Helpful Score: 5
First Line: Her satin shoes left damning footprints in the pearlescent dew on the moonlit garden path.
Jordan Marsh is the prime suspect in her cheating husband's murder. The police allow her to leave Los Angeles, and she heads for Port Chatham, Washington, where she's purchased the old Longren House. She intends to renovate the old Victorian house, and find the peace and the balm for her soul that she so desperately needs. Once she's moved in, she quickly learns that Longren House is fully furnished with two very active ghosts who have a hundred-year-old murder they want her to solve.
Although I normally don't let the cover of a book persuade me to buy it, I have to admit that the cover of Haunting Jordan spoke to me. When I found out that the setting of the book is "Port Chatham", Washington, I let it and the old Victorian house on the cover tell me that Port Chatham is really one of my favorite places: Port Townsend. As I read, I discovered I was right, so I had the added bonus of picturing that lovely old town as I read.
At first, I was wary. The very first sentence seemed a bit over the top in its descriptive powers, but that, thankfully, disappeared. Although Alderman is a romance writer, and I am most decidedly not a romance reader, it was used to enhance only and took a backseat to the characters and plot. Besides the setting, I enjoyed Alderman's characterizations and thought she caught the nuances of life in a small town perfectly. Am I willing to read more about Jordan Marsh in Port Chatham? Yes-- bring 'em on!
Jordan Marsh is the prime suspect in her cheating husband's murder. The police allow her to leave Los Angeles, and she heads for Port Chatham, Washington, where she's purchased the old Longren House. She intends to renovate the old Victorian house, and find the peace and the balm for her soul that she so desperately needs. Once she's moved in, she quickly learns that Longren House is fully furnished with two very active ghosts who have a hundred-year-old murder they want her to solve.
Although I normally don't let the cover of a book persuade me to buy it, I have to admit that the cover of Haunting Jordan spoke to me. When I found out that the setting of the book is "Port Chatham", Washington, I let it and the old Victorian house on the cover tell me that Port Chatham is really one of my favorite places: Port Townsend. As I read, I discovered I was right, so I had the added bonus of picturing that lovely old town as I read.
At first, I was wary. The very first sentence seemed a bit over the top in its descriptive powers, but that, thankfully, disappeared. Although Alderman is a romance writer, and I am most decidedly not a romance reader, it was used to enhance only and took a backseat to the characters and plot. Besides the setting, I enjoyed Alderman's characterizations and thought she caught the nuances of life in a small town perfectly. Am I willing to read more about Jordan Marsh in Port Chatham? Yes-- bring 'em on!
I didn't like this nearly as much as I liked A Killing Tide. It was just too cutesy for my taste.
The part of the book dealing with Jordan Marsh was interesting and enjoyable. However, the parts that switched back to Charlotte and Hattie's time were really too wordy, too tedious, and I ended up skipping large chunks. I think that, in an effort to capture the flavor of the past century, Alderman tried to emulate an Austen or Bronte style. That might have worked if she hadn't gone on and on and on with bits of trivia that didn't move the story forward. I doubt that I'll bother with the series.
Two murder cases in this book - one in the past and one in the present. Jordan Marsh, leaves LA and goes to the northwest area to start fresh. She leaves after her husband is murdered and is the leading suspect. She moves into her new home which includes two ghosts. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Really like this series. It contains a double mystery - one in the past associated with the house's spirits and another in the present. Well-written.
