Helpful Score: 4
No, I don't believe in ghosts but I do believe in strong human connections, sensitivity, and intuition. The author does a phenomenal job of building a ghost story that will linger in the reader's mind. Maddy Clare is an unusual ghost whose actions affect those around her. Due to her experiences in life, including being buried alive, she cannot rest. A researching team has been recruited to uncover the mystery surrounding Maddy's life and death and, hopefully, put a halt to her haunting. It was hard to put this one aside as the suspense builds with each page. While I did determine what had happened before the author revealed it, I eagerly continued. It's an awesome read and but for a historical error would have given it five stars. Can't recommend it enough.
SUSAN S. (susieqmillsacoustics) -
Helpful Score: 4
This was my first St. James book, but it most certainly will not be my last. Very well done! A spooky ghost story with interesting characters and an intelligent, gripping story line. I enjoyed it all the way through!
Helpful Score: 2
An intelligent and satisfying "old fashioned" (i.e. no gore or unpleasant images presented) ghost story, with a plucky heroine, unconventional hero(oes), and no trick ending. Nicely set in England soon after W.W.I when many people were haunted by that as well. [My favorite ghost story is "The Uninvited" by Dorothy Macardle and while this book won't knock that one off the top of my list, it is up there in the top ten (joining "The Haunting of Hill House," "The Elementals," "Hell House" and others. Only a slight quibble: the actresses the author mentions were probably not well known to ordinary English citizens at the time the story takes place. One had not made any movies outside her native Sweden until 2 or 3 years later and the other had only made a few shorts, been an extra and had fifth or sixth billed roles in undistinguished Hollywood productions. All this is easy to determine with the Internet.)]
I thought this was a pretty good ghost story that kept my attention throughout. The narrator and protagonist of the novel is Sarah Piper, a lonely young woman who works for a temporary agency to work periodically doing various clerical work. Then she is sent on an interview to assist a ghost hunter, Alistair Gellis, who is obsessed by ghosts after seeing one early in life. The novel takes place in the early 1920s, not long after WWI. Gellis was wounded in the war and still has vivid flashbacks to it. His normal assistant, Matthew Ryder, was also in the war and has much deeper scars from it. Sarah is hired by Alistair because Matthew is temporarily occupied elsewhere and because the ghost he is going to investigate, Maddy Clare, hated men in life and will not speak to them in death. Soon Sarah is caught up in the wrath of Maddy who's very angry and seems to possess unholy powers. So why is Maddy so angry, especially towards men? Sarah soon discovers the reasons and what happened to Maddy and along the way, she also falls in love with Matthew. But will he reciprocate her feelings?
As I said, this was a good ghost story. Although it was pretty straight forward and the mystery of Maddie was not hard to solve, it still provided some good chills. I'm not real keen on romance novels and this one was partly that but overall, I would still mildly recommend it.
As I said, this was a good ghost story. Although it was pretty straight forward and the mystery of Maddie was not hard to solve, it still provided some good chills. I'm not real keen on romance novels and this one was partly that but overall, I would still mildly recommend it.
Didn't like this as much as some of the others by Simone St. James.
This takes place in 1920's England and WWI is still on many minds. This took time for me to become fully invested in the story. I thought the start was slow and dry. I did like the writing and first person narrative.
Sarah is lonely and gets her jobs (short term) from a temp agency. This agency hooks her up with Alistair, a ghost hunter. It seems he needs a woman for his next job since Mrs. Clare will not allow a man into her barn. Alistair is lucky that he inherited money and is able to ghost hunt for his job/career. Matthew is his assistant. They meet and became friends in the army and have continued their friendship post war. It seems Mrs. Clare has a haunted barn. She took in and helped a young girl when she appeared at her door in desperate need of help. Maddy hated men and never left the house. She committed suicide several years after the Clares took her in.
Maddy's backstory is horrible, tragic (and you can guess what happened to her). I did like the reveal and how this was resolved. There is justice in the end. I was disappointed in the romance between Sarah and Matthew. Sarah told Matthew she loved him and he had no reply to that other than that's great. I didn't quite "get" the romance and thought this was the weakest part of the book.
Sarah is lonely and gets her jobs (short term) from a temp agency. This agency hooks her up with Alistair, a ghost hunter. It seems he needs a woman for his next job since Mrs. Clare will not allow a man into her barn. Alistair is lucky that he inherited money and is able to ghost hunt for his job/career. Matthew is his assistant. They meet and became friends in the army and have continued their friendship post war. It seems Mrs. Clare has a haunted barn. She took in and helped a young girl when she appeared at her door in desperate need of help. Maddy hated men and never left the house. She committed suicide several years after the Clares took her in.
Maddy's backstory is horrible, tragic (and you can guess what happened to her). I did like the reveal and how this was resolved. There is justice in the end. I was disappointed in the romance between Sarah and Matthew. Sarah told Matthew she loved him and he had no reply to that other than that's great. I didn't quite "get" the romance and thought this was the weakest part of the book.
I loved this book it kept me on the edge of my seat. Maddy was a very strong and brave character the romance was just ok it could have been better. The men were very self absorbed and had no thought to her or her safety. But that being said it was a really good book I enjoyed it.
This is now my least fav in Simone St. James' books. Too much sexual content for me. It actually surprised me. I wasn't expecting it. Once the sex started again, I stopped reading a little more than half way through. Not what Im looking for in a book. As for the ghostly activity, nothing remarkable about the haunting. A bit over the top in places. I just didn't like it but others might.
Sarah Piper takes a temp job as an assistant to rich ghost hunter Alistair Gellis. He needs her because the ghost of Maddy Clare hates men. Sarahs afraid, but shes more afraid of returning to her lonely, wretched London flat. This is a crackling good ghost story, with unique twists and turns. Alistair and his male assistant, Matthew Ryder, are survivors of World War I and both have emotional baggage. Maddys ghost is full of rage, and Sarah will need all her courage to solve the puzzle and prevent Maddy from destroying them all.
Grabs you and holds you til the end.
