Helpful Score: 4
England 1921. Jo Manders finds herself without her beloved husband Alex since he was declared missing in action. However, she has no widow status since no body was ever found therefore does not get government assistance.
Jo is a strong, intelligent woman with no income. She takes a job as a paid companion to her husband's stoic and stern Aunt Dottie in their dreary estate.
I found this to be an intense ghost story and murder mystery with many suspects throughout. Twists and turns galore take you on a fantastic journey to a satisfying ending.
Jo is a strong, intelligent woman with no income. She takes a job as a paid companion to her husband's stoic and stern Aunt Dottie in their dreary estate.
I found this to be an intense ghost story and murder mystery with many suspects throughout. Twists and turns galore take you on a fantastic journey to a satisfying ending.
Helpful Score: 1
Intriguing book. Jo met Alex while working as a secretary, and they quickly fell in love and got married. She lost him in WWII, and went to work for his aunt Dottie at Wych Elm House in the country. All is not well at Wych Elm House. Dottie's marriage is a shambles and their daughter Frances died a horrible death after years of suffering from "madness." On the same day as Frances' death, a strange man's body was found in the woods. Jo has her own troubles. Her own mother is in a hospital suffering from dementia, and it's up to Jo to pay for her care. Alex's body was never recovered and his military paperwork is not in order, which means she is still technically a married woman, not a widow. She grieves for him daily, and when she starts to see the ghost of Frances at Wych Elm House, she can't help but wonder if she is going mad like her mother, or if Frances is trying to warn her. Simone St. James is a compelling storyteller with rich, vibrant characters and uses plenty of foreshadowing, metaphors, and similes. Parts of the book don't flow as well as they could have, and the end was a little drawn out. I would definitely recommend it if you like mysteries, gothics, and/or ghost stories.
Helpful Score: 1
Would have been enjoyable even without the supernatural angle (which in a way is a little too much.) Jo is an intelligent heroine -- one who doesn't keep things to herself and then later live to regret it. Characters are for the most part well fleshed out and stay true to their nature.
I have read several of St. James' other novels including THE SUN DOWN MOTEL, THE BROKEN GIRLS, and THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE. I have enjoyed all of these which were mostly a blend of the supernatural and a murder/suspense story. Her more recent books take place in the recent past while her earlier book, Haunting of Maddy Clare was set in the 1920s.
LOST AMONG THE LIVING was published in 2016 and is also set in the 1920s shortly after WWI. It is also a blend of the supernatural and an intriguing mystery about the death of a young 15-year old girl who was suffering from delusions and madness. The protagonist of the story is Jo who met her husband Alex while working as a secretary. Unfortunately, Alex was shot down during the war and never returned. His body was not recovered and he is considered missing in action. Jo ends up working as a paid companion to Alex's aunt Dottie who resides in the Wych Elm House in Sussex. Dottie is estranged from her husband and her son was severely wounded in the war. As Jo moves into the house she is plagued by strange happenings including seeing the ghost of Franny, Dottie's young daughter who supposedly committed suicide. But did she really do this or was she murdered? And if so, why? The local people think Wych Elm is cursed and the woods is haunted by the ghost of Franny and her vicious dog who supposedly killed a man on the day Franny committed suicide. So what's the real story? Did Jo really see Fran's ghost or is she going mad?
I enjoyed this novel quite a lot. It was a good ghost story and suspense yarn. The locale and time period of the novel were well developed as well as the characters in the story. It was also somewhat of a romance story which I normally don't really enjoy that much but the overall story made up for this. I would definitely recommend this one if you like supernatural suspense/romance stories.
LOST AMONG THE LIVING was published in 2016 and is also set in the 1920s shortly after WWI. It is also a blend of the supernatural and an intriguing mystery about the death of a young 15-year old girl who was suffering from delusions and madness. The protagonist of the story is Jo who met her husband Alex while working as a secretary. Unfortunately, Alex was shot down during the war and never returned. His body was not recovered and he is considered missing in action. Jo ends up working as a paid companion to Alex's aunt Dottie who resides in the Wych Elm House in Sussex. Dottie is estranged from her husband and her son was severely wounded in the war. As Jo moves into the house she is plagued by strange happenings including seeing the ghost of Franny, Dottie's young daughter who supposedly committed suicide. But did she really do this or was she murdered? And if so, why? The local people think Wych Elm is cursed and the woods is haunted by the ghost of Franny and her vicious dog who supposedly killed a man on the day Franny committed suicide. So what's the real story? Did Jo really see Fran's ghost or is she going mad?
I enjoyed this novel quite a lot. It was a good ghost story and suspense yarn. The locale and time period of the novel were well developed as well as the characters in the story. It was also somewhat of a romance story which I normally don't really enjoy that much but the overall story made up for this. I would definitely recommend this one if you like supernatural suspense/romance stories.
