When Sarah Piper accepted employment with Alistair Gellis, she could not have realized what that what entail. Sure, he was up front about his ghost hunting but, could Sarah believe she would be part of a story like those told around a camp fire? Just how does Mr. Gellis expect Piper to be of assistance in this unique ghost hunting endeavor?
Those are some of the questions we start out with in The Haunting of Maddie Clare by Simone St. James. As suggested by the title, this is a good old fashioned ghost story set in Post-World War I England that centers around a small group of people in search of the truth about ghosts in general and how to deal with this ghost in particular.
Miss Piper really is the modern model of the modern woman. She is self-sufficient and willing to break with certain social norms of the time. I think one of the many things that rounds out this character is not the way she is willing transgress societal norms but, the fact that she does it with the deeper internal struggle. Her companions, like Mr. Gellis, have their own inner turmoil that stem from the times they live in. These things are brought out so logically and organically that they are hard to see as the character building that they are.
This story has a nice flow that moves us from thoughtful discovery to dramatic action in seamlessly smooth motion. It really feels like one of those stories that is being reported rather than written. The settings do their part to advance the story by adding the proper feeling to certain scenes.
With all the good there is to this book, I cannot leave out a few obvious detractors. While the characters are well written and principle characters well rounded, we have seen them before. At it's heart, this is not only a ghost story but, also a mystery. You don't have to look too hard to see some familiar tropes in the characters, the settings and the story itself. The saving grace comes in how well they are incorporated. It is hard to recognize these things until you are well into the story.
The Haunting of Maddie Clare is book that, though it may not be the height of literature, is a very entertaining story and goes very well with the Halloween season. There is some violence, some very rough language and a few tastefully written sex scenes. All that earns this book a rating of PG13 nearing an R rating.
Oh, this sounds good. However, the cover appears more like a historical fiction instead of a paranormal. :)
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It's very much a period piece. I find that to be part of the charm of the story that rescues it from being 'just another ghost story'.
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