Book Review and Giveaway: The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall by Jaime Jo Wright

 

The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall is another superb Gothic fiction novel by Jaime Jo Wright. 

In 1890, the bell tolls, signaling death at Traeger Hall. Waverly Pembrooke, her aunt and uncle's ward, is left alone and, with no alternative, is forced to execute the unusual terms of her paranoid uncle's will. 

When Jennie Phillips inherits the long-abandoned property at Traeger Hall, she has no idea how much the past will intrude upon her life. But a modern cold case increases the mystery surrounding the estate, and Jennie's determination to move beyond her family's past puts her in harm's way. 

Wow! Amazing! Oustanding! Loved everything about Wright's latest novel. Wish I could read it all over again. Wright weaves two women's stories together to create a suspenseful story filled with danger, family secrets, and unexpected twists and turns that keep you turning page after page. 

When Leopold and Cornelia Traegar are murdered, they leave behind a will that Waverly Pembrooke has no choice but to abide by. It leaves her with more questions than answers. An awkward friendship with undertaker Titus Fitzgerald unsettles their ward, but with only one housemaid willing to return to the estate, what is Waverly to do? When an unexpected guest arrives to take charge, Waverly can't help but be suspicious of his motives. Waverly soon discovers her uncle and Traeger Hall hold many secrets. 

In the present day, Jennie Phillips isn't quite sure how she will deal with unloading all the properties her father amassed before his death, and now that her mother is gone, she has no choice but to settle the estate. But her mother held a certain interest in Traeger Hall, and Jennie travels to the town of Newton Creek to see what she can find out. Though Leopold Traeger died long ago, Jennie discovers he and his abandoned estate have a legacy that continues to threaten the once thriving town. 

Masterfully written, this Christian Gothic suspense novel with a hint of romance is just the right book to pick up if you want a captivating novel inspired by historical events. 

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0F2PJQD15
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bethany House Publishers
• Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 21, 2025
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2.8 MB
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled 
• X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled 
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 327 pages 
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1493451364

I received a copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

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Book Review: The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright

 

With The Vanishing at Castle Moreau, award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright has created a deftly written, hauntingly fascinating dual-time novel of two women who are connected by the mystery of a Wisconsin castle.

In 1870, Daisy Francois becomes the housemaid at Castle Moreau to escape the horrors of her life. The reclusive and eccentric owner of the castle is a Gothic authoress whose tales are as harrowing as the stories about the castle's history of missing women. 

Cleo Clemmons is hired in present day by the grandson of an American aristocratic family to help his grandmother cull the collections she has hoarded within the walls of Castle Moreau. But what Cleo uncovers among the collections is a century-old mystery with clues traveling back to another young resident of Castle Moreau in 1801.

If you enjoy Gothic novels, Christian suspense, well-written dual-time stories, or novels with strong female characters, then The Vanishing at Castle Moreau is the perfect read. From beginning to end this story will captivate you. As you connect the dots, explore the dark corners of Castle Moreau with the girl, with Daisy, and with Cleo, and unfold the mystery hidden deep within this Wisconsin castle, you won't be able to stop reading. No matter the hour, you will need to continue, because the story is just so good. 

While I certainly figured there was more to Castle Moreau than meets the eye, the thrilling conclusion of The Vanishing at Castle Moreau was unexpected and absolutely perfect. I look forward to reading more by Jamie Jo Wright. An amazing read!

Excerpt:

May 8, 1801

When I was a little girl, my father would often come to my bedside after my screams wakened him in the night. He would smooth back my damp ringlets, the mere feel of his callused and strong hand inspiring an instantaneous calm.

“What is it, little one?” he would ask me.

Every night, the same question. Every night, I would give the same answer.

“It is her again, Papa.”

“Her?” He would tilt his head, giving credence to my words and refraining from scolding or mockery.

“Yes.” I would nod, my head brushing the clean cotton of my pillowcase. “The woman with the crooked hand.”

“Crooked hand, hmm?” His query only increased my adamant insistence.

“Yes. She has a nub with two fingers.” A tear would often trail down my six-­year-­old cheek.

My father would smile with a soothing calm. “You are dreaming again, mon chéri.”

“No. She was here.” He must believe me!

“Shhh.” Another gentle stroke of his hand across my forehead. “She is the voice of the mistress of your dreams. We all have one, you know. Only yours needs extra-special care because she isn’t beautiful like the rest. She is the one who brings the nightmares, but she doesn’t mean to harm you. She is only doing her best with what she has been given, and what she has been given are her own horrors.”

“Her hand?” I would reply, even though we repeated this explanation many nights in a row.

“Yes,” my father would nod. “Her hand is a reflection of the ugliness in her stories. Stories she tells to you at night when all is quiet and your eyes are closed.”

“But they were open,” I would insist.

“No. You only think they were open.”

“I am afraid of the ghost, Papa,” I urge.

His eyes smile. “Oui. And yet there are no spirits to haunt you. Only the dream mistress. Shoo her away and she will flee. She is a mist. She is not real. See?” And he would wave his hand in the air. “Shoo, mistress. Away and be gone!”

We would survey the dark bedroom then, and, seeing nothing, my father would lean over and press his lips to my cheek. “Now sleep. I will send your mother’s dream mistress to you. Her imaginings are pleasant ones.”

“Thank you,” I would whisper.

Another kiss. The bed would rise a bit as he lifted his weight from the mattress. His nightshirt would hang around his shins, and he would pause at the doorway of my room where I slept. An only child, in a home filled with the fineries of a Frenchman’s success of trade. “Sleep, mon chéri.”

“Yes, Papa.”

The door would close.

My eyes would stay open.

I would stare at the woman with the crooked hand, who hovered in the shadows where the door had just closed. I would stare at her and know what my father never would.

She existed.

She was not a dream.

• 
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bethany House Publishers (April 4, 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0764238345
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764238345

I received a paperback copy from the author through Partners in Crime Tours. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

First Chapter Review and Giveaway: The Grace Painter by Mark Romang

I received a coupon code for Smashwords to download a free copy of this Christian mystery/suspense thriller.

BLURB: Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is the one reflecting back at you from inside a mirror. Matthew London can attest to this difficult truth. Ever since the former NYPD hostage negotiator changed his identity and fled New York City for the backwaters of Louisiana, regret has ruled his life.

For eight years London has lived like a hermit in a declining plantation house. Only his talent for painting Renaissance-style murals and paintings keeps the inner-demons from totally destroying him. Each day the disgraced hostage negotiator longs for a chance at redemption, never expecting it to actually happen. But then a down-on-her-luck FBI agent shows up on his doorstep one evening. It turns out Jean-Paul and Sebastian Boudreaux, two local brothers famous for lawlessness have inadvertently kidnapped a little girl.

London is quickly thrust into the starring role of a daring rescue attempt. But before he can rescue the child from the dangerous Boudreaux brothers, he first must find a way to forgive himself for a past misstep, a blunder that forever altered his once promising life. But in the Atchafalaya Basin swampland, nothing is promised. Grace cannot be purchased or earned. It can only be given.

COVER: Love it. The background captures the setting and the foreground the protagonist and his talent. The dark color speaks to the suspense/thriller genre. Nice job.

FIRST CHAPTER:  Eight years after Matthew London has fled New York City with a new identity, Sebastian Boudreaux is released from a penitentiary in Louisiana. Having spent two decades behind bars, he's ready to find the ransom money his father had hidden prior to being arrested and sentenced to die.

KEEP READING: For now. I'm definitely intrigued by the concept unveiled in the prologue and first chapter. The prologue sets the stage for Matt London walking away from his job as a hostage negotiator with the NYPD. The first chapter takes place eight years later, with Sebastian's release and introduces his younger brother, Jean-Paul.

The cliffhanger ending of the first chapter encourages readers to continue, but I felt the style was much more telling than showing. There are no real setting details in the first chapter. Instead, the time is spent developing some backstory for Sebastian as the reader is brought through his present day release from prison. The reader gets a basic idea of who Sebastian is, what his relationship with his brother and father might be like, and that though he promised the warden he won't be coming back, that might prove harder said than done. This isn't a bad thing. I like getting a glimpse into who Sebastian is. It's just I wanted to be able to see what Sebastian sees. This guy has just been released from prison after two decades and he doesn't even notice anything happening outside his window or the rain sprinkling down on his head. Perhaps this is intentional, as the prologue has greater details.

I'm willing to stick it out for a few more chapters to see how the author begins connecting the pieces.

Price/Format: $0.99 ebook
Pages: 303
Publisher: self-published
Release: November 26, 2012

Kindle buy link ($0.99):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ADWZ4M4?tag=tributebooks-20

Nook buy link ($0.99):
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-grace-painter-mark-romang/1113848026?ean=2940015785463

Smashwords ($0.99):
http://www.smashwords.com/b/259249

I was born in 1967. Avid reader, suspense novelist, faithful husband, baffled father, factory worker, reformed head-banger, failed musician, contact sports lover, MMA enthusiast, distressed KC sports fan, Lord of the Rings geek, workout fiend, dog owner, nature lover, proud American, disgruntled voter, pistachio addict, caffeine-riddled, screw-up saved by grace, sojourner. This is me in a nutshell.

Mark Romang's Web Site:
http://www.markromangbooks.com/

Mark Romang's Facebook:
http://facebook.com/mark.romang.18

Mark Romang's Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6606226.Mark_Romang

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http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16210809-the-grace-painter

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First Chapter Review: 18-Wheeler Jihad by Ken Bontrager

The first chapter of 18-Wheeler Jihad was sent to me by author Ken Bontrager for review.

BLURB:  Sometimes reality strikes too close to home. Patricia Scott is passionate about one thing: stopping terrorists before they can do more damage to the United States. She has become very skilled in piecing together bits of intelligence from all over the world to uncover their evil plans. From Iran to North Korea, to Venezuela and Central America, she has gathered bits of information that look like something big. But now the trail has run cold, and when it resurfaces, it is just too chilling to believe. How can the people close to her be involved in such a plan? Can the attack be stopped in time? What motivates the terrorists to do what they do? What will happen to America if she fails? Why would God allow evil people to triumph like this? Too many questions, not enough answers. Over the course of one horrific week, Patricia and her husband, Will, find their faith tested to the max as they try to find answers to these questions and prevent the ultimate tragedy on U.S. soil.

COVER:  Appropriate, but has a computer generated feel to it. I like the added detail of the religious symbols.

FIRST CHAPTER: Patricia Scott wakes from the recurring nightmare that has plagued her since September 11, 2001. A rookie cop at the time, she wonders if she was spared because God had bigger plans for her. Now married and working in the Counterterrorism Division of the Department of Homeland Security, life is good except for those blasted nightmares.

Josh Abdul Jamal is willing to do anything for the cause of Allah. As he pulls his van off onto a dirt road northeast of Las Vegas, he remembers that the Imam, Yassar Hasrali, has told him this is the first step in Allah's great plan for the infidels of the United States.

Abdas Hemati and his team of scientists have spent the past ten years in Tehran coming up with a plan that will destabalize America and bring chaos to the world to hasten the return of Mahdi.

KEEP READING: For now. All the elements are there for a great Christian suspense novel: a thrilling plot, interesting characters, and a great cliffhanger at the end of the first chapter that makes you want to continue.

Right now, most of the characters seem black and white to me--either all good or all evil--but I would stick with it to see how the author develops them. I would also like more showing and less telling. I want to feel the sweat dripping down Patricia's face when she wakes from her nightmare, see the landscape around where Josh pulls his van off the road, and truly get to know these characters inside and out.

Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: Outskirts Press (August 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 143279504X
ISBN-13: 978-1432795047
SRP: $14.95 (Kindle version also available)

I received the first chapter of this novel from the author. This first chapter review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.