THE SÉANCE GARDEN by Juliet Blackwell

 

5 STARS!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

After an amateur ghost tour in one of California’s oldest towns stumbles upon an actual haunting, a skeptical historian of the occult becomes entangled in a murder case on the grounds.

When Professor Harper Grae loses a bet with a friend, she finds herself on a nighttime tour of “haunted” locations in Monterey, California. Harper’s a lifelong nonbeliever of the occult, though her academic career is devoted to the historical and societal significance of witchcraft, ghosts, and poisons of all sorts. But her skepticism is immediately tested when the tour stumbles upon the body of renowned artist Delilah Mason—who’s found murdered on the grounds of a two-hundred-year-old mansion.

     On the night Mason is discovered, Harper catches sight of something in the house that she can’t shake, something that’s impossible to explain, at least not rationally. Soon the investigation reveals that this is the second time a woman has been found murdered beneath the sprawling cypress tree in the garden of the Perles Mansion, which once belonged to an infamous local family. And when Harper’s closest friend is questioned by the police, she fears the authorities will fail to uncover the real killer.

     As Harper digs deeper into the supernatural speculation and rumors surrounding the deaths, she sees evidence she can’t ignore that the notorious mansion is truly haunted. Can Harper admit she’s been experiencing a paranormal phenomenon, even if it goes against everything she believes about crossing the veil between the living and the dead? And can she figure out what the ghost needs her to know about the two women killed under similar circumstances nearly two centuries apart?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Juliet Blackwell is the pseudonym for the New York Times bestselling author of The Asylum Hotel, The Paris Showroom, and The Vineyards of Champagne. She also penned three popular mystery series: the Witchcraft Mysteries, the Haunted Home Renovation series, and the Agatha Award–nominated Art Lover’s Mystery series.

MY THOUGHTS:

This book was fantastic! It was fascinating, and more than a little creepy! There was some crazy paranormal ghostly stuff happening in this book! And I ate it up! This is exactly what you would want out of a paranormal book. 

Harper, the main character - LOVED her! I loved her on every page. I thought her character was perfect and I could definitely see myself being friends with her IRL. Tariq, Harper's romantic interest, was suspicious right from the get go. I was constantly questioning him. 

This is a book where the houses is definitely a character itself. A creepy, old, haunted mansion, yep creepy. I don't think I would want to spend any time there! I loved all the ghost appearances. It felt natural and very real.

This book gave me goosebumps a handful of times. But it wasn't so scary that I couldn't read it at night. It was eerie, not necessarily scary.

If you are looking for a very real feeling ghost story that is very well done that makes you fall in love with the characters... THIS IS IT! 

This author has a LOT of books and I am adding a few of them to my wish list right now! I will absolutely be reading this author again!

I voluntarily posted this review after receiving an e-copy of this book from Berkley | Penguin Random House. Thank You!