As an adult, Ellery changes her name, moves to Massachusetts, and joins a police force in a small town. Keeping her life as private as possible shields her from an onslaught of journalists who might want to revisit her kidnapping and rescue.
But as birthday cards begin showing up with cryptic messages, Ellery becomes increasingly uneasy. And near the time of each birthday card, a local disappearance occurs. Unable to get the local police chief interested without giving herself away, Ellery contacts the FBI agent who rescued her with her concerns that a new disappearance will be occurring soon.
I suspected the villain, and I didn't find him especially believable, but an interesting first novel from Joanna Schaffhausen.
The cover of this one bothers me. Does anyone else think the cover is a little weird--under the word season?
ARC in the mail.
Crime/ Mystery. 2017. 274 pages.
From description: Sarah Bennett has two secrets: she sees ghosts, and she is in love with a spy.
When Sarah takes a job with occult expert Dr Matthew Geisler, he promises to help her understand the sorrowful spirit that seems to have attached itself to her.
I can't resist a ghost story and this one had several interesting features as the setting is during WWII at a home converted into a psychiatric hospital. However, a lot of the more interesting possibilities were overlooked and the characters felt one-dimensional. There was too much going on: ghostly presence, espionage angle, psychiatric facility and mental illness, family dysfunction, a runaway bride, gas-lighting, romance, etc., etc.
If only one or two of these aspects had received more attention and some of the others eliminated, I would have enjoyed it more. Another problem for me is that this is the second book in the series, and there are many references to events in the first book which I have not read. I felt really left out of background material.
NetGalley
Paranormal/Mystery. 2016; April 2019. Print length: 252 pages.
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Just for fun: Mr. Bean in the Art Gallery
Too bad about The House of Secrets! The premise sounded interesting. A few years ago I read a bunch of the Kinsey Millhone series back to back and really noticed all the introductory material in each book added to bring the reader up to speed with previous books and recurring characters, because of course it was all fresh in my mind!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Mr. Bean silliness. Such fun! :D
For me, The House of Secrets had too much going on to concentrate on any one thing. And, of course, all of the events in the first book were unknown to me. There was an attempt to give some background, but I still felt there was too much missing.
DeleteRowan Atkinson is a nut and the paintings with his face cracked me up. :)
P.S. the cover to The Vanishing Season seems OK to me. What am I missing?
ReplyDeleteI just think the bottom looks funny, kind of like the Michelin tire man. :)
DeleteI liked the complicated relationship between Ellery and the FBI agent in Vanishing Season. There's a second book out about them which I'm looking forward to reading. And I'm very sorry the ghost story one wasn't better!
ReplyDeleteI liked that complicated relationship, too, and that there was no romantic attraction between Ellery and Reed. I'm wondering about the next book. :p
DeleteI've got Vanishing Season on my Kindle to read and I have planned to get to it before long since there is a second book now (or soon will be). That cover - it kind of looks like she's pregnant or something - yes, a bit odd. And I can understand what you're saying about the ghost story - too many directions and themes.
ReplyDeleteThe second book came out in January, but I don't have a copy. I'm curious about how Ellery and Reed will work together in the second book. And yes, The House of Secrets pulled in too many different directions for me.
DeleteI read Vanishing Season from NG whenever it was, awhile back. I liked it fine, nothing to rave over but good. I might read the second if I get it for free from NG or library.
ReplyDeleteI thought the cover in general didn't suit the plot (is she in a steamy shower stall fully dressed?), but what I think is weird is that she has major "thigh gap"- which according to my younger daughter is desirable. I wouldn't know, lol, I haven't seen mine in quite a while.
The House of Secrets sounds like a lot of fun!
I wouldn't consider Vanishing Season a rave, either. I'd read the second book if it were free on NG, but it isn't a priority. The House of Secrets wasn't really fun; it had the possibility to be, but wasn't my kind of book. Most folks seemed to have loved it, though.
DeleteYes, I find something weird about the cover of Vanishing Season too, around that same area. At first I thought it was a nose, but then realized it couldn't be ... The House of Secrets sounded so promising. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteOk, so I'm not alone in finding the cover a little perplexing. :) Yep, I'd looked forward to The House of Secrets, but it didn't work for me.
DeleteThe House of Secrets sounds like it has an interesting premise but have some scattered aspects. I'm not sure about this one but I'll have to check out the first book and see how it is.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like it enough to seek out the first book, but I realize it would have made things a little clearer to have read it. :(
DeleteI really did enjoy The Vanishing Season, and am curious how the MCs’ character develops after this one — the other cover for this is a door filled with nails hammered in, which I thought was a heaps better choice than this.
ReplyDeleteWhile I didn't like the gory parts of the original killer, I did like the relationship between Ellery and Reed. And yes, a door with nails hammered in would be a better choice for a cover!
DeleteLike Literary Feline, I thought it was a nose at first! Odd cover for sure. I have this one on my Kindle so I hadn't noticed the cover. I really like the sound of the ghost story but too bad you felt a bit left out as you hadn't read the first in the series. That Mr. Bean - haha...
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the "nose" at first, but now it is all I can see!
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