Tuesday, November 24, 2015

TLC Book Tours Book Review: Charlotte's Story

Charlotte's Story COVERAbout Charlotte's Story


• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pegasus (October 15, 2015)

The fall of 1957 was a seemingly idyllic, even prosperous, time down in southern Virginia. A young housewife, Charlotte Bliss, lives with her husband, “Press” Bliss, and their two young children, Eva Grace and Michael, in the gorgeous Bliss family home. On the surface, theirs seems a calm, picturesque life, but soon tragedy befalls them: four deaths, with seemingly simple explanations.

But nothing is simple if Bliss House is involved.

Charlotte, nearly crippled with grief, feels more and more isolated from everyone around her. The only thing that brings her solace is going through the old photos and curiosities left behind by her mother-in-law. Then she makes a startling discovery that points not to tragedy, but to murder. How far will Charlotte go to discover the truth? And how far will she get without knowing who her real enemy is?

Not for the faint of heart, or those disturbed by sexual situations and violence, Charlotte's Story injects new levels of horror into the classic Southern gothic.

Praise for Charlotte's Story
“Expertly paced revelations help build a sense of encroaching horror. A satisfyingly creepy tale for a rainy night.”—Publishers Weekly

“An evocative, frightening and flawless gothic, Charlotte’s Story is guaranteed to send a delicious chill down your spine. Nobody does more for the modern southern gothic than Laura Benedict.” —J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of What Lies Behind

“Laura Benedict spins an ever-shifting web of shadow and light. A thrilling read. Benedict writes with passion and authority. Charlotte's Story is not to be missed.” —Carolyn Haines, author of the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries, and The Seeker


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Review: Charlotte's Story is a book that you shouldn't judge by its cover. At first glance you might think this is a family saga, perhaps some light reading. If you go by the blurb, you still might not get the whole gist of this story. It is anything but light reading.

Charlotte loses her mother in law and then her daughter and then two other people that were friends of her best friend Rachel. There's a lot of depressing stuff here, but that's what makes it a great gothic style read, especially as there are a lot of ghostly things going on involving Charlotte's mother in law and her daughter and also some darkness surrounding her husband, Press.

This is really a psychological thriller. It is also a book that is hard to review, because to go into more detail would give away too much of the plot and that would be SPOILERS and this book is too good to ruin for anyone else that wants to go on Charlotte's journey with her.

I will tell you one thing, almost everyone is not quite what they seem and when things finally come to a head, you're jaw will drop.

If you are a fan of gothic novels and thrillers this is definitely the book for you.

Rating: 5 flowers




Laura Benedict APLaura Benedict


Laura Benedict is the author of Charlotte's Story and Bliss House, the first two novels in the Bliss House trilogy, as well as several other novels of dark suspense. Her work has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and numerous anthologies. She lives with her family in Southern Illinois. Visit laurabenedict.com.

Connect with Laura on Facebook and Twitter.

1 comments:

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

Not judging a book by the cover is sometimes very hard to do so I appreciate the reminder!

Thanks for being a part of the tour.

 
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