A mysterious death, a mysterious house, scared yet?

Synopsis

Mystery, mayhem, a manor house and a generous serving of romance… 

When police knock on Alice Donaldson’s door at 4am, she knows the news won’t be good. There’s been an accident involving her ex-husband Grant, and as his existing next of kin, they need her help.

Grant is missing up on the North York moors, but the Grant Alice knew could barely be persuaded out on a walk around the block. What on earth possessed him to go on a hike in the middle of the night?

Alice soon finds herself working with Grant’s girlfriend Jenna and Jenna’s gorgeous ‘Lord of the family Manor’ brother Max, to find out what has happened, and what caused Grant’s accident at The Fortune House – the spooky house out on the moors.

The locals tell all manner of ghoulish stories about The Fortune House, which Alice is not minded to listen to. But before long, things take a turn for the strange and Max and Alice have a new mystery to solve. While all the while Alice can’t help hoping she might meet the requirements to be Max’s ‘Lady of the Manor’ at his country pile, Hatherleigh Hall.

My review

Alice Donaldson never thought that the police would be knocking on her door at 4am, telling her there has been an accident involving her husband Grant.
Her husband that left her many years ago and she never heard from again. Her husband, that has gone missing on the North York moors, while when together he never got out.
To make things even more awkward, Alice befriends Jenna, Grant’s girlfriend and Jenna’s brother Max. They all want to figure out what happened that night, and why Grant was at The Fortune House, a house known for being haunted by ghosts…
While spending more time together, and Alice helping Max out with him writing a book, Alice starts to feel more for Max than she would imagine. But how could Max, Lord of an actual Manor -Hatherleigh Hall – ,  fall for someone like ‘plain’ Alice?
And ghosts aren’t real at all, right? 

Normally, having a story with ghosts, or haunted houses aren’t really my cup of tea. I don’t believe in ghosts, but if they were to be real, I just hope they won’t ever bother with plain old me. So I am pleading to all the kind ghosts around the world: please leave me alone! 😊 

But when this author writes another book, and there are ghosts involved, I know I will just read it anyway! 

What I absolutely loved in this book, is how much I could relate with Alice. She is a curvier woman, with not the greatest self – esteem and stuck in a routine, seeing no way out.
And before you say it, yes, I am the curvy kind of woman too, relating very easy to all the doubts Alice has. 

But beside the way the way Alice looks, she is also a smart, kind, inventive woman. While it would have been easy to just leave Jenna and Max alone, she understands the pain Jenna is going through, and sees how Jenna needs someone that listens to her.
And Alice is ready to help Max with his work, even if she doesn’t know if she is an actual help or not. 

I was a bit surprised when there was a twist in the story, and it didn’t leave a very positive impression… The twist itself was a good one, but the thought behind it, made by that specific character wasn’t something I liked. 

The mystery around the haunted mansion was also not what I expected. There are several tales of witnesses that gave me goosebumps, but I thought I knew who the ghost was, but was left a bit in a shock when it wasn’t what I thought it would be. 

Seeing Alice and Max together was heart – warming and made me feel even hopeful for myself. No, I am a realistic girl and I know that the odds of finding myself a Lord on the Manor myself are non – existing.
But seeing how Max saw Alice for who she truly was, and not just looking at the way she physically looks like, was just so wonderful.
It shows that there are still people around who value a character higher than looks. 

I found it sweet how Max tries to show Alice that he truly likes her, and wants to let her see herself the way he sees her, as an amazing, beautiful, smart woman.
Everyone needs to have a Max in their lives, and feel loved unconditionally. 

The whole book includes a haunted mansion and a ghost, but that was not the main theme. It was more a story about finding not only love, but also finding the courage to step out of your routine, finding the courage to put your trust in someone and believing the spoken words of someone we care about. 

Again the author wrote a wonderful, sweet, light, yet slightly different story, with a main character you cannot not love. I enjoyed reading every word of it, despite the few goosebumps!