Book Review: Annie's Attic Mysteries #9 - The Deed in the Attic - K.D. McCrite

Life really isn't fair.

I can't get one house of my own but Annie (yes, I know a fictional character), gets three.

This time she finds a deed in the attic showing that Grandma Betsy had ownership. So that means Annie owns a house in Texas which she shared with her now dead husband; Grey Gables, the house that Betsy left her, and now this other house that is apparently scary and not in good shape and haunted.

Yes, haunted.

So Annie and a few friends from the Hook and Needle club decide to go on a ghost hunting expedition and investigate the house. Turns out a couple of Hook and Needle friends don't get along so well when they're not crafting - that Peggy can be a bossy witch. And it also turns out that you need a kit to take with you ghost hunting. Not just flashlights.

It also turns out that although the house has been severely neglected because it hasn't been lived in (houses do that. The less you use them the older they become. It's like they need to be loved or something) the house itself is still in good shape, and although not big, it just needs some love and kindness to bring it back to its glory days.

Still, Annie wants to solve the mystery as to how Betsy obtained the house. She didn't just go an buy it. It was given to her. But why?

Now if I weren't so bitter about Annie getting three houses while I can't even have one...still, it was a nice little cozy.

*****

K.D. McCrite

K.D. McCrite Website

Annie's Mysteries (not just the Attic ones but others too)

Confessions of April Grace

Book Review: Annie's Attic Mysteries #1 - The Lady In the Attic by Tara Randel

To find out more about Annie's Attic Mysteries check the tab at the top of the page. Annie's Attic publishes craft novels.

This is the first in a series. Randel has the job of setting up the series for all the other authors who participated in this series.

Widow Annie Dawson leaves her home in Texas to go to Stoney Point, Maine, a fishing town, to take care of the estate of her now deceased grandmother Betsy Holden, a famous cross stitch designer who has left everything to Annie including the Victorian home, Grey Gables, and everything in it.

It's in this book that you first meet the important characters in the series, including her childhood friend Alice, the owner of the craft shop "A Stitch in Time", the members of the hook and needle club, and the mayor of the town Ian Butler. And you get to listen to the whiney voice of Annie's grown daughter LeeAnn on the phone who doesn't like the idea of Annie actually moving away for awhile and getting a new life.

The Lady in the Attic refers to a cross stitch piece that Betsy Holden left behind and that Annie finds in the attic of Grey Gables that no one has seen. Betsy did scenery, yet in this picture there's a woman on a porch, not the usual Betsy design but her work is unmistakable.

There's something familiar about the woman and her surroundings, so Annie sets out to find out who the woman is with the help of The Hook and Needle Club. What she doesn't expect is the animosity that she experiences from the town people while on her search. They don't take well to strangers even if Annie spent childhood summers in the town and she is the granddaughter of their most celebrated citizen. She's still an outsider.

As I stated in the Annie's Attic page, I'm not crazy about the writing style. However I recognize that a lot of it is editors creating a formula.

Having said that, I found the characters interesting and multi-dimensional. I figured out the mystery but I was still excited about the ending. The story kept moving along and I cared about the outcome and I looked forward to the other books in the series.

Important Links Regarding this Book

Tara Randel's Website

Annie's Attic Mysteries