Dollycas's Thoughts
It has been a while since I have had an honest to goodness book induced hangover. The Book of Beloved is responsible for my latest. I started reading it after finishing another book and thought I will just read a couple of chapters and it was almost 3 a.m. when I put the book down after reading the whole thing.
Main character Raissa James travels to Caoin House, her uncle's estate, which has been said to be haunted. There have been a few mysterious deaths there over the years. She is not there long when she sees her first ghost, a Confederate soldier. Her sighting happens shortly after a man falls to his death at a party at the estate. It is ruled accidental, maybe a suicide, but Raissa thinks it was murder. Raissa uses her desire to become an author to dig deeper into the recent death and those from the past. She thinks the ghosts are key to finding out the truth.
The suicide element of this story should have been a trigger for me after my son's death and there was a lynching in part of the book as well, but after a couple of short pauses and skimming past a few lines I just kept going. Something just a few months ago that would have made me drop the book and stop reading in an instant, but I am starting to heal more every day and the story had me so enthralled that I just couldn't stop, I had to know how this story played out. (This may not always be the case but was with this story.) Seances also play into the mystery, trying to get answers, learning more about the people that haunt Caoin House, a way to communicate with those who have passed on. This is something that has really piqued my interest since my son's death. I truly wish I could communicate with him, maybe someday that wish will come true. So until now I have not been able to read a story with these topics, this one brought them all together in a way my mind and soul could handle.
The reason I was able to read this story is because Carolyn Haines has written it with the hand of a master. She draws the reader in almost timidly. A niece visiting her uncle at an old estate after losing her husband in World War I, then a man falls to his death and the suspense builds, then ghosts begin to appear and secrets starts to be revealed, the suspense builds a little more and things start to get scary. I should have stopped reading then but knew there was no way I was going to sleep then so I kept on reading. Then Raissa makes a startling discovery and I was reading at lightning speed. I can't say more because I don't want to ruin the story for anyone. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep even after I finished the book. I would advise you not to read before bedtime.
I will say I really like Raissa. She is an intelligent and independent woman that I can see being very involved in the causes of the time period, the 1920's, like woman getting the right to vote. I also see her becoming a very successful author. I am interested to see where the author takes this character in the future.
I rarely give a Paradise Rating to the first book in a series because usually the plot takes a lesser role as the author needs introduce us to all the characters and the setting and time period. In this case Carolyn Haines does all that and gives us a fantastic mystery too.
It has been a while since I have had an honest to goodness book induced hangover. The Book of Beloved is responsible for my latest. I started reading it after finishing another book and thought I will just read a couple of chapters and it was almost 3 a.m. when I put the book down after reading the whole thing.
Main character Raissa James travels to Caoin House, her uncle's estate, which has been said to be haunted. There have been a few mysterious deaths there over the years. She is not there long when she sees her first ghost, a Confederate soldier. Her sighting happens shortly after a man falls to his death at a party at the estate. It is ruled accidental, maybe a suicide, but Raissa thinks it was murder. Raissa uses her desire to become an author to dig deeper into the recent death and those from the past. She thinks the ghosts are key to finding out the truth.
The suicide element of this story should have been a trigger for me after my son's death and there was a lynching in part of the book as well, but after a couple of short pauses and skimming past a few lines I just kept going. Something just a few months ago that would have made me drop the book and stop reading in an instant, but I am starting to heal more every day and the story had me so enthralled that I just couldn't stop, I had to know how this story played out. (This may not always be the case but was with this story.) Seances also play into the mystery, trying to get answers, learning more about the people that haunt Caoin House, a way to communicate with those who have passed on. This is something that has really piqued my interest since my son's death. I truly wish I could communicate with him, maybe someday that wish will come true. So until now I have not been able to read a story with these topics, this one brought them all together in a way my mind and soul could handle.
The reason I was able to read this story is because Carolyn Haines has written it with the hand of a master. She draws the reader in almost timidly. A niece visiting her uncle at an old estate after losing her husband in World War I, then a man falls to his death and the suspense builds, then ghosts begin to appear and secrets starts to be revealed, the suspense builds a little more and things start to get scary. I should have stopped reading then but knew there was no way I was going to sleep then so I kept on reading. Then Raissa makes a startling discovery and I was reading at lightning speed. I can't say more because I don't want to ruin the story for anyone. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep even after I finished the book. I would advise you not to read before bedtime.
I will say I really like Raissa. She is an intelligent and independent woman that I can see being very involved in the causes of the time period, the 1920's, like woman getting the right to vote. I also see her becoming a very successful author. I am interested to see where the author takes this character in the future.
I rarely give a Paradise Rating to the first book in a series because usually the plot takes a lesser role as the author needs introduce us to all the characters and the setting and time period. In this case Carolyn Haines does all that and gives us a fantastic mystery too.
The Book of Beloved by Carolyn Haines is the first Pluto's Snitch novel. Raissa James is twenty-four years old and a widow. Her husband died during World War I. Raissa is a teacher of high school literature in Savannah, Georgia. She is living a very quiet and dull life which does not go with Raissa's personality. Raissa's secret ambition is to be a writer. Then Raissa gets an invitation from her Uncle Brett Airlie to come to Mobile, Alabama and visit his home, Caoin House. It is a chance for her to get away and maybe move out of her mourning period. Caoin House is set to be haunted and Raissa is excited by the possibility (research for her writing). Her uncle is going to throw a party in her honor. On the train to Mobile, Raissa meets Robert Aultman. The two of them hit it off and want to continue their acquaintance. Unfortunately, their relationship is meant to be short when Robert falls to death from the roof of Caoin House during the treasure hunt at the party. Did Robert commit suicide or was he pushed? Then Raissa sees a spirit in a Confederate uniform. She is drawn to this spirit. What does he want with Raissa? It turns out that he is not the only spirit or ghost in Caoin House. There is a secret that someone does not want to come to light. Raissa sets out to get answers and free the spirits from the house. Join Raissa on her investigation in The Book of Beloved.
The Book of Beloved was just okay. I definitely felt it was too long. It needed some (okay, quite a bit) editing which would have enhanced the story. The pace was too slow which made it hard to read and enjoy. The pace does pick up in the last 15% of the book (thank goodness). I found the mystery to be extremely easy to solve. The culprit was obvious (there might as well have been a spotlight shining on this person), and I solved it very early in the book. There is one unique twist thrown in (fits with the title). There are graphic descriptions (no pictures though) of men's genitalia in the book (fair warning). Some of the historical references and word usage in the book are inaccurate for the time period and locale. An example is "gay" was an expression that meant someone was having a good time (she was having a gay old time at the party or the mood at the party was quite gay"). It did not refer to a person's sexual persuasion as it does today. The year was 1920 and the flapper lifestyle (and style of dress) did not become popular until later (starting in 1923). I give The Book of Beloved 3 out of 5 stars. The idea has potential, but I just did not enjoy the final product.
I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I also won a copy from Goodreads. The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.
The Book of Beloved was just okay. I definitely felt it was too long. It needed some (okay, quite a bit) editing which would have enhanced the story. The pace was too slow which made it hard to read and enjoy. The pace does pick up in the last 15% of the book (thank goodness). I found the mystery to be extremely easy to solve. The culprit was obvious (there might as well have been a spotlight shining on this person), and I solved it very early in the book. There is one unique twist thrown in (fits with the title). There are graphic descriptions (no pictures though) of men's genitalia in the book (fair warning). Some of the historical references and word usage in the book are inaccurate for the time period and locale. An example is "gay" was an expression that meant someone was having a good time (she was having a gay old time at the party or the mood at the party was quite gay"). It did not refer to a person's sexual persuasion as it does today. The year was 1920 and the flapper lifestyle (and style of dress) did not become popular until later (starting in 1923). I give The Book of Beloved 3 out of 5 stars. The idea has potential, but I just did not enjoy the final product.
I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I also won a copy from Goodreads. The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.
