Paulette Kennedy

Quiet housewife meets the Twilight Zone, with a deadly twist. Kennedy did a great job of bringing everything to life, especially the historical setting and dynamic between each of the characters. I had chills running down my spine each time Loretta had a vision, they were just so vivid. It also broke my heart to see how she was treated be her overly religious husband, but I also know those views weren't entirely left in the 50s. The tension is high right from the start, and the story moves along smoothly, even through what should be duller moments of everyday life. There's just a thread that keeps tugging you along, cover to cover. If you enjoy thrillers mixed with a bit of women's fiction and paranormal, then you're going to want to grab this one!… (mehr)

Set in 1955 Missouri. Loretta Davenport, a housewife and mother of two, gets a fever. After she's recoverd she realizes she can communicate with the dead. She continues to investigate her newly found ability with the help of a parapsychologist Dr. Hansen. She helps the police to find the body of a girl who recently disappeared. Loretta's husband Pete is a religious, controlling man, who does not like what's happening to her. Their life together grows strained and at the same time the home they live in begins to show cracks.

This was an interesting book to read. I learned a lot about homemakers in the midcentury America. The story was menacing from the start, and the atmosphere kept getting darker and darker. There were passages that were truly painful for me to read. Loretta was so naive, having lost her mother when she was just a child, and also for having married young. It was nice to see her waking from slumber and trying to find a new way of life for herself and her children. I did not really like any of the characters in this book, but they were really just products of their society and time.

The author's note in the end is a great read. You can really see her appreciation of homemakers and love of Shirley Jackson in the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book.… (mehr)