The Guests on South Battery. Karen White. Penguin Publishing Group. January
2017. 352 pp. ISBN #: 9780451475237.
Melanie
Trenholm is returning to work after being home following the birth of her
twins. She’s a successful real estate seller
and her husband, Jack, is a successful author.
They live in an old house in Charleston, South Carolina; in fact most of
the homes in their area are historical, “old” homes. Melanie has a gift that she can see the dead
and for some reason while she was pregnant she lost that ability. But now it’s back full steam ahead, beginning
with someone trying to communicate with her by telephone even though there’s no
voice on the other end when she answers the phone. Now some people who have helped her fix up
parts of her home in need of desperate changes find that underneath her back
yard are questionable artifacts. It
seems her house is starting to resemble the proverbial “money pit” with
constant surprises.
Returning
to work, Melanie meets Jayne, who wants to sell a house she inherited and buy a
new home that is ultra-modern. She also
finds out that Jayne is looking for a job as a nanny and she’s a perfect match
for Melanie as they’re both rather anal about schedules and ways to take care
of children. Of course, there has to be
a problem and it’s that disastrous things happen whenever Jayne is around. When Melanie visits the house Jayne wants to
sell, mysterious events start happening like a talking doll, ringing bells in a
home with no electricity, objects being thrown, etc.
The
story continues with the mystery obviously being who had lived there beside the
woman who left the house to Jayne and what were the turbulent relationships
that caused this house to be haunted. Of
course, the reader knows the mystery will be solved, but that doesn’t stop the
constant thrills, shocks and threats that continue non-stop throughout the
whole story.
There’s
another sub-plot about an author who stole a plot from one of Jack’s
novels. Add to that Jack has had writer’s
block ever since Jayne was hired to nanny the couple’s children.
All
in all, this is a grand thriller and exciting read for those who love the
genre and others as well. The plot is somewhat stereotypical but told in a way that generates and
holds interest quite constantly. Nicely
crafted, Karen White!
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