A Haunting at Linley ~ Review

A Haunting at Linley

A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Mystery #7

By Michelle Cox

So first off this is the first book in the series that I have read. I will say that reading the previous books would have been a good first step as there are backstories that would have more fully explained the current situations of the various characters. That being said this book can still be enjoyed on its own if one doesn't mind a bit of a mystery about the backstory, which is kind of like meeting new people. I know I don't quiz people to tedium just to learn their whole life story upon meeting them, so I was good reading this book as a standalone title.

Clive and Henrietta Howard are drawn to mysteries and there is a bit of a mystery at the home of Clive's cousin. Wallace has invited Clive to Linley Castle, which is facing an inheritance tax (two as it was left to his mother). Yes, Linley Castle doesn't have the financial resources to sustain itself for much longer. 

But when they arrive Henrietta feels as though something is off about the home. Could Lady Linley, Aunt Margaret be right, could a ghost be haunting the castle. Being who she is Henrietta can't leave things as they are and soon she and Clive are caught up in another mystery.

Now there are other parallel stories taking place (this is where I regretted  not reading the previous books). Though intriguing I found myself more drawn to Henrietta and Clive's portion of the story. I liked the mystery and the various characters and their reactions to the events around them just added to the draw, in my opinion. Are there nefarious deeds taking place at Linley? Or does a ghost (or two) indeed walk the grounds?

 

And the cover alone should be a draw when deciding to at least give this book a perusal. I mean look at it - a mysterious woman dressed so she can't be totally identified. Is she dressed as a bride with her wedding veil? Is it her ghostly disguise? There is only one way to know. Read the book and discover the answers you seek.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

This would be a PG-13+ read in my opinion.

About the Book:

In this seventh book of the series, Clive and Henrietta return to England to find Castle Linley in financial ruin. When Clive’s cousin, Wallace, invites an estate agent in to assess the home’s value, the agent is later found poisoned, throwing all of the Castle’s guests into suspicion. Clive and Henrietta are soon drawn into an investigation, which is slowed by an incompetent local inspector and several unexplained phenomena—the cause of which many, especially the frail Lady Linley, believe to be the workings of the ghost of a hanged maid.

Meanwhile, Gunther and Elsie have begun  life on a farm in Omaha. Circumstances are difficult, but they are content—until Oldrich Exely appears, proposing an option Elsie finds difficult to ignore.  Melody Merriweather, still masquerading as a nun to aid Elsie’s escape, likewise finds it difficult to ignore a letter with tragic news from home, while Julia, on the other hand, receives a very different sort of letter from Glenn Forbes.

Back in England, Clive is called away to London on suspicious business, leaving Henrietta to carry on with the investigation alone.  When she is mysteriously locked in the study one night, however, things take on a more deadly, supernatural feel, leaving her to fear that  Lady Linley's “ghost” might just be real after all…