The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street by Karen White

Melanie Trenholm has always seen ghosts and she lives in a house with spirits, at least one of whom comes only when needed. Now, in The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street, the most recent release in a series full of mystery and paranormal elements, Melanie has recently discovered a dark presence in her stepdaughter Nola's room, seen a man in old-fashioned clothing where an archeological dig is going on around her cistern, and smells the scent of roses always left by the ghost of a woman she helped to release in the first Tradd Street book.

Marc Longo is back to annoying her, as well, and now he's searching for a new treasure (this time, a French treasure brought to the continent by the Marquis de Lafayette), trying to foist his way into the Tradd Street house with a film crew, and determined to one day own the place. His brother Anthony now owns the other estate associated with the Tradd Street home, both of which had the same owner in the past. Anthony was conned into taking on the estate when his brother discovered the original treasure he sought was not there. Now, Marc is convinced that there's a connection between the mausoleum at the estate Anthony now owns and the bricks in the cistern at Tradd Street. But a presence in the mausoleum is keeping them from investigating.

When Melanie and others in her circle check out the mausoleum and some documents Marc stole, they find pieces of a puzzle. Meanwhile, Melanie and her sister, Jayne see several new spirits from the Revolutionary War era at Anthony Longo's home and Anthony is having frequent accidents. What do bricks, peacocks, and the warnings of ghosts mean? Can Melanie unravel the mystery in time to have a relaxing Christmas with her family?

First, a little background on my own reading of the series. I've only read the first book, The House on Tradd Street, prior to this one. When The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street was offered to me, I thought it was the perfect excuse to read The House on Tradd Street, which had been sitting on a pile in my library for years. Had I not recently read that first book, I would have been completely lost. Christmas Spirits stands alone well enough if you're familiar with at least the main characters but I would not go into the series in the middle. At the very least, you need an introduction. Fortunately, while a lot has happened and many new characters have been introduced, I had no trouble at all catching up on the general events of the books I've missed.

Recommended but not a favorite - If you have read and enjoyed past Tradd Street books, you'll probably love this one, as well. It is much like the other book I read, although obviously I can't speak for the rest. I remember there was a lot going on The House on Tradd Street and the same is true of The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street. There are a ton of different elements to the story. Christmas, by the way, is more of a backdrop than a feature. While Melanie and Jack are facing some immense challenges caused by Marc's intervention in their lives, as well as working to unravel the mystery and stay a step ahead of Marc as he chases down the same paths, Melanie is also involved in preparations for a "progressive dinner" for the Christmas season (I had to look that up -- it's a meal where each course is served at a different house). There are other preparations, like buying presents and gathering for a family photo, but they're really secondary and you could be forgiven for occasionally forgetting Melanie and Jack even have small children.

There are almost too many characters in the story -- many of whom were introduced in various novels as the series has progressed. I had a little difficulty getting them all straight in my head and I'm not sure all of them were necessary to the plot. In the end, though, it was ultimately satisfying how the mystery was wrapped up and the problems I had with the book were the same ones I had with The House on Tradd Street: there's a bit too much going on, the writing is wordy (tight writing with few wasted words is my personal preference), and I find Melanie annoying. Those are really a matter of individual taste, not commentary on the storyline, though. I liked the story's complexity so I still recommend it to those who have an affinity for paranormal stories.

My thanks to Berkley Books for the review copy!

Fiona Friday will be on the wrong day, once again, this week. Tune in tomorrow for your weekly cat fix!


©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The House on Tradd Street by Karen White - #3 for RIPXIV

I read The House on Tradd Street by Karen White both for the RIP Challenge (ghosts!) and because there's a new Tradd Street book coming out (it's on my October TBR stack). The House on Tradd Street was published in 2008 and has been sitting on a pile of books in my library for a couple years, and the series has chugged on, since then. I'm pretty sure I got my battered copy from Paperback Swap, a few years after it came out. It was one that I packed up and moved from the old house.

The House on Tradd Street is about a real estate agent named Melanie Middleton, in Charleston, South Carolina, who sees ghosts. When she goes to a house in the historic district to talk to the owner, Nevin Vanderhorst, thinking he's about to offer her the listing as he prepares to go into a residential facility, she sees a woman in old-fashioned clothing standing behind a swing. Reluctantly, she admits that she saw the ghost of his mother, after Nevin asks. That night, he dies and leaves the house to her in his will. But, there are conditions. She must stay in the house while it's being restored, try to unravel the mystery of his mother's disappearance when he was a child, and after a year the house will become hers.

Melanie is approached by a writer named Jack Trenholm, who wants to dig around in the house to find out what happened to Mrs. Vanderhorst for his next novel. Did the late Mrs. Vanderhorst run away with Joseph Longo, the man she dated before she married and gave birth to Nevin, as the rumor states? If so, where did the two go and what happened to them?

There are many ghosts in the Tradd Street house. One is a dark presence that has a tendency to shove people. The rest are harmless. But, they're trying to tell Melanie something. As she enlists the help of her friend Sophie, is aided by Jack, and must report her expenses to her father, there is quite an interesting cast of characters. When a relative of Longo's shows up looking to buy the house and he starts taking Melanie out, is a love triangle forming when Jack appears to be jealous? Who are the ghosts and what are they trying to say? Will Melanie figure everything out and help lay the spirits to rest or will the sinister spirit do too much damage and put an end to the restoration?

Recommended but not a favorite - The one thing I really, truly loved about The House on Tradd Street was the ghosts. I thought Karen White did a fabulous job of keeping the spirits close to available literature and other ghost stories so that it felt believable. In fact, I was really quite surprised to find that, after finding Heart-Shaped Box far-fetched enough that it didn't frighten me at all, Tradd Street seriously made my skin crawl and had the hairs on my neck standing, at times. It just felt real to me. I also liked the secondary romance. But, I found the heroine too prickly and didn't understand a few things about her. Why was she so rude to Jack? Why did she think of business dinners as dates? Why did she trust the man that everyone said was fishy and the dog even hated?

Fortunately, I do love a good ghost story and that kept me going. I occasionally felt lost amongst the clues, but I also enjoyed the mystery and the fact that the mystery deepened as the story progressed, keeping the pages turning. So, not being overly fond of the heroine certainly didn't ruin the book for me. And, in fact, she seemed to have laid her own ghosts to rest ("ghosts," in this case, meaning her childhood traumas) by the end of the story, which bodes well for her attitude in future stories. I'm looking forward to reading the new book, particularly for more creepy ghostly fun.

Since this is the first Tradd Street book I've read, I have no idea what's happened in the series as it's progressed but I don't have any problem with reading stories out of order if they're written to stand alone. Hopefully, the new one will stand alone well.

Silly book story: When I moved The House on Tradd Street to my bedside TBR, it became vulnerable to Cats Trying to Get Mom's Attention in the Morning. I don't know who is the guilty party (probably Fiona – she's terrible about chewing on paper) but one of the cats ripped a corner off the cover. I was able to salvage the corner and put it back on with carefully-placed clear packing tape. Whew! Grateful that clear packing tape is a thing!


©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill - RIPXIV #1

I've already talked about Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, a bit, but I decided I wanted to have a separate post up that's got "RIPXIV" in the labels, so here 'tis. Let's do the goofy version of a review, shall we?

So, there's this rocker dude named Judas Coyne (not his real name). He's not a nice guy, really. In the past, he's been a bit of a sexual deviant because rock stars can get away with that crap. When he takes up with a woman, he calls her by the name of the state in which they met (or, maybe "hooked up" is the better term), rather than by her actual name. The same is true of his current babe, Georgia.

Judas collects macabre items and when a haunted coat comes up for auction, he buys it. Why not? He doubts its authenticity but whatever. When the coat arrives and it is haunted by the ghost of his former flame's uncle, he's creeped out. When it somehow plucks Georgia's finger and gives her an infection, he's spooked. When the ghost keeps showing up with squiggles in front of his eyes, he's freaked. Then, he finds out he was targeted; the ghost wanted to end up with him so he could kill Judas. How can Judas get rid of the ghost?

Epic road trip, that's how. Judas leaves with Georgia and his two dogs. Much chasing and haunting and making of revolting wounds that won't heal ensues. Death, destruction, and possession occur. But, it ends on a high note, so there's that.

Recommended, if you like that kind of thing - I gave up Joe Hill (with the exception of his short stories) a couple years ago, after I read The Fireman (link leads to my review, which I just posted with a 2016 date to backdate to the actual reading) because he has an unfortunate tendency to kill off cats. And, apparently dogs. But, the guy who makes my neck stop hurting told me, "You have to read Heart-Shaped Box and then talk to me about it!" when I told him about the RIPXIV. So I read it and we talked and you guys, it's really cool to have a physical therapist who likes to talk books. I am, however, still essentially done with Joe Hill. Except for the short stories.

Not sure why I didn't write a review of The Fireman at the blog in 2016 but the review I just posted is one I wrote at Goodreads. Fortunately, I had that content to move over to the blog. Goodreads now just shows my rating.

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Haunting of Henry Davis by Kathryn Siebel

Henry is new to Barbara Anne's 5th grade class. He's super nerdy-looking and nobody wants to have anything to do with the new kid. He sits alone sketching when he's not working on a project with the kids at the table he and Barbara Anne share. Then, one day, Barbara Anne and Henry start sneaking out of the lunch room early and they slowly get to know each other. Henry's not so bad, really. But, there's one really strange thing about Henry: he's being haunted and the ghost is following him around everywhere.

Barbara Anne comes up with an idea. They need to find out a little about Henry's ghost so they can figure out how to get rid of him. Once they figure out his name is Edgar, they begin to uncover other clues. And, then the two classmates who share a table with them join in. Who was Edgar? How did he die? And, how does the scary old lady in the neighborhood know about him? Once they find the answers, maybe they can help Edgar move on.

Recommended but not a favorite - It took me a while before I became really engrossed in The Haunting of Henry Davis. That seems to be a common problem with the middle grade books I've read, this year. Is it me or the books? I can't say. Maybe a little of both. At any rate, the clues were dropped slowly enough to keep the story a little mysterious, although adults probably will be familiar enough with the events around Edgar's death to guess what happened to him, early on. I did, but that didn't bother me at all.

I liked the growing friendship between Barbara Anne and Henry, as well as the way the other two kids ended up helping out and becoming friends with them. And I enjoyed the story once it got cranked up. The ending is lovely. I did have a little trouble with the author occasionally mentioning a new person and then describing them in the following sentences. In fact, I got so confused when that happened the first time that I literally went back and started the book over again, thinking I'd missed something (not a big deal; I was still in the first or second chapter). Nope, it was just a stylistic thing, I guess. Other than that and a slow start, I thought The Haunting of Henry Davis was entertaining, if not a personal favorite.


©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James weaves together two stories. Idlewild Hall is a boarding school for girls who are unwanted or difficult. Established in 1919 and never maintained well, the uniforms and many of the textbooks have never been updated. In 1950, four girls attending the school become friends. Then, one of them disappears. In 2014, a reporter who has spent her time writing fluff pieces finds out that the long-closed and derelict school has been bought and is being restored. But, why? Surely it could never turn a profit. As Fiona seeks to uncover the reason for the purchase and a body is discovered on the property, the search for answers may lead the intrepid reporter into danger. How did the body found on Idlewild property end up where it has been found? What was the girl's story? Does her disappearance have any connection to the death, in 1994, of Fiona's sister?

By far one of the best mystery/suspense books I've read in months, I found The Broken Girls so compelling that I ditched my chores and spent an afternoon curled up with the book, unable to bear putting it down.

Highly recommended - Gripping, well-written, creepy, and satisfying. I was most surprised by the fact that The Broken Girls has a believable ghost (seriously, most ghost stories are just disappointing) as well as the realization that I had no preference between the historical and contemporary stories. Usually, in a historical/contemporary book with interwoven storylines, I'll find myself wishing the author had focused on one storyline or the other. Not so with The Broken Girls. I loved being at Idlewild Hall in 1950 and I was equally mesmerized by Fiona's story: the unfolding clues, her relationship and how it complicated her research, her family history.

I received a copy of The Broken Girls from Berkley Books in exchange for my unbiased review and wow, am I glad I said yes to this title! I've read some really disappointing attempts at suspense, this year. The Broken Girls is exceptional and I'll be be watching for future releases by Simone St. James.


©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Mini reviews - The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by J. Dicker, Parson's Green by F. Bagley, Goodnight June by S. Jio

None of the following books were sent to me by publishers and none left a lasting impression, so I'm going to just give them quickie reviews.

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker is a chunkster at 656 pages and I do believe it could have easily been edited down to a much more reasonable length but I still found it engrossing enough to finish within just a couple days. 

Harry Quebert is a famous novelist whose protégé, Marcus, has himself become a bestselling novelist. The deadline for Marcus's second book is looming and Marcus hasn't written a word, so he goes to visit Harry, hoping for inspiration. While visiting, Marcus becomes involved in a murder investigation. Decades in the past young Nola, the love of Harry's life, disappeared and now her body has been found with evidence that incriminates Harry. Marcus believes Harry is innocent and sets out to solve the mystery.

I found the fact that both writers became fabulously wealthy very difficult to buy into and grew weary of Harry and Nola gushing about their love for each other. But I was captivated enough to ignore the book's flaws, whip through the reading and give it a 4-star rating, if for no other reason than the fact that I dislike mysteries, in general, so I figure if a mystery can hold my attention for over 600 pages, it ought to get an above-average rating. For the most part, the French author's understanding of Americans is pretty impressive, as well. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair is an award winner in the author's home country. Recommended, but you'll probably either love it or hate it.

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Parsons Green by Fiona Bagley was this month's selection for my F2F book group. Cricket McLean and her mother, Claudia, have always been able to see ghosts. Claudia is a travel writer and when she decides to spend a summer helping out in a friend's bookstore in Savannah, Georgia, she is not surprised to find that her rental house is haunted. But, at least the ghosts are friendly.

Cricket doesn't want to spend all her time in the bookstore, so she goes out in search of a job and finds a position working as a tour guide in a local mansion called Chartwell House. There, a baby was murdered, the baby's mother found guilty and hanged for her crime. But, was she truly guilty? As Cricket explores the house and its history, she is able to see scenes that lead her to believe that there are dark forces at work and she must solve the mystery to put at least one ghost to rest.

I thought Parsons Green was a pretty good story, apart from the fact that a few too many people believed in or saw ghosts. My biggest problem with it was the common self-published-book problem: Parsons Green is desperately in need of a professional editing job. Had the book been much longer, I probably wouldn't have made it all the way through the reading, but it's short and the story is compelling. Recommended with a warning that the sheer quantity of errors is exhausting.

Goodnight June is the first book I've read by Sarah Jio, although I've been hearing gushy praise of her books for several years.

June is a cut-throat New York banker whose job is to take over small businesses that are struggling and sell off their assets. June moved to New York from Seattle and has not returned home for several years. She has few friends, no romantic prospects, and she works long hours. June is so stressed that as Goodnight June opens, she's in the hospital to get her blood pressure under control.  She's only in her 30's.

When June finds out her Aunt Ruby has died and left June her beloved bookstore, June travels to Seattle intending to simply sell the store and rush back home. But, she meets a handsome restaurateur, finds a set of letters connecting the bookstore and her aunt to Margaret Wise Brown's book, Goodnight Moon, and decides she must stay to save the bookstore. The store is failing and June finds herself in the same position as the business owners whose livelihoods she has heartlessly ripped away.

Goodnight June is fluffy, sentimental, beachy reading. It was the right book for the moment -- I was swept away, at first, and I enjoyed the fact that it was a quick read. But, it's more than a little far-fetched and the many strands had a "way too convenient" aspect that pulled me out of the reading. In spite of the fact that I had trouble buying into the storyline, I finished Goodnight June, so I gave it an average rating. Recommended for a fluff break with a warning that the story is extremely far-fetched.

If you've already read Goodnight June, you might be interested to know that Margaret Wise Brown's New York writing cottage, Cobble Court, is under threat and may be torn down to make space for condominiums.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

Copyright 2009

G. P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin)

Historical Fiction/Paranormal

265 pages

In his right hand, Freddie carried directions scribbled on the back

of a napkin from Bibent, where he'd lunched on filet mignon and a blowsy Bordeaux. In his left-hand breast pocket, he carried a letter patterned with antiquity and dust. It was this--and the fact that, at last, he had the opportunity to return--that brought him back to Toulouse today. The mountains where he'd come across the document had some strong significance for him, and though he had never read the letter, it was precious to him.

p. 4 of The Winter Ghosts, ARC (some changes may have been made to the final print version)

What's it about?

The Winter Ghosts is the story of Freddie, a grown man whose psyche has been wounded by parents who ignored him and the shock of devastating loss. During WWI, Freddie had a bit of a breakdown after his brother's death and he's still trying to come to terms with his loss a dozen years later. You could say he retains only a tentative grip on his sanity; at first, it seems as if he may fall apart at any moment.

The year is 1928. Seeking to resolve his feelings, Freddie travels to the Pyrenees, where he gets caught in a blizzard, has a wreck and hears the whispering of a ghost. Injured, he makes his way to a remote town in the mountains . . . and has an even more bizarre ghost experience. But, a young woman named Fabrissa leads Freddie to an important discovery that will help him recover and lead an entire village to healing and redemption.

What did Bookfool think?

Bookfool thinks you should be patient with this one. The Winter Ghosts is one of those books that I nearly abandoned because of a slow beginning and a sad wimp of a protagonist. At least, Freddie is hard to love, at first. As his background is revealed, Freddie's breakdown makes more sense. After his accident and hike into the mountains, things start to become more interesting. The pace picks up, more characters are introduced and -- although none of them are treated with much depth -- there is a sense of place that comes to the fore when he reaches the village.

Is The Winter Ghosts creepy?

I would use the words "haunting" and "atmospheric" but I didn't find this particular ghost tale creepy or frightening. The plot is even a little transparent, once you get to a certain point. Did I mind? No, by that point I actually liked the fact that I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen and why.

I don't know that everyone would find it so predictable. I used to be absolutely terrible at figuring out plots before I reached endings, but it's really a rare author who totally catches me off-guard, these days. Sometimes I like being surprised at every turn and other times (as in the reading of Taichi Yamada's Strangers), I enjoy a slow unfolding of events because I'm swept up by craftsmanship and the overall storyline. In those cases, a certain amount of predictability doesn't hinder my enjoyment. And, I did like Kate Mosse's writing style, once I became accustomed to her pacing.

The bottom line:

Definitely recommended to the patient reader who doesn't mind a slower pace for the sake of lovely writing. Nearly two weeks after I finished reading The Winter Ghosts, it still hasn't let go of me. An atmospheric book with a well-grounded historical basis for its ghostly elements. The Winter Ghosts is slow-paced, but picks up speed, midway. The book is weakened a bit by a rather unlikable protagonist and his "redemption" is a bit rushed so I wouldn't call it the perfect novel, and yet The Winter Ghosts has somehow has managed to become a recent favorite.

If you're looking for action-packed suspense, The Winter Ghosts is not the book for you. I liked learning the history from whence the ghost story came (further description in the author's notes makes it doubly touching) and I think I'll actually enjoy the book more if I ever reread it. There was just something about it that grabbed me and held on, even after I closed the pages. I can't quite put a finger on it.

In other news:

Gah, I do not feel good, today. I'm tempted to pretend there's not a treadmill sitting beside me, but a very big part of me says, "No, no, no. You're fat." Wish that part of me would just freaking shut the heck up. I want a 24-hour nap, darn it.

What did Bookfool do, today?

First, Bookfool was rudely awakened very early by a friendly but persistent kitty who was not entirely clear about her demands. I think she was just in the mood to walk over me repeatedly and say, "Hello." Since I was up (bah, humbug to morning), I ran some errands and then walked around downtown Vicksburg to take flood pics. We went to the dock on Sunday. Here's the dock wall, where you can see marks describing various past flooding events, as taken on Sunday:

Oh, so hard to see! The bottom mark says "1961 Gage 44.9." Below that is a sign referring to the Corps of Engineers, the folks who are responsible for tracking such things. The Corps sign is visible under normal circumstances. As of 3 hours ago, the water level was at 48 feet and rising at a steady pace (between the second and third marks up from the water line). See the top mark? That's the level the water would have reached during the Great Flood of 1927 if the levees had held (62.2 feet) -- but they didn't, so the next mark down (56.2) is the actual flood level. The river is expected to crest above the actual 1927 flood level. I've heard 57, 58 and somewhere in between. Either way, it's a horror.

Around our area, this is huge. An entire school has been closed, Civil War artifacts are being moved to high ground, Red Cross shelters have been opened. You can't get to the dock, now. This is what I saw, today:

Those fellows to the right are Americorps volunteers. They were waiting for some equipment; they didn't sit around for long. You can see there's a little water outside the dock exit. The dock does occasionally get swamped but during the 2008 flood, they had few enough timbers that you could actually walk fairly close to the entrance and exit and look over timbers to see the flood water. Here's a wider view. I didn't reduce the size of this one, so hopefully you'll be able to click on it to enlarge. If you ever come to Vicksburg, the flood wall is worth seeing. It's taken many years to decorate, but all of the panels are now painted with murals, each of which portray some event in Vicksburg's history.

To the left of the red train station building and caboose, an additional barricade is being built. That means that gorgeous old railroad station (which is being turned into a museum) is going to be swamped. I imagine it'll survive but cost a pretty penny to clean up. In the background, you can also get a glimpse of the trees that are already partly under water. You can usually see the sandy opposite shore. I think, actually, this isn't really even the Mississippi River but the Yazoo Diversion Canal. Oh, wow. I'm going to have to run to the overlook to snap some bridge pictures. I'd forgotten about that -- must get pics of the actual Mississippi. It's fascinating watching the river rise, but horrifying to realize how many people this flood has already hit and will impact in the coming weeks.

Anyway, enough for one day. Tomorrow, The Peach Keeper!! Saturday, the world! Or, maybe a nap. Nighty night!

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.