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| Publication Date: January 22, 2019 Bethany House Publishers |
About the Story
Left at an orphanage as a child, Thea Reed vowed to find her mother someday. Now grown, her search takes her to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, in 1908. When clues lead her to a mental asylum, Thea uses her experience as a post-mortem photographer to gain access and assist groundskeeper Simeon Coyle in photographing the patients and uncovering the secrets within. However, she never expected her personal quest would reawaken the legend of Misty Wayfair, a murdered woman who allegedly haunts the area and whose appearance portends death.
A century later, Heidi Lane receives a troubling letter from her mother--who is battling dementia--compelling her to travel to Pleasant Valley for answers to her own questions of identity. When she catches sight of a ghostly woman who haunts the asylum ruins in the woods, the long-standing story of Misty Wayfair returns--and with it, Heidi's fear for her own life.
As two women across time seek answers about their identities and heritage, can they overcome the threat of the mysterious curse that has them inextricably intertwined?
The Curse of
Misty Wayfair by Jaime Jo Wright
Rebecca's Review
5 STARS!!!
"You are the reason the voices are never
heard. . . . . .come . . . come quickly."
Two women, separated by time and eternity, yet inexplicably drawn together by a postmortem photograph and a cryptic letter crafted by one whose mind has become crippled beyond recognition. Both are determined to find answers to the question that continually rages in their minds; "who am I"?
Dorothea Reed, orphaned at a young age and now a postmortem photographer, is drawn to the small town of Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin to search for clues about her birth mother, never imagining the trail would lead to the front door of a local mental asylum whose residents simply live in order to die. And then there are the unexplained sightings of a local woman who has been dead for years, the cursed Misty Wayfair.
One hundred years later, Heidi Lane returns to her home town of Pleasant Valley after being summoned by her aging mother. Heidi has a myriad of questions about her past that she's not sure her remaining parent can answer; for it appears that someone, or something, is determined to destroy Heidi's thin thread of equilibrium. And what about that old photograph; the one she happened upon in the town's antique store, the woman could be her twin.
It's so rare to read a book with this many layers . . . . and yet every single one of them carries its own weight so beautifully . . . . while together they appear as a single thread. It's magnificent to behold.
"Fix your eyes on the target and let the arrow fly. The rest will follow."
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.
Two women, separated by time and eternity, yet inexplicably drawn together by a postmortem photograph and a cryptic letter crafted by one whose mind has become crippled beyond recognition. Both are determined to find answers to the question that continually rages in their minds; "who am I"?
Dorothea Reed, orphaned at a young age and now a postmortem photographer, is drawn to the small town of Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin to search for clues about her birth mother, never imagining the trail would lead to the front door of a local mental asylum whose residents simply live in order to die. And then there are the unexplained sightings of a local woman who has been dead for years, the cursed Misty Wayfair.
One hundred years later, Heidi Lane returns to her home town of Pleasant Valley after being summoned by her aging mother. Heidi has a myriad of questions about her past that she's not sure her remaining parent can answer; for it appears that someone, or something, is determined to destroy Heidi's thin thread of equilibrium. And what about that old photograph; the one she happened upon in the town's antique store, the woman could be her twin.
It's so rare to read a book with this many layers . . . . and yet every single one of them carries its own weight so beautifully . . . . while together they appear as a single thread. It's magnificent to behold.
"Fix your eyes on the target and let the arrow fly. The rest will follow."
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.
Rebecca is a graduate of Bryan College with a degree in Christian Education and is currently serving at the First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Gastonia, North Carolina as the Director of Children's Ministry. With over 30 years of experience in her field, she has had many opportunities to use her love of reading and writing in creative ways across the generations. A wife, mother of four "nearly" grown children, and grandmother to four beautiful grandchildren, Rebecca has been able to return to her love of reading and more recently reviewing, with a renewed passion for the "beauty of story".
This is such a great book and your review is on point, as always! There have been times I thought maybe some of the old photos in Cracker Barrel were of dead people. I had no idea this was even a thing until I read this book. Wright writes the creep factor so well!!! :-)
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