Just as fake medium Eleanor Wilde begins falling for Nicholas Hartford III and his endearing family, she’s summoned to a remote Scottish castle where an unusual assignment to locate a haunted trove of treasure threatens Eleanor’s budding romance, her livelihood . . . and her life! As Sussex’s resident witch and pseudo psychic, Eleanor has grown accustomed to somewhat strange requests for … to somewhat strange requests for supernatural aid. So when Nicholas‘s university pal, Sid Stewart, writes from the family’s remote castle in Scotland, begging for Ellie’s services as a medium, Ellie is only delighted to help.
Apparently, the recently deceased patriarch of Sid’s family, Glenn Stewart, died before divulging the whereabouts of an important cache of family heirlooms. The Stewart clan hopes a clairvoyant can contact him from beyond the grave. Of course, Ellie can’t actually commune with the dead. But faking it is the name of her game. She’s not worried, until . . .
Aboard the train for Oban, Ellie discovers that fellow medium Birdie White is also heading to the Outer Hebrides to assist the Stewarts. Birdie is a master in the art, serving as a spiritual consultant to royalty and even assisting Scotland Yard on occasion. Ellie might not trust the woman’s motivations, but Birdie’s skills are unquestionable.
But while Birdie is busy speaking with the dead, Ellie plans to talk to living suspects—namely, the other residents and employees of the spooky Stewart estate, who know a lot more than they’re letting on. Amid swirling rumors of cursed treasure, whispered tales of ghostly pirates, and a recent spate of preternatural murders, in order to catch the killer Ellie must confront the most terrifying possibility of all—her gift may be real . . .
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Eleanor Wilde returns to her ghost exorcising days in this third installment of the series. The characters are engaging and downright delightful and will draw you in from the start. Perfect for a winter’s afternoon by the fire.
When Eleanor Wilde is asked to help a friend of her boyfriend find a family fortune, she jumps at the chance to go to a Scottish island. Little does she know, another medium is also going to be helping find the treasure. Can Eleanor find out what’s really going on on the island before anyone else gets hurt?
I’m really enjoying this series. I like Eleanor as a character. She’s fun and I love the fact that she really does want to help all the families that hire her. I really like how there seems to be more and more supernatural stuff in each book. I had my suspicions about who the villain was in this book but I could not have been more wrong! I love when a mystery completely surprises me!
In the latest addition to the “An Eleanor Wilde Mystery” series, Curses Are for Cads; fake psychic Eleanor is being put to the test. Eleanor was supposed to be spending a holiday with Nicholas on a beach; instead, she is on her way to a castle in Scotland, alone. She is on a mission to find a hidden treasure but unexpectedly is joined by another psychic on the train ride. When her new companion predicts a death on the train, Eleanor is skeptical until she sees a vision of the death, and shortly after, a man dies. She knows that she is a fake, but maybe her new friend isn’t.
Eleanor is an evolving character who still has some growing to do, which is a wonderful thing. Other returning characters are in this book but do not play as prominent a role as they usually would. Which is something I didn’t care for. I enjoy the interaction between Eleanor and Nicholas’s family, and not having this somehow made the story less exciting. However, it appears as though the author is taking Eleanor from a fake psychic to a real one, and this is something I had hoped for from the beginning of the series. After all, she can talk to her dead sister; the step from fake to actual isn’t a giant leap.
For most of the book, readers aren’t sure that a murder occurred, and neither is Eleanor, but she investigates as if it were and concludes that her instincts are correct. Being a psychic has its good and bad points, and she realizes quickly that she may not be able to fake her way through this one; she needs real help from her dead sister but isn’t getting it. She needs answers, and soon before someone else, including her, becomes the next victim. The actual victim is mentioned throughout the story, but readers may not get a good sense of who he was. However, the motive is evident and as old as time.
Throughout Curses Are for Cads, there are clues and suspects that readers should pick up on from the start, but the evidence may not be as straightforward as it could be. Overall the story is interesting and keeps the reader’s interest, although it does slow down a bit here and there. I like the way Eleanor’s psychic abilities are changing and how she is growing. The ending was inspiring and could be a big surprise for some readers.
What happens when 2 mediums who may or not be real head to Scotland together to get rid of a curse? Nothing good is the answer. This book was so much fun to read. I’m enjoying this series more and more with every new book. The characters are likable and quirky, and the setting is fantastic. The story moves at a fast pace and can be read as a standalone. I will be on the lookout for the next book in the series. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I’m voluntarily providing an honest review.
Eleanor Wilde is settling into Sussex as the resident witch. She’s also beginning a relationship with Nicholas Hartford III and looking forward to a trip with him. However things change when Nick’s university friend, Sid Stewart asks for Eleanor’s help. Eleanor is used to strange requests so is only happy to help. The Stewart home is a castle on a remote island in Scotland . Sid and her brother are looking for a missing cache of heirlooms that hasn’t been seen in years and their father died before telling them just where he hid them. However, there’s more going on than meets the eye. In addition, Eleanor must deal with another medium who invited herself to the party.
I really enjoy this series and this book is no exception. It’s well-written with well-rounded characters, some of whom you’ll like and others you won’t. I was pulled into the story from the beginning and read it in one sitting. I’m looking forward to the next book and highly recommend both book and series which I suggest you read in order.
Curses Are for Cads
By: Tamara Berry
Evil Spirits
Exorcism
Curses
This is such a fun and funny book I enjoyed reading over an afternoon – cozies just lifts my spirits when I am stressed or feeling down. Something about the characters, the plot and the situations our characters are put up against are sometimes a true riot and laugh out loud moments. I loved this story and even though this was book three in the series, I easily backtracked and figured things out very quickly.
This Eleanor Wilde Mystery Series is about our main character Eleanor who is a fake psychic under the guise of “Eleanor’s Cleaning Service” in Sussex, a quaint English village. In this episode, Eleanor’s services is needed in a friend’s Scotland castle to uncover the Stewart family’s cursed gold. Well fake it til you make it, but an expert medium was also called to the castle. This was so hilarious and incredibly well written.
I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for their next cozy read.
Madame Eleanor (Ellie Wilde) is a fake. And a delightful one, at that. Here she is in her third mystery and is preparing to go on a snorkeling vacation with her very wealthy boyfriend, Nicholas. Ellie is a fake psychic and many call her a witch, a real one. That’s fine with her as her talent as a ‘psychic’ pays the bills and makes her customers happy. I see her as sort of a therapist – people want the spirits banished, she snoops around, figures out what is amiss and fixes it. Stress relieved and the clients continue their lives. Sometimes there’s a homicide or several to be investigated along the way. As a new way of life, Ellie is happy that she left The States and settled into life in Sussex. But about that snorkeling vacation? Not so much.
When Nicholas tells her that the vacation plans have changed, she is fine with that as the new plans involve a lost stash of heirlooms, a curse and a recently deceased father (might it have been murder?). As she says, “there’s a ghost somewhere in the Outer Hebrides that needs my attention” It turns out that the new plan is to travel to a remote castle on the private island of Airgead in the Outer Hebrides. The first hitch? Nicholas won’t be traveling with her and she won’t be flying. It’s a long train trip plus the fishing boat that will get her to the island. So much for his private jet. On the train she crosses paths with Birdie who is also a psychic and is going to the same island, same reason. That’s going to present a bit of a challenge for Ellie.
This was just the sort of escape I needed, full of humor, great characters and a well crafted mystery. The setting was properly spooky, too. Great for your Halloween TBR list. It works fine as a stand alone but be ready to get your hands on the previous two mysteries and binge read them. You’re in for a real treat.
My thanks to the publisher, Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
I’ve read the other books in this series before, so I was excited to see another one. Eleanor is such a great mix of a skeptic of the paranormal even though she can hear the voice of her dead sister. In this latest, she’s on her own with another psychic who Eleanor knows is faking it, but she can’t quite figure out how. They’re helping Eleanor’s boyfriend’s high school friend find gold her dead father hid, but the gold is attached to a curse. I had so much fun reading this, and I absolutely loved how it ended; it was so very appropriate. A light-hearted, cozy mystery sure to please anyone who likes the genre. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
situational-humor, verbal-humor, fraud, murder, psychics, cosy-mystery
The case of the dueling psychics? An allegedly real psychic (Birdie White), an admittedly scam psychic (Eleanor Wilde), a probable murder (or two) in a spooky Scottish castle, and a supposedly cursed family with a long history of swindling and pirates. And Gloriana’s Curse. It starts out slow to set up for the mischief to come, but then it speeds up rapidly like the Energizer Bunny. The mystery is well plotted and has enough twists and red herrings to keep one guessing, the tone is both atmospheric and mischievous, and the characters are both fascinating and fun. It turned out to be a really good read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!