the death of her older sister in 1994. Her sister's boyfriend and local golden boy Tom Christopher was convicted of the murder but Fiona still has questions and spends a lot of time at the site where her sister Deb was found - the playing fields of long-closed boarding school Idlewild which was where troublesome girls were sent.

When Fiona learns that Idlewild Hall was purchased and is going to be restored as a new boarding school, she decides to write a story about it. Idlewild Hall has always had rumors of being haunted and even the local kids were afraid to explore it. When a body is found during the restoration, Fiona becomes even more determined. First, to find out who the girl was and then to learn the secrets buried at Idlewild Hall.

The story is told in two main sections. One section tells the story of four girls who were roommates in 1950 and what happens when one of them goes missing. The girls were throw-aways from their families. Katie was raped at thirteen which embarrassed her family enough to send her away. She is smart, beautiful and a magnet for trouble. Roberta went mute after she saw her Army veteran uncle about to commit suicide. Both situations, Roberta's issues and the uncle's attempted suicide were also embarrassing. CeCe is the illegitimate daughter of a rich powerful man and his housekeeper who was sent to Idlewild Hall after her mother tried to kill her. Sonia is a orphan and a survivor of Ravensbruck Concentration Camp.

The second section takes place in 2014 when Fiona begins her investigation. She's dating the son of the retired police chief but his family is against the relationship. Cops and journalists aren't supposed to be that close. The former police chief is a firm member of the good old boys club that is known for doing favors for friends rather than following the letter of the law.

I really enjoyed this story. I liked the way the two time periods (or three if you count 1994 when Fiona's sister Deb was murdered) were all interwoven. The book was filled with secrets that were gradually revealed. The characters were all engaging. The ghost that haunted Idlewild Hall and showed people their worst moments added a wonderful creepiness to the whole story.

I highly recommend this book.

Favorite Quote:

Sonia's chair jerked: Katie, kicking it from the desk behind. Sonia had never seen a girl who got bored as fast, or as dangerously, as Katie. Roberta had the ability to be still, and CeCe rarely got bored at all, but behind Katie's tilted, dark-lashed eyes lurked a restless intelligence that sometimes looked for trouble.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

Barrons, Vermont
November 1950

The sun vanished below the horizon as the girl crested the rise of Old Barrons Road. Night, and she still had three miles to go.

Friday 56:

The records from Ravensbruck were destroyed," Ginette said, her voice clipped with calm anger. "They were incinerated right before the Russians liberated the camp in 1945. Records survive from many of the other camps, but Ravensbruck was obliterated. Willfully forgotten, if you will."

This week I am spotlighting The Broken Girls by Simone St. James. I got this eARC from Edelweiss. Here is the description from Amazon:

Vermont, 1950. There's a place for the girls whom no one wants--the troublemakers, the illegitimate, the too smart for their own good. It's called Idlewild Hall. And in the small town where it's located, there are rumors that the boarding school is haunted. Four roommates bond over their whispered fears, their budding friendship blossoming--until one of them mysteriously disappears. . . .

Vermont, 2014. As much as she's tried, journalist Fiona Sheridan cannot stop revisiting the events surrounding her older sister's death. Twenty years ago, her body was found lying in the overgrown fields near the ruins of Idlewild Hall. And though her sister's boyfriend was tried and convicted of murder, Fiona can't shake the suspicion that something was never right about the case.

When Fiona discovers that Idlewild Hall is being restored by an anonymous benefactor, she decides to write a story about it. But a shocking discovery during the renovations will link the loss of her sister to secrets that were meant to stay hidden in the past--and a voice that won't be silenced. . . .

Book Review: The House on Tradd Street by Kate White

The House on Tradd Street
Author: Karen White
Series: Tradd Street (Book 1)
Publication: Berkley (Nov. 4, 2008)

Description: The brilliant, chilling debut of Karen White's New York Times bestselling Tradd Street series, featuring a Charleston real estate agent who loves old houses—and the secret histories inside them.

Practical Melanie Middleton hates to admit she can see ghosts. But she's going to have to accept it. An old man she recently met has died, leaving her his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog—and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her their secrets.

Enter Jack Trenholm, a gorgeous writer obsessed with unsolved mysteries. He has reason to believe that diamonds from the Confederate Treasury are hidden in the house. So he turns the charm on with Melanie, only to discover he's the smitten one...

It turns out Jack's search has caught the attention of a malevolent ghost. Now, Jack and Melanie must unravel a mystery of passion, heartbreak—and even murder.

My Thoughts: When Melanie Middleton inherits a historic Tradd Street home from a man she met only once, she has to solve the mystery of the man's mother's disappearance which eerily parallels her own abandonment by her mother. Melanie vehemently denies that she sees ghosts but that doesn't stop her from seeing them.

As she begins to restore the home, with the assistance of Jack Trenholm who is a writer in need of a book idea, her best friend Sophie who is a quirky college professor whose specialty is old Charleston homes, and Chad who is one of her clients looking for a house.

Trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Louisa Vanderhorst leads to another mystery. A Vanderhorst ancestor might have hidden some Confederate diamonds somewhere in the house. Melanie could use the diamonds to help restore the house but a descendant of the man Louisa was supposed to have run off with - Marc Longo - is also on the hunt for the diamonds.

Besides ghosts, this book has tangled family relationships. Melanie's father, who turned to alcohol when Melanie's mother left, has been named the trustee of the money left to Melanie to restore the home. Melanie has long since learned that he could not be depended on. Also Melanie's mother has been trying to contact her but Melanie has written her out of her life.

This was an excellent and spooky mystery with a great setting and intriguing characters.

Favorite Quote:

I looked at the windows again, trying to see them with her eyes. But where she saw a work of art and painstaking skill, I saw only an old window that would probably cost a small fortune to repair if it ever got broken. I wanted, for a brief moment, to see the beauty of it, but I hadn't been able to see the beauty in anything since I was seven years old.

I bought this one March 4, 2014. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:

Pewter reflections of scarlet hibiscus colored the dirt-smudged windows of the old house, like happy memories of youth trapped inside the shell of an old man.

Friday 56:

I gave her a look that any normal person would have taken to mean "back off" but which Sophie completely ignored. As Jack approached her, she stuck out her hand. "Dr. Sophie Wallen. Pleased to meet you..."

This week I chose The House on Tradd Street by Karen White from my TBR mountain. Here is the description from Amazon:

The brilliant, chilling debut of Karen White's New York Times bestselling Tradd Street series, featuring a Charleston real estate agent who loves old houses—and the secret histories inside them.

Practical Melanie Middleton hates to admit she can see ghosts. But she's going to have to accept it. An old man she recently met has died, leaving her his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog—and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her their secrets.

Enter Jack Trenholm, a gorgeous writer obsessed with unsolved mysteries. He has reason to believe that diamonds from the Confederate Treasury are hidden in the house. So he turns the charm on with Melanie, only to discover he's the smitten one...

It turns out Jack's search has caught the attention of a malevolent ghost. Now, Jack and Melanie must unravel a mystery of passion, heartbreak—and even murder.

FP/TT: The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

Every Tuesday Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of a book she is reading or planning to read. She provides a linky for others to post theirs.

Here's mine:

Pewter reflections of scarlet hibiscus colored the dirt-smudged windows of the old house, like happy memories of youth trapped inside the shell of an old man. The broken pediments over the windows gave the house a permanent frown, yet the leaf-filtered sun against the chipped Tower-of-the-Winds columns lining the side piazzas painted the house with hope. It was almost, I thought, as if the house were merely waiting for a miracle.

 

Link up here. It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

Here's mine:

I arrived at my office at seven o'clock on Monday morning, hoping I'd find the office empty, since I still needed more time to think. I had come no closer to a decision that I had the day I'd sat in the office of Drayton, Drayton, and Drayton, and my little world had started spinning in the wrong direction.

These both come from The House on Tradd Street by Karen White. This book has been on my TBR mountain since March 4, 2014. Here is the description from Amazon:

The brilliant, chilling debut of Karen White's New York Times bestselling Tradd Street series, featuring a Charleston real estate agent who loves old houses—and the secret histories inside them.

Practical Melanie Middleton hates to admit she can see ghosts. But she's going to have to accept it. An old man she recently met has died, leaving her his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog—and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her their secrets.

Enter Jack Trenholm, a gorgeous writer obsessed with unsolved mysteries. He has reason to believe that diamonds from the Confederate Treasury are hidden in the house. So he turns the charm on with Melanie, only to discover he's the smitten one...

It turns out Jack's search has caught the attention of a malevolent ghost. Now, Jack and Melanie must unravel a mystery of passion, heartbreak—and even murder.

ARC Review: Forgotten Secrets by Robin Perini

Forgotten Secrets
Author: Robin Perini
Publication: Montlake Romance (July 19, 2016)

Description: At age ten, Riley Lambert watched helplessly as her sister was abducted from her bedroom. Fifteen years later, she’s channeled the pain of her past into a career as an FBI profiler. Riley devotes her life to bringing violent criminals to justice…and secretly uses government resources to search for her sister, who was never found.

When Riley gets a call from the only man who’s ever swept her off her feet with a killer two-step and dangerous smile—ex-Navy SEAL Thayne Blackwood of Singing River, Wyoming—it stirs up dark memories. Thayne’s sister, Cheyenne, has been kidnapped. There are no leads, and the only witness is the victim’s Alzheimer’s-afflicted grandmother.

Desperate to find Cheyenne, Thayne needs Riley’s expertise. With time running short, they delve into dangerous small-town secrets while fighting against an increasingly ruthless adversary. But when her past and his present collide in a shocking revelation, can they overcome the secrets that have kept them apart?

My Thoughts: Riley Lambert has had one goal in life since her twelve-year-old sister Madison was abducted while Riley, age 10, was in the room: Find Madison. She graduated from high school by 15, was a lawyer by 21, and a very gifted FBI profiler at age 26. No matter what case she is working on, her sister's disappearance isn't far from her mind.

The past year she visited Singing River, Wyoming to look into a similar disappearance to her sister's. Twelve-year-old Gina disappeared shortly before Madison. Besides the age, both were redheads. While Riley couldn't find out what happened to Gina, she did meet handsome SEAL Thayne Blackwood and had a whirlwind romance. They have been keeping in touch with weekly Friday night phone calls and getting to know each other.

When a case goes wrong for Riley, her supervisor puts her on leave and cuts off her access to the FBI databases. He feels that Riley is heading for a breakdown unless she can find some way to work her cases without so much emotional involvement. It is just after her suspension that Riley gets a call from Thayne telling her that his sister Cheyenne has gone missing. Riley is quick to return to Singing River to help find her before his family is as broken as hers was after Madison disappears.

Things don't look good. The only witness is Thayne's grandmother who has Alzheimer's disease and who doesn't remember what happened. Riley and Thayne are searching for clues knowing that the longer Cheyenne stays missing, the less likely it will be to find her alive. As they search, they learn all sorts of secrets that one desperate criminal doesn't want uncovered.

This was a fast-paced thriller filled with interesting characters and with a great romance too. Thayne is truly a storybook hero: tough and tender, smart and caring, and not afraid to commit to a forever love. Romantic suspense fans will love getting to know him and Riley.

Favorite Quote:

He saw too much. He made her feel too much.

I got this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.  You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Prophet by Amanda Stevens

The Prophet (Graveyard Queen)
Author: Amanda Stevens
Publication: Mira; Original edition (April 24, 2012)

Description: My name is Amelia Gray.

I am the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. My father passed down four rules to keep me safe and I've broken every last one. A door has opened and evil wants me back.

In order to protect myself, I've vowed to return to those rules. But the ghost of a murdered cop needs my help to find his killer. The clues lead me to the dark side of Charleston—where witchcraft, root doctors and black magic still flourish—and back to John Devlin, a haunted police detective I should only love from afar.

Now I'm faced with a terrible choice: follow the rules or follow my heart.

My Thoughts: This third book in the Graveyard Queen series was filled with the same Gothic creepiness that infused the first two volumes. If you haven't read the first two books in the series, you might want to stop reading now and quickly find yourself copies of The Restorer and The Kingdom because this story begins shortly after the events of The Kingdom.

Amelia is back in Charleston. She quickly gets back involved in the life of John Devlin. John is a Charleston police detective that she met during The Restorer. They had started a romance but Amelia ended it because John was still being haunted by his dead wife and daughter. Losing Miriama and Shani left him feeling both grief and guilt. Seeing ghosts herself, Amelia had been raised by his father to never have anything to do with a haunted man. 

Getting close to Devlin, allowed other ghosts to come to her too. In the mythology of this story, ghosts are like "parasites drawn to our energy, feeding off our warmth. If they know you can see them, they'll cling to you like blight. You'll never be rid of them. And your life will never again be your own." The most persistent and least ghostlike of the ghosts that haunt Amelia is Robert Fremont. He, Devlin, and Tom Gerrity all graduated from the police academy together. He and Devlin were rivals for the affection of Devlin's dead wife. He wants Amelia to find out who murdered him. Amelia is also haunted by and sympathetic to Shani who was Devlin's four-year-old daughter. 

Her efforts to find Robert Fremont's muderer and find a way to send Shani to her rest lead Amelia to explore a lot of the ancient African beliefs of the Charleston area. She has to deal with spells, and potions, and magical visitors. She also manages to learn a lot about the relationships between Devlin, Fremont, Gerrity, and Ethan Shaw. Shaw is another forensic anthropologist and the son of a paranormal investigator who has been acting as a mentor to Amelia.

As Amelia untangles the twisted relationships between all the players and delves more into the magic around her, the creepy atmosphere gets even more intense. This was an excellent mystery with wonderful paranormal aspects. I recommend it to fans of ghost stories.

Favorite Quote:

The night went deadly silent. Everything in the garden stilled except for that coil of mist. I watched, mesmerized, as it slithered toward me, twisting and writhing like a charmed cobra. The tension humming along my nerve endings was unbearable, as if the lightest touch could shatter me.

I received this book from MIRA via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. You can buy your copy here. 

Teaser Tuesday: The Prophet by Amanda Stevens

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I received The Prophet by Amanda Stevens from NetGalley. This story is the third in the Graveyard Queen series and is a modern Gothic novel. Here is the description:

My name is Amelia Gray.

I am the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. My father passed down four rules to keep me safe and I've broken every last one. A door has opened and evil wants me back.

In order to protect myself, I've vowed to return to those rules. But the ghost of a murdered cop needs my help to find his killer. The clues lead me to the dark side of Charleston—where witchcraft, root doctors and black magic still flourish—and back to John Devlin, a haunted police detective I should only love from afar.

Now I'm faced with a terrible choice: follow the rules or follow my heart.

Teaser:

He broke off, his head snapping around at the soft snick of a gate. Then he drew me to him quickly, dancing us both back into the shadows along the fence.

ARC Review: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens

The Kingdom (The Graveyard Queen Series)
Author: Amanda Stevens
Publication: Mira; Original edition (March 27, 2012)


Description: Deep in the shadowy foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies a dying town…

My name is Amelia Gray. They call me The Graveyard Queen. I've been commissioned to restore an old cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, but I'm coming to think I have another purpose here.

Why is there a cemetery at the bottom of Bell Lake? Why am I drawn time and again to a hidden grave I've discovered in the woods? Something is eating away at the soul of this town—this withering kingdom—and it will only be restored if I can uncover the truth.

My Thoughts: If you are in the mood for ghosts and a spooky story, have I got the book for you. Amelia Gray restores cemeteries. She also sees ghosts. She is adopted and curious about her heritage. When she takes a job in Asher Falls, she begins to unravel the complicated story of her life. This book has a seriously gothic atmosphere filled with portents, creepy characters, and strange circumstances. 


Because she has seen ghosts since she was a small child, she is used to being alone and lonely. She can't go out after sunset. She is good at ignoring the ghosts and following the rules her father set down to keep her safe but her adventures in the first book of this series - The Restorer - opened her up to ghosts. Almost the first thing she does when she comes to town is rescue a dog that had been used as bait in dog fighting and then abandoned. Angus becomes her faithful companion and a good guard both against the ghosts and the humans who frighten her.

Amelia also meets Thane Asher who is the adopted grandchild of the man who controls the whole town and who has hatched a number of Machiavellian schemes. They form a sort of tentative relationship that might be a romance if she wasn't hung up on the guy she left in Charleston and he wasn't hung up on his fiance who died in a car accident. And, then, Amelia isn't sure who she can trust in the town and is hesitant to trust him.

This was a spooky story that was a real page-turner. I recommend it to anyone who likes modern gothics. The story stands alone but read The Restorer first to get to know Amelia. The Prophet, book three in this series, will be published soon too.


Favorite Quote:

Something was seriously amiss in this town. I'd felt it the moment I crossed Bell Lake. The shadows seemed deeper, the nights longer, the secrets older. Even the wind felt different here. And I couldn't forget the repugnant man in the cemetery who had mimicked my worst fears or the ghost who had somehow let me sense her confusion.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. You can buy your copy here.

Book Beginning & Friday 56: The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens

Happy Friday everybody!!

Book Beginnings

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages.  

Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. 

If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

The Friday 56

Rules:

• Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
• Turn to page 56.
• Find the fifth sentence.
• Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of Freda's Voice
• Post a link along with your post back to Freda's Voice

Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

I have been waiting for The Kingdom by Amanda Stevens ever since I finished the last page of The Restorer. I was very glad to see that I could get it in eARC from NetGalley for review. Here is the description:

Deep in the shadowy foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains lies a dying town…

My name is Amelia Gray. They call me The Graveyard Queen. I've been commissioned to restore an old cemetery in Asher Falls, South Carolina, but I'm coming to think I have another purpose here.

Why is there a cemetery at the bottom of Bell Lake? Why am I drawn time and again to a hidden grave I've discovered in the woods? Something is eating away at the soul of this town—this withering kingdom—and it will only be restored if I can uncover the truth.

Beginning:

The breeze off the water carried a slight chill even though the sun had barely begun its western slide.

Friday 56 (Kindle Location 560):

How strange that his question should mirror the doubts and the uncertainties of my adoption that I'd pondered just last night.

Quotes are subject to change in the final version of this title.