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tinksdust's review against another edition
4.0
This book started off slow. And I figured out the some of the twists and turns before they were revealed. But I still enjoyed the book.
Jo Manders is neither a wife or a widow after her husband's plane goes down in WWI. He hasn't been found dead or alive. With nothing to do, Jo works as an assistant for her husband's aunt, Dottie Forsyth.
The two have been tracking but return to the family homestead before Dottie's son Martin is set to return home. The Forsyth family has secrets and some in town think are cursed. Their daughter, Frances, died taking her own life years ago. The ghost of a man who is said to have died in the woods near the home is said to haunt the area.
As Jo learns more about the family she married into she becomes determined to find out what really happened to Frances.
While I've not read much set in this time period, I felt like I was watching the plot take place right along with the main character. This is the second book I've read by this author and am interested in reading more.
Jo Manders is neither a wife or a widow after her husband's plane goes down in WWI. He hasn't been found dead or alive. With nothing to do, Jo works as an assistant for her husband's aunt, Dottie Forsyth.
The two have been tracking but return to the family homestead before Dottie's son Martin is set to return home. The Forsyth family has secrets and some in town think are cursed. Their daughter, Frances, died taking her own life years ago. The ghost of a man who is said to have died in the woods near the home is said to haunt the area.
As Jo learns more about the family she married into she becomes determined to find out what really happened to Frances.
While I've not read much set in this time period, I felt like I was watching the plot take place right along with the main character. This is the second book I've read by this author and am interested in reading more.
klilja's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
primalmusic's review against another edition
2.0
In this book's defense, I don't think I was its target audience. However, I received an advance review copy from Penguin's First to Read program, so I decided to give it a shot because the blurb referred to the book as "scary" and "atmospheric." I thought that the plot was slow to establish itself from all of the setting and backstory building up, and the paranormal aspect didn't impress me much. The writing is fine, but alas, it's just not to my tastes.
kyaiser27's review against another edition
3.0
I figured out the ending and the plot twists before they happened so not much suspense for me. I'm not really into "scary" kind of stuff so it was nice to find out that it was all positive/helpful energy. Overall it was an easy read and interesting story - a good book for summer.
britt_brooke's review against another edition
3.0
No one writes a believable ghost story like Simone St James. I love that my book club chose this lesser known of her books (thanks, Becky!) We followed likable protagonist Jo Manders as she was torn between two main narratives that, honestly, felt kind of thrown together. For most of the story, I struggled with how the ghost story and war story connected. My least fave St James, but still worthwhile.
superwendy's review against another edition
4.0
I tore through all of St. James' backlist in 2016 and this was the last one I got to - so it kind of suffered a bit in comparison to my personal favorites (Silence for the Dead and The Other Side of Midnight). That said, it's not like this was horrible - hello, I'm giving it 4 stars. Mostly I felt like the mystery elements were telegraphed a bit early and I saw those coming a mile away. But! The atmosphere here is fantastic (as it is in all of St. James' books) and I thought the way the author wrote the relationship between the heroine and her employer/aunt-in-law was really fantastic. So while not a favorite of mine, personally, it's not like I went wrong here. In fact I wish I could go back and rediscover St. James all over again for the very first time.