Loretta Marion

Cassie Mitchell is 37 and in trouble. She lives in her family's historic Victorian house on Cape Cod...but the house comes with ghosts. Literally. Or bad memories. Or a curse. Whatever you want to call it. Three generations of her family have met with sadness and death because of a long-ago curse placed on the family by an unhappy lover...a lighterman named Robert Toomey. 80 years ago Toomey supposedly started a fire in the house, killing Cassie's great-grandmother Celeste. Percy Mitchell then jumped from the nearby cliffs clutching his dead wife's body, yelling that he was not yet finished with Toomey. Flash forward 80 years....the house is in need of repairs, but Cassie is out of money, in the midst of a divorce, and despondent. She loves Battersea Bluffs at Lavender Hill -- or just The Bluffs as modern residents of Whale Rock, MA call it now -- and doesn't want to lose the house, or the lovely vanilla and caramel scent reminiscent of baking cookies that means the ghosts are about. Mysteriously a young couple and their dog show up one day asking about the house and the legend of the curse. Cassie instantly befriends them. Vince and Ashley start helping renovate the carriage house. Cassie can rent it out and bring in some money to start paying off the debt her ex-husband racked up before leaving. She comes to love them as friends. Then one day Vince and Ashley head out on a biking excursion and never come back. The bikes and picnic basket are found abandoned. She files a missing person report but it seems law enforcement really doesn't want to solve the case. Where are her friends? And why did they just disappear?

I love a good haunted house story! And this one fit the bill perfectly! House of Ashes is a nice mix of mystery and supernatural. The house clearly has a mind, or spirit, of its own. And as Cassie works to find out what happened to her friends, she learns more about the background of the house, her family, and the curse. She also has to battle small town gossip. Nobody really wants to find the young couple. The residents of Whale Rock don't trust outsiders and seem glad they are gone. The local police are pulled off the case by the FBI. And the FBI doesn't seem all that interested in solving the matter.

I enjoyed Cassie as a main character. She is intelligent and learning to stand on her own and fight for what she wants in life. She's creative -- a very talented painter. Plus Cassie is loyal and determined. She isn't just going to let this go and forget about the two people who stayed with her for four months and helped her at her lowest.

On the front cover of House of Ashes it says "A Haunted Bluffs Mystery'' so I'm assuming this is the first book in a series. I will definitely be reading more books by this author -- and more books about Battersea Bluffs, if this does turn out to be a continuing series. This story was perfectly paced and nicely suspenseful. There were plenty of twisty developments to keep me guessing what the final outcome would be. I binge read this book in one sitting -- I couldn't put it down. I had to know how it ended!

Loretta Marion is the author of another unrelated suspense novel, The Fool's Truth. I've added it to my tbr stack! I like her writing style and will definitely be watching for more by this author.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**… (más)

I thought this was going to be...spookier. There's just not a ton of haunting for a story with ghosts in it. The romance aspect was weird and somehow there was an out-of-left-field love triangle for like...20 pages, then disappeared. There was the weirdness of her sister refusing to visit because....smells? She can't just stay somewhere else in town? I couldn't completely buy into one plot line because there were so many. Not all of them got resolved satisfactorily - at least for me.

Cassie comes off (to me) as really naive, sheltered, and a bit spacey. I just didn't really connect with her, but she grew on me over the course of the novel. The plot was full of strange disconnected threads that didn't really have much to do with each other and it almost seemed like I should be reading two different books - one about the missing couple and one about her family shenanigans.

However, it was an easy read and nothing made me angry. You know how sometimes you just get mad at a book for whatever deficiencies it has? That didn't happen here. I was interested in the novel for the entire time and bought the resolution to a couple of the plot threads. I liked the Police Chief, and sympathized with the FBI agent. Everyone gets mad at the people who are trained to find out what's happening, and poor guy is just doing his best.

I definitely don't regret reading this over a weekend, but I don't think I'll be reading any more books in this series. She hasn't written any more yet, but I have the feeling it's a series.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC in exchange for a review.… (más)

House of Ashes by Loretta Marion is an engrossing mystery with ghostly elements.

After her soon to be ex-husband squandered her inheritance, Cassandra "Cassie" Mitchell is struggling to pay the mortgage on her beloved family home, Battersea Bluffs. Having reluctantly received a loan from her older sister Zoe, Cassie is planning to renovate a building on the property into a rental cottage. When a young couple accidentally wanders onto her property, she ends up striking a deal with Vince and Ashley Jacobson. With Vince and Ashley doing the reno work in exchange for room and board, Cassie plans to concentrate on her stalled work as an artist. Over the course of several weeks, Cassie becomes close friends with Vince and Ashley and she grows concerned when the couple disappear during an outing. Family friend and local Police Chief Brooks Kincaid is slow to help search for them so Cassie also puts in a call to the FBI. With Special Agent Daniel Benjamin in charge of the case, will they uncover the truth about Jacob and Ashley's disappearance?

The narrative weaves back and forth between the events unfolding in present, the weeks leading up to Vince and Ashley's disappearance, and various time periods in Cassie's great-grandparents Percy and Celeste Mitchell's lives. Cassie's family history is a little dramatic since her great-grandparents' marriage lead to a curse from Celeste's spurned suitor Robert Toomey. In the years since Percy and Celeste's tragic deaths, Battersea Bluffs has gained a reputation as being haunted and Cassie's experiences with ghostly phenomena guide her as she searches for Vince and Ashley.

Cassie is a bit of a mess due to the break-up of her marriage and her financial difficulties. She is also fiercely determined to hold onto her beloved home. Her relationship with Zoe is fraught with tension especially since Zoe refuses to return Battersea Bluffs nor will she reveal what prompted her to move to the other side of the country. Cassie is aggravated by Zoe's frequent criticism of her choices but she does not let her sister's negativity sway her. And unlike Zoe, Cassie believes her great-grandparents are benevolent spirits who are doing nothing more than watching over and helping their family.

Cassie is quite frustrated by the lack of progress into Vince and Ashley's disappearance. She takes matters into her own hands and begins questioning locals who had interactions with the couple. Some of the information she learns is useful and she is convinced some of them know more than they are revealing. After the FBI scales back their involvement in the case, Cassie enlists Brooks' help in an unofficial capacity and they gradually make headway but will they learn what happened to Vince and Ashley?

House of Ashes is an intriguing mystery with a clever plot and enjoyable characters. Cassie is a wonderful yet flawed lead protagonist who is a wee bit stubborn but incredibly loyal to her family and friends. Percy and Celeste's ghostly presence is beautifully incorporated into the storyline and the glimpses into their lives is interesting. With some very unexpected twists and startling turns, Loretta Marion brings this engaging novel to a very satisfactory conclusion. A unique mystery that I truly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.… (más)

4.5 stars.

Storm of Secrets by Loretta Marion is a delightfully charming cozy mystery with a slight supernatural element. Although this newest release is the second installment in A Haunted Bluffs Mystery series, it can be read as a standalone. But I highly recommend book one, House of Ashes, as well.

With a storm bearing down on the coastal town of Whale Rock, Cassandra "Cassie" Mitchell and Daniel Benjamin decide to postpone their upcoming wedding. Just before the storm makes landfall, Cassie stumbles onto the body of Lee Chambers. After the storm, everyone's attention is focused on finding missing three year old Lucas Kleister. Police Chief Brooks Kincaid believes visitor Christopher Savage might be involved the young boy's disappearance but Cassie is not convinced.

Cassie is a bit of an amateur sleuth but both Daniel and Brooks would rather she not become involved in the cases. But between the information she uncovers on her own and details from her reporter friend, Laura Prince, her curiosity gets the best of her. Cassie genuinely likes Christopher and her instincts are telling her he is not involved. However, as the police investigation continues, the evidence is stacking up against him. But Cassie is a shrewd woman and she finally begins to piece together the disparate bits of information. Will she figure out what exactly happened to Lucas and who killed Wes?

Interspersed with events in the present are chapters that flash back to the past. Three siblings immigrate together from Italy at a young age following their parents' deaths. As their lives go in different directions, they eventually become estranged. How do these long ago events figure into what is occurring in Whale Rock?

The various story arcs are quite intriguing but the sheer number of characters is initially quite confusing. However, as the story continues, it becomes easier to keep up with who's who. The investigation into Lee's death simmers in the background as most everyone's attention is on locating young Lucas. The search for Lucas is heartbreaking and everyone remains hopeful he will be found unharmed. The story arc which takes place in the past is interesting but it does take a while to understand how those long ago events fit in with what is happening in the present day.

Despite a bit of a slow start, Storm of Secrets is a captivating mystery with a unique storyline and likable characters. In the aftermath of the storm, secrets are exposed which leads to unexpected discoveries and heartwarming healing. Cassie's great-grandparents continue sending her hints that guide her to some startling revelations. Loretta Marion brings the novel to a rather low-key yet completely satisfying conclusion. A wonderful addition to A Haunted Bluffs Mystery series that old and new fans are sure to enjoy.
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