Happy Tuesday, readers! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Kathleen Donohoe's latest, Ghosts of the Missing.In 1995 Adair's friend Rowan went missing. Decades later, no clue or trace of the missing girl has ever been found.
After trying to make a go of it in New York City, Adair has decided to return to her small hometown. There she meets Rowan's brother, Ciaran, who is determined to find out what happened to his sister all those years ago. Adair, who may have been the last person to see Rowan before she went missing, has been haunted by her friend's disappearance, has wondered what happened all those years ago. Not is her chance, maybe, to find out. But as they dig deeper into the cold case, it becomes clear that the clues have become tangled by time and what one person may have witnessed isn't exactly how another person might remember it.
This was an interesting read. A slow burn for sure and one that bounces around through various timelines even beyond the 1995 and 2010 storylines.
Culleton's history is a fascinating one woven by immigrants and folklore. Even as late as 1995, the locals participated in a tradition called Quicken Day and there are bits about the history of that event in the book. There are also bits about the early settlers of Culleton, all spread throughout the book and Adair's and Ciaran's investigation.
Ultimately, this wasn't the mystery I was expecting. It was much more of a dramatic and heartbreaking read about secrets and the people who tried to cover up those secrets for so long. And yes, the mystery of Rowan's disappearance spurs the discovery of these, but it's more of a foil for a larger story than I'd expected. Which I guess is my way of saying this is much less of a suspenseful and creepy read than I'd prepared myself for diving into.
Not bad, simply different and not at all what I thought I was getting into!
Kathleen Donohoe's writing is lyrical, the kind that sweeps you up. And the story is, as mentioned, heartbreaking. This is the perfect kind of book club read, one that sparks lots of discussion!
To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.
For more on Kathleen Donohoe and her work you can visit her website here. You can also like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Purchase Links: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
3 comments:
This sounds really different and fascinating and definitely not like anything else on my bookshelf! Thank you for being on this tour. Sara @ TLC Book Tours
Glad (and a little disappointed) to know that it's not an actual ghost story.
Donohue writes beautifully, her prose is Ghosts is similar to Ashes and many times broke my heart with a single sentence. As with Ashes, you cannot skip a single line when you read this book or you can miss an impactful moment or flutter of feeling.
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