Wednesday Review – The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

I attended a GRW meeting last month where the speaker was Karen White. She gave a wonderful speech about Writing the Book of Your Heart and Getting Away With It. Ms. White is an awesome lady and very funny, too. She is extremely generous with her time and I thoroughly enjoyed her presentation. So when she mentioned her new book was a combination of Southern Charm and National Treasure, I was throwing my carefully organized budget to the wind. As soon as she said National Treasure, I knew I had to have that book. I can honestly say that I was NOT disappointed.

Melanie Middleton is a rising star in the Real-estate industry. With a specialty in historic homes, you’d think she would actually like the old houses around Charleston. But what people don’t know is that Melanie has a secret. A secret that could get her locked up in the nut house. A secret that an old man she recently met takes full advantage of when he wills her his dilapidated historic home before he passes away. Now Melanie is stuck with a house full of ghosts (Oh, yeah. Did I mention the secret was her ability to see ghosts?) and no way of getting out from under it for at least a year.

Jack Trenholm is a gorgeous writer who has taken an interest in an old mystery surrounding the disappearance of a lady from the house on Tradd Street almost a century ago. He convinces Melanie to allow him to move in and help out with renovations while he searches for the answers to the mystery. When mysterious accidents begin happening to Melanie, Jack takes it upon himself to keep her safe. As they get closer to solving the mystery of the woman’s disappearance, they also discover a mystery surrounding some diamonds. But as the plot thickens, the malice from one of the ghosts turns deadly.

The House on Tradd Street is a wonderful story. The pacing was a lot slower than I was used to from the Harlequin and Silhouette series books I love so much, but it allowed me time to fall deeply in love with Melanie and Jack. I even began falling for the dilapidated old house right alongside our cynical Melanie. Ms. White did an outstanding job with her resolution of the mystery and I LOVED her use of ciphers and an ancient grandfather clock. I went into this book with high expectations and Ms. White delivered on every account.

Great Job. I am definitely looking forward to the sequel.