Audiobook Review: Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts

Midnight Bayou
Author: Nora Roberts
Narrator: James Daniels & Sarah Burr
Publication: Brilliance Audio (June 10, 2008)
Length: 9 hours and 14 minutes

Description: Declan Fitzgerald had always been the family maverick, but even he couldn't understand his impulse to buy a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans. All he knew was that ever since he saw Manet Hall, he'd been enchanted - and obsessed - with it. So when the opportunity to buy the house comes up Declan jumps at the chance to live out a dream.

Determined to restore Manet Hall to its former splendor, Declan begins the daunting renovation room by room, relying on his own labor and skills. But the days spent in total isolation in the empty house take a toll. He is seeing visions of days from a century past, and experiencing sensations of terror and nearly unbearable grief - sensations not his own, but those of a stranger. Local legend has it that the house is haunted, and with every passing day Declan's belief in the ghostly presence grows.

Only the companionship of the alluring Angelina Simone can distract him from the mysterious happenings in the house, but Angelina too has her own surprising connection to Manet Hall - a connection that will help Declan uncover a secret that's been buried for a hundred years.

My Thoughts: Declan Fitzgerald leaves his home in Boston, job in a law firm, and fiancée to purchase a rundown mansion outside of New Orleans and begins his new career as a carpenter and builder. The task is daunting not only because of the scope of the renovation but also because of the ghosts who haunt the house. 

Angelina Simone is a local bar owner whose grandmother is Declan's neighbor. She also has a family connection to Manet Hall. Angelina is also afraid of falling in love and trusting her heart to anyone. However, Declan takes one look at her and decides that she is the woman he is going to marry and build a family with. 

Together the two need to deal with the ghosts and Angelina's prejudice against love. Declan finds himself taken over by the ghosts which results in memory loss and sleepwalking which frighten him. 

The ghost's stories are told in flashbacks when a poor, Cajun young woman marries into a wealthy family whose matriarch really despises her. She is raped and murdered by her brother-in-law leaving her infant daughter and a husband who grieves her disappearance to the point of suicide. 

This was an excellent story about honoring the past without repeating it. The characters were intriguing and well-developed. The romance was nicely done. 

I bought this one June 29 for $5.31. You can buy your copy here.