I enjoyed the story quite a bit, but the title is deceiving.  I expected ghosts, maybe some moody southern gothic touches.  There was a ghost, but only one person ever saw her, and the sightings all took place "off screen."  One of my favorite topics in novels is home restoration.  I love to hear about wood trim and plaster, peeling off layers of updates to bring back the original charm of a home. There was quite a bit of restoration discussed in the book, I liked the descriptions of the rooms and their purposes.  Throw in a few history lessons, and I'm hooked!

The main characters were charming, if a bit underdeveloped.  There were some unexpected twists that I increased my interest, and everyone loves a good love story!  All in all, very readable and entertaining.

I was fascinated by Henry Hayden.  He was a bad man who committed some pretty heinous crimes. His conscience bothered him, but not quite enough.  His was aware that there was something fundamentally wrong with him, but he was okay with it.  Henry seemed to be pulled by a tide, allowing himself to be drawn into situations he knew would not end well.  And when they didn't end well, you could almost see him shrugging his shoulders, ducking his head, and plowing forward anyway.

Henry was able to make people love him and fear him.  There was something addictive about him. You knew you should run away, You knew you shouldn't get involved.  You couldn't help yourself. It's all your own fault for putting yourself in the way, for not understanding that once you became an obstacle, you would be removed.  I really liked the fact that we never found out where Henry was or what he was doing during those "missing" years of his life.  You can guess, perhaps he was digging for his mother, but it was never truly explained.  Tying everything up in a neat bow at the end would have ruined the feel of the story.  This book has been added to my must read list!

I will preface this by saying I have never read of Kate Rhodes' other books.  Okay, that being said... I loved this story!  I will need to hunt down the books that introduced these characters first and read them, even it I will be out of order.  The mix of character development and plot was very well done. Even with the cast of characters who were out of the ordinary, to put it mildly, I never felt the descriptions were rushed or shallow.  The subject matter is disturbing, but the author handled it with dignity.  There was no introduction of gory details merely for shock factor.  It felt as though there was a reason for the introduction of characters and motivations.

I have read other reviews of this book, while trying to get my feeling straight.  I agree that this was beautifully written, well developed and different enough to be interesting.  I just never felt connected to the characters or the story.  I kept reading, wanting to know what happened next.  This is usually a good sign.  I don't waste my time finishing books that don't interest or move me.  Life is too short, and there are too many books out there to struggle with a story that has no meaning for me.

There were points when I really liked this book, there were points when I put it down and wasn't sure I'd ever get back to it.  I believe they call this being conflicted.  I would recommend this book to my friends who I know like a complicated story line with unusual characters.  This leaves out the vast majority of people I know who ask me for book ideas.  All in all, I think Aislinn Hunter is a gifted writer, with a fabulous imagination.

I love a good gothic mystery.  This novel did not disappoint.  It was lush and moody with villains and tortured souls.  The story was diverting, I found myself staying up too late to read without realizing what I was doing!

This novel was much more complex and stimulating than I anticipated.  I was expecting a quick and easy cozy mystery, but the plot was anything but straightforward.  I connected with the main character, Samantha, in many ways.  Being a woman of a certain age in a professional position with some power, many of her insights and experiences resonated and rang true for me.
I found myself a little lost at times trying to figure out which characters were important to the central story line, which ones were extra, and which ones might be important later on.  Trimming a little fat would have helped by keep track a little better.  When all was said and done, I really enjoyed this book, I'd read another if the adventure continues!