Some secrets are deadly, and ghost-blogger Jillian Winchester and her photographer boyfriend discover it’s true when they set out to investigate an Australian family who disappeared without a trace in the 1880s. An abandoned sheep station rumored to be haunted by the Kinsley family with ghosts instead of dead bodies or clues is one challenge. The other is the beautiful but deadly Outback. As … Jillian probes deeper into the mystery, one thing becomes clear: She might not make it out of this quest alive.
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This is the 4th book I’ve read written by Julie Howard; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
Julie Howard’s House of Seven Spirits is Spooktacular! Ms. Howard has a gift for creating fully-realized characters and an evocative setting (in this case the Outback in Australia) so that when the supernatural elements arrive there is is verisimilitude. We are swept up in the main character’s investigation of a century-old mystery of the disappearance of a pioneer family. And the dangers of the Outback adds to the tension. A great read!
(I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.)
Jillian is a character you don’t run across every day. She has guts and grit and is driven to help the “spirits” who ask for her help. In this case, it’s those of five children trapped inside their house years ago who need to know what happened to their parents. The history of medical care in 19th century rural Australia is most informative though not for the squeamish. As always, Julie Howard has created a detailed story, timely and tragic. Do Not Miss this one.
Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews
Julie Howard whisks you off to the Australian Outback in this first of her new series. I was delighted to be reunited with Jillian after her story in the Deerbourne Inn series (Spirited Quest). No need to have read that book first (though it’s a good one!). Each are their own, and Ms. Howard does a good job keeping them separate, but with any spin-off or series, it rewards the reader who’s read the others. I enjoyed her other book, and have read the first in her Crime series, so I knew this one would not let me down. Jillian is a believable, engaging character who I immediately like. Mason’s a pretty good boyfriend, too, with his own journey. The secondary characters are also well drawn out. The setting was superb. I felt like I could feel the burning heat of the sun, experience the arid desert and dirt kicked up, and taste the food (or need for water). Not a scary ghost story, but rather a mystery, it had the perfect blend of paranormal and mystery. I highly recommend it.
Certain secrets are impossible to keep.
This story was filled with rich details that immediately sucked me into the plot. Even though I’ve never been to Australia in real life, I sure felt like I had due to the care the author took to explain not only what the climate was like but what Australian culture is like, too. I had such a good time exploring this part of the world. It was pretty hard to stop reading once I started because of how immersive this experience was and how curious I was to see what long-buried secrets might be revealed next.
I would have liked to see more attention paid to Jillian’s character development. She could be pretty stubborn and impulsive at times. While I definitely appreciated the fact that her flaws were so realistic and meaningful to how the storyline played out, it would have been nice if she’d shown how she changed as a result of these experiences. I sure would have been impacted by them, so it felt a little odd to meet a character who reacted the way she did to it.
The romantic subplot was handled nicely. I got the impression that this book was or will be part of a series, but I couldn’t confirm that for sure either way. At any rate, their shared history was explained so well that I felt totally comfortable jumping in at this part of their journey. They were young and in love but still had so much left to figure out about life and romance. It was pretty interesting to see how Jillian and Mason attempted to sort some of it out while at the same time both of them were juggling heavy work responsibilities.
I enjoyed reading House of Seven Spirits and would recommend it to anyone who loves paranormal mysteries.
House of Seven Spirits – Interesting and intriguing storylines blended with good characters and good dialogues make this a read difficult to put down. While the Californian is a bit of an idiot not realizing she is out of her element in AU and refuses to listen to the Aussies’ warnings, this turns out to be good mystery about the disappearance of an Aussie family in the late 1800s. Nan is a feisty 94-year-old filled with secrets and she adds excitement and interest to this story. I found this book on Booksprout. 4*
Wild Crime #3 – This is my first read by this author and I like it. There are a few frustrating kinks in the interesting storylines making it difficult to stop reading. Unfortunately for me, I missed the other books of this series. The author did good job explaining the past without rewriting the first two books.
I like the characters. All are realistic and believable with good dialog. There is just enough internal dialog with Meredith to understand her thoughts and actions without being bored with constant redundancies.
While I figured out much of each mystery presented, there is plenty of intrigue to stay immersed in the pages. I finished the book in one sitting. While I think this book would be better by reading the first two books, it does not matter. Oh, the romance is well done. There is no graphic sex or vulgar language.
I want more from this author, she has me hooked. I found this book on Booksprout. 5*