The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White - Book Review

Nov 302011

The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White
Published by NAL Trade, an imprint of Penguin

This is the third book in the Tradd Street series. I previously reviewed the first two books, The House on Tradd Street and The Girl on Legare Street.

As Melanie continues renovations on her historic Tradd Street house, she finds herself confronted with yet another disturbing being. This time, though, the creature is not a ghost, but the thirteen-year-old daughter that Jack never knew he had. Newly motherless, Jack’s daughter Nola is going through a difficult time - one that is not helped when the dollhouse her grandmother buys her turns out to be haunted by malevolent spirits. Now Melanie and Jack have a new mystery to solve - if they can keep from either killing or jumping one another.

It has been two years since I read the first two books in this series, but I have fond enough memories of them that I jumped at the chance to review this book when it was offered to me. Looking back at my reviews, those memories don’t’ seem to have been distorted, I liked The House on Tradd Street fairly well, and really enjoyed The Girl on Legare Street. The Strangers on Montagu Street, however, is a huge disappointment.

I am no longer amused with the flirty will-they-won’t-they relationship between Jack and Melanie, at this point Melanie seems like more of an emotionally stunted thirteen-year-old than Nola does. I’m also sort of sick of the fakey-fake “I pretty much only eat donuts, but I’m so skinny!” characters, of which Melanie is a prime example. This sort of description adds nothing to the actual development of the character, and it is just eye-roll-inducing.

Perhaps if the ghost plot line had been novel or surprising in some way, The Strangers on Montagu Street might have been saved. Alas, the secret being hidden is obvious from half the book away, and Melanie (and Nola)’s experiences with the ghosts have much less emotional impact than in the other books. Although there was a ghost terrorizing Nola, Melanie seems too distracted to do much more than mention it as an aside, which does not help the reader buy into the fear and tension.

I think the last straw, though, is that it actually ended with a “to be continued.” This is obviously a series, and the ending very obviously leaves loose threads, there is no need to spell out the cliffhanger so bluntly. It smacked of emotional manipulation, and made me loathe to go any farther in the series.

If you want to read Karen White, pick up one of her standalone novels, or stop with the Tradd Street series after The Girl on Legare Street, you won’t miss much.

Buy this book from:
Powells | Indiebound*

Source: Author’s publicist.

* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.

The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor - Audiobook Review

May 272011

The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor, narrated by John Telfer
Published in audio by AudioGo

Synopsis:

For reasons that will quickly become apparent in the next section, I am going to use the publisher’s description for this one:

1786, Jerusalem College, Cambridge: they say Jerusalem is haunted by Mrs. Whichcote’s ghost. Frank Oldershaw claims he saw her in the garden, where she drowned. Now he’s under the care of a physician. Desperate to salvage her son’s reputation and restore him to health, Lady Anne Oldershaw employs John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts, an attack on the existence of ghostly phenomena. But his powers of reason have other challenges. Dreams of his dead wife and Elinor, the Master’s wife, haunt him. At the heart of it all is the mystery of what happened to Sylvia Whichcote in the claustrophobic confines of Jerusalem.

Thoughts on the story:

I had an incredibly difficult time following this story, unfortunately. There are an awful lot of threads, which do all eventually come together quite nicely, but I happened to listen to this during a time when I was sick for the better part of six weeks, foggy-brained and unable to concentrate, also unable to listen consistently. It seemed to be a very well put together story, certainly well-written, but it was more complex than my more addled brain could handle.

Thoughts on the audio production:

John Telfer was a fantastic choice to narrate The Anatomy of Ghosts. Even when my brain was fuzzy on the actual intricacies of the plot, it was quite happily enjoying Telfer’s wonderful narration. Audibly distinguishing between a large group of upper-class British men seems a difficult task, but one Telfer performed admirably. With another narrator I would have been even more totally lost than I was, but Telfer gave me a hint of what I was supposed to be following and kept me happy with his gorgeous voice even when I had no idea what was going on.

Overall:

Everyone else seemed to love this book and Telfer’s narration is fabulous, so don’t let my foggy-brained failure dissuade you, but give it a try in either print or audio. When you do, though, make sure you are able to give it adequate time and attention.

Buy this book from:
Powells: Audio/Print*
Indiebound: Print*
Audible

Source: Publisher.
* These links are all affiliate links. If you buy your book here I’ll make a very small amount of money that goes towards hosting, giveaways, etc.