A Canadian friend of mine recommended this book and then DA did an author interview and I knew it was destiny. I was meant to own this book.
My Canadian friend insisted the title should have been The Haunting BY Maddy Clare, because Maddy is the ghost. Connie's a librarian, so she should know. ;-)
The book description:
Sarah Piper's lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis-rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts- has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old maid Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Since Maddy hated men in life, it is Sarah's task to confront her in death. Soon Sarah is caught up in a deperate struggle. For Maddy's ghost is real, she's angry, and she has powers that defy all reason. Can Sarah and Alistair's assistant, the rough, unsettling Matthew Ryder, discover who Maddy was, where she came from, and what is driving her desire for vengeance-before she destroys them all?
This was a thoroughly satisfactory read. Three lonely people, each of them damaged in different ways by the War, come together and despite the horrors they encounter, manage to resurrect their hope for the future and lay demons of the past to rest. Not all of the demons but as Alistair said, each man's war is different and affects him differently from any other.
Maddy is a dangerous entity, strong and vengful and capable of murder. This is without a doubt a horrific story. Yet the horror is counterbalanced by the very realistic love story. The juxtaposition of Sarah falling in love and Maddy's madness is horrific in itself. Maddy herself is haunted by her past and has no control over her emotions.
This is the author's first published work but it would be difficult to tell. The writing is fluid, the historical bits were correct as far as I could tell and I liked her voice. Sarah was a pleasure to read, a woman who had no hesitation, despite the time period and her upbringing, in getting physical with the man she loved. Her common sense and lack of hysteria made her a strong heroine and I rooted for her all the way.
I can't wait for Ms St James' next book.
Amazon
B&N
Kobo
(Could not find the book on ARe)
I want to read this.
ReplyDeleteDon't yell but I don't see anything wrong with the title lol.
ReplyDeleteWithout reading hte blurb to see what it's about, for me, it implies that Maddy is the one being haunted.
After reading hte blurb you posted and your review, I guess this could still be true, although she's not being haunted by ghosts but something within her real life that caused her to suicide.
Still, I can see your point as well :)
As to wanting to read it, I don't know. Romance aside, I'm not sure I can go back to 'horror'. Once was a time I'd read nothing but Stephen King and the like but now, I don't know so much.
Then again, I might change my mind in a week lol. At least I'll have your review to help me make up my mind.
:)