Aine Cahill has escaped her troubled past through her studies. A graduate student researching Henry David Thoreau, Aine has a secret. One that may bring her fame and a guaranteed job.The notoriously reclusive Thoreau had a companion at his Walden Pond retreat. Aine’s aunt Bonnie, a woman ahead of her time in many regards, lived with Thoreau in his small cabin—and Aine has her aunt’s diary to … Aine has her aunt’s diary to prove it.
Aine’s dissertation will blow a hole in the legend of Thoreau, but as Aine wanders the wooded Massachusetts land near Walden, she discovers a much darker, and far more dangerous secret. Someone is following her. A young girl who disappears without leaving a trace. Who is this child and what does she want?
The Cahill family, with a long and bloody past of piracy and whaling, has left Aine a legacy. One she doesn’t want. When tragedy strikes the town and Aine becomes the prime suspect, she must discover the truth of her “gift,” the young girl, and the diary. Is any of it real, or is Aine losing her mind?
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Aine Cahill is writing her doctoral thesis in, of all places, Walden Woods. She has come to this literary destination to prove her theory that a distant aunt was in actuality Thoreau’s one true love. And Aine has her aunt’s diary to prove it.
This brilliant student is staying in an isolated cabin in the Woods to soak up the atmosphere and to be near to resources she needs as proof of her thesis. But she is bedeviled by a mysterious young girl who floats in and out of her solitary life, causing confusion and chaos and doubts.
The premise of the story is intriguing, proving Thoreau was not alone in his search for solitude. Kind of an oxymoron, eh? But more fun in the bewitching imp gamboling around the Woods and Aine’s life. There’s a bit of romance, but it’s the eerie atmosphere and our own questioning of the narrator’s sanity that is even more interesting. I know you’ll enjoy this darker side of Carolyn Haines!
This twisty paranormal story begins with the history of the old evil Cahill curse of darkness and bloodlust that Aine Cahill is determine to break it once and for all. Aine came to Walden Pond in Massachusetts to finish her doctoral dissertation on Thoreau’s writing. He may have had a possible relationship with Bonnie Cahill during his time at Walden Pond. She has Bonnie’s journal that details her daily life and feelings for Thoreau that Aine wants to prove in her dissertation. During this time, she learned about a mysterious disappearance of a nine year old girl in the woods near Aine’s cabin along with strange encounters and incidences that seem to follow her through her adventure at Walden. What creepy secrets lurks in the woods near Thoreau’s cabin that could put Aine’s life in jeopardy?
I love old fashioned suspenseful storytelling without the gore and graphic death scenes that is prevalent in today’s horror stories. Ms. Haines is a masterful storyteller and writer that is hard to dispute in this reader’s opinion. I do think that she had some truly gifted storytellers in her family who knew how to spin a scary yarn and they taught her well. She created a great paranormal horror tale that is full of verve and tons of suspense. The main character of this story, Aine is portrayed as a private person who does not encourage social interactions and extremely intuitive that leads her down a twisty path of lies and deceit that has stood the test of time.
This is the first paranormal horror book that I have read from Ms. Haines. Somehow, I missed this story along with another paranormal horror story of The Darkling until I corrected this oversight after I found out about these reissued books.. The book began with a very slow build of Aine’s possession that is uber creepy that has all the elements of confusion, suspense, paranormal abilities, and some serious paranormal mind games. I must say this a gripping page turner to the heart stopping end.
The only drawback of this book is the slow pace at the beginning of the book that took some time to read through carefully before the action took off towards the middle of the book. The male and female characters do have some interesting interactions with each other throughout the story that is a bit unconventional. There is some contextual profanity that was a bit much for one scene in my opinion, other than that this is a fabulous horror story to read on a dark and stormy night, if you dare.
I was given an ARC for a honest book review.