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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

The Ghosts of Aquinnah review

Blurb:
A brilliant flash of light transcends through time.

Another freezes a cloaked figure within a frame of salty mist as waves crash against a rocky shore. Her harrowing expression shadows the beacon to a pinprick.

By the next blaze, she is gone. Only the lighthouse remains.

Hannah’s eyes blink in step with each heartbeat. Images of her deceased parents and Martha’s Vineyard explode like firecrackers inside her mind.

She shakes her head.

For weeks this eerie woman dressed in nineteenth century garb has been haunting my webcam, but tonight she stared into my soul.

Why? ...

Who is she? ...

Casting aside months of research on historic lighthouses, Hannah drives to the coast and boards a ferry.

What is the strange connection she has to this mysterious woman suspended in time?

Hannah finds out.

But, it’s not at all what she expects ...

Hannah unravels a century old murder.

My review:
Researching a story on Martha's Vineyard, Hannah spots a strangely dressed woman out alone at night one of the of the lighthouse webcams. She sees this apparition more than once and cannot resist the call. Hannah travels to discover who this mystery woman is and why she's reaching out to her. Yet she hasn't been back to Martha's Vineyard since her parents' deaths. What will Hannah find when she digs into the past? Something much more than an unsolved murder awaits her.

A marvelously written story with tremendous atmosphere and characterization. One of the author's strengths is setting. The little details that were wonderfully New England helped draw the reader into the story. Even with the story told from two different time periods, I never felt lost or thrown back and forth.

The plot was carried by an amazing cast of characters. I especially sympathized with Stella and Christopher. I loved their sweet banter. And even the few characters that I loathed, they had layers to them that made them more than flat villains.

Two stories from different times woven together with elegance and emotion.



Buy The Ghosts of Aquinnah at:

Author Bio: Julie Flanders is a novelist and freelance writer in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has a life-long love affair with the ocean and has spent more summer vacations than she can count on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. When not writing, Julie can be found reading, cheering on her favorite sports teams, and watching too much television. She is an animal lover and shares her home with her dog and cat.

Find Julie at:

15 comments:

  1. Great review! I loved Polar Night, so I have no doubt that I'll love this book from Julie as well. It sounds like such a fantastic story!

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  2. Hi Christine and Julie - that's a great review to have .. and I do so love the story line you've created, Julie ..

    Thanks Christine and Good luck Julie .. cheers Hilary

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  3. You're going to make Julie's day with that review!

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  4. I can't wait to read this book!

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  5. Alex is right, you did make my day. Thank you so much, Christine! I feel so special to be here two days in a row, yay! :)

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  6. Intriguing review, and the New England setting is a natural for a moody, brooding murder mystery!

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  7. Another great read from Julie. I loved Stella and Christopher's story too. I owe her a review and I owe you too. I'm not as eloquent as you. So they'll just basically say I liked it. lol

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  8. You're welcome, Julie! It's just that good of a book. I had to feature it twice. :) Hello to everyone! Hope you're having a great day.

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  9. What a great review and blurb! The 1-2 combination!

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  10. I am so looking forward to reading this one. Wonderful review!

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  11. Fab review! Julie's an amazing writer. Her book's gonna rock the charts!

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  12. Hi Christine,

    Wow, what a wonderful review. Fantastic that you bring further awareness of Julie's book.

    I note that it made Julie's day. That is very good! :)

    Gary

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  13. Your review was so illuminating and well-written, Christine. I really enjoyed reading it - I'm sure as much as you enjoyed reading Julie's book! :-)

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  14. Hi, Christine. Thanks for sharing your review of this book.

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