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Product Description
Quill & Quire
Dee Vale is a typical country girl in post-First World War Ontario, save for one defining feature: like her grandmother, she was born with what generations of superstitious villagers and farmers have referred to as “the Sight.” For Dee’s grandmother, the gift allows her to see events that will soon happen, a handy skill for a woman who ekes out a living as a midwife. Dee’s version of the Sight offers far more ambiguous and frightening rewards. Dee can see the confused, mournful spirits of the dead who have yet to cross over to the other side. Dee’s life with her grandmother is about as normal as it could be, until the local police come tramping through the Vale’s yard on their way up Pike’s Mountain to investigate a grisly discovery: the skeletal remains of a teenage girl. When the bones are confirmed as those of Mary Ann Simpson, a local girl and friend of Dee’s who disappeared four years earlier, the village is overwhelmed by suspicion and fear. When another local girl is murdered, the attention is directed at Dee’s grandmother, long suspected of witchcraft by the village’s more upstanding families. Dee’s investigation into the crimes forms the narrative arc of a story that combines elements of historical and detective fiction, the ghost story, the paranormal caper, and the YA coming of age saga, a combination that makes for rich reading but ultimately dampens some of the novel’s suspense. Dee is an intriguing heroine surrounded by a rich and diverse cast of supporting characters, but readers may wish that Barbara Haworth-Attard had narrowed the novel’s focus to allow more space for Dee’s troubled relationship with the local spirits. After all, most young readers, if given the choice, would pick the Sight over the local sights every time.
Review
"Ceepiness and dread build forcibly as this spooky tale of predation and murder builds toward its moments of revelation. Its post-war setting gives richness to Dee's intuitions of the dead in a world that is suffering many losses. Haworth-Attard folds into her ghost story the tale of a girl's coming of age in a period of social and political change: Dee's midwife Gran can look forward to her insightful granddaughter training to become not a nurse, but a doctor. A satisfying read." --Toronto Star
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful! A Serial Killer and Ghosts!,
By
This review is from: Haunted (Paperback)
Reason for Reading: I love a good ghost story.Comments: Set in the Bruce Peninsula area of Ontario at the time that the soldier's had returned home from WWI, Dee and her Grandmother live in a small cabin at the outskirts of a rural town. Grandmother is the town's midwife and also the one people come to for "medicines" when they are sick. The town does have a doctor, has for some years and business isn't what it used to be but some folks still would rather trade goods with Grandmother than pay cash to the doctor. Fourteen year-old Dee has been raised by Grandmother as her own mother ran off with a travelling show when Dee was only a few months old, her father is unknown. Otherwise the only special thing about Dee is that she sees dead people. Her 'gift' which she keeps secret even from her Grandmother tests her endurance when a former friend of hers' bones are found up on the mountain approximately four years old. Everyone thought she'd run away with a boy at the time and now people are remembering other girls who 'disappeared' in the past. It isn't until a new girl is found dead that a Detective from Toronto is sent for to find this serial killer in their midst. This is the first book I've read by Barbara Haworth-Attard, though she's written many juvenile and YA novels. I highly enjoyed it. I found the serial killer mystery to be tightly written and fast paced with plenty of clues but not easy to figure out at all. I had it narrowed down to two suspects from the start but wavered between them for a while. I think the intended audience will have a great time with this mystery. The supernatural element was an added bonus to an already strong straight-forward thriller plot. The spooky ghostly episodes certainly added to the sense of fear surrounding the plot. This brings about a second theme that runs through the book of Dee wondering why she sees these spirits and wonders about her Grandmother's special gifts and why her mother ran away and has never come back. Overall, a very intricate plot that carries many threads and combines the paranormal with reality with the ease of an accomplished writer. I enjoyed everything about this book. Dee is a fun character, fully developed, as is her Grandmother who has a hard shell that Dee occasionally cracks and sees underneath. The only thing I found disappointing is the stereotypical use of a mentally challenged character (which appeared to be downs syndrome to me), who was called "retard" by the nastier folks in town. This character is introduced first but as soon as the girl's bones are found it's obvious that stereotypically the "retard" is going to come under suspicion of the murders. I expected it from the get go. And indeed the author fell into that trap. It's typical of the time period but something a little less obvious would have been more original. Otherwise, I read this book throughout a day, thought it was a brilliant serial killer mystery for this age group and loved the paranormal aspect. Recommended!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
5.0 out of 5 stars
Historical Ghost Story,
By P. L. Phillips "The Phantom Paragrapher" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Haunted (Paperback)
I've never really been one for historical novels unless they are Christian fiction as their writing styles annoy me , but Haunted as you first start reading it you can imagine it being set in modern day times but it isn't until you get fully into the novel that you realise it is actually set in the year 1915 as it talks about the soldiers going off to World War One etc. The main character Defiance or Dee for short lives with her Grandmother who is a midwife and healer, Dee and her Grandmother have a gift - Her Grandmother can sense when people are due to give birth or when they have something wrong she can diagnose aliments and Dee can see and feel the dead as well as sense and see when Evil lurks. One day, a discovery of bones are found in the woods up in the Mountains and the bones belong to Mary-Anne Stimpson - Dee's best friend from 4yrs ago. How did she die and who killed her ? When a carving made by Podge - a simple townboy is found , he is put on trial but when another Dee's new best friend Clooey is found dead , have the town found the right man or is their still a killer on loose ? It is up to Dee with the help of a new friend Clarence to discover who the killer is before her friend Podge is hung at the gallows. What happens though when the Killer is discovered to be closer to Dee than she thought , will she be next or will she turn him in when she discovers the truth ?Find out in this amazing historical supernatural teen/ YA novel "Haunted
3.0 out of 5 stars
Young Adult Book,
By Linda Demaree "Avid Reader" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Haunted (Paperback)
I purchased this novel when it was highly recommended as a Ghost Story. However, the person who recommended it did not tell me it was written for what I would term "young adult" crowd, let's say from 12 - 16? I did read it, and I did enjoy it, but I could tell that it was written for a younger readership than adults. It was an enjoyable book, but hardly the scary ghost story it was purported to be. However, the writing is good and the storyline was interesting, so all in all I guess I was not too disappointed. It was easy reading and I finished it in a day. I would recommend it highly for any young adult looking for a story about a young girl with special abilities allowing her to see ghosts.
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