Jackie’s Reading Corner

SYNOPSIS

Can she keep the secrets of her past to rescue a girl tormented by a ghost?

In 1920s Los Angeles, Letitia Hawking reads the veil between life and death. A scrying bowl allows her to experience the final moments of the deceased. She brings closure to grief-stricken war widows and mourning families.

For Letitia, it is a penance. She knows no such peace.

For Alasdair Driscoll, it may be the only way to save his niece, Finola, from her growing night terrors. But when Letitia sees a shadowy figure attached to the household, it rouses old fears of her unspeakable past in England.

When a man comes to her about his missing daughter, the third girl to go missing in as many months, Letitia can’t help him when she can’t see who’s taken them.

As a darkness haunts Letitia’s vision, she may not be given a choice in helping the determined Mr Driscoll, or stop herself falling in love with him. But to do so risks a part of herself she locked away, and to release it may cost Letitia her sanity and her heart.

 

MY REVIEW

Do you like a horror story with a bit of romance thrown in? If you do then grab yourself a copy of this book. Perfect for a cold winters night curled up in a chair with the wind howling outside.

The story is set in the 1920’s, Los Angeles. Letitia Hawking has fled from England to LA to start a new life. She had lost her husband Daniel in the war, But not just that she has secrets she cannot face, having nearly died herself and having spent time in a sanitarium it was only through a lady in Scotland who taught her how to use her skills safely that she is alive now.

She helps people who have lost loved ones get some sort of closure. But there is a limit to how far she will go, because she has genuine powers that are very strong, so picks and chooses her cases carefully.

Alasdair Driscoll is a man at the end of his tether, worrying over his niece Finola who has been seeing horrible things, she screams at night and no one knows what to do to help her. When he approaches Letitia she finds him rude and is terrified of the dark shadow she sees following him. Shadow’s are the last things she wants to tackle ever again.

However, she does decide to try and help Finola, she realises how much she needs saving, can she stop the torture Finola is going through?

Time passes, and Letitia finds herself in need of a lawyer, she is being questioned by the police regarding a missing girl after a grieving father accuses her of knowing about and being involved in the disappearance of his daughter. The only lawyer she knows is Alasdair Driscoll. He comes to her aid.

But things take a bad turn when Finola goes missing, and Letitia knows the only way she can possibly save her is by putting herself in the path of the shadow. But is she strong enough to defeat it? Or will it take her?

I really enjoyed reading this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect and the first few pages were a little slow, but that may have been more me than the story, because once Alasdair Driscoll turned up the stories pace went a little faster and I was hooked. Letitia’s character is well developed you feel her emotions, how scared she is to take that step into darkness, especially when you learn what had happened previously it becomes completely clear why she is afraid. She is vulnerable but when needed she becomes more assertive and authorative because she has to be.

Alasdair initially comes across as rude, being rich he thinks he can buy anything. But he’s met his match with Letitia. But it’s not long before you see the real man. He has had heartache as well as Letitia could they possibly break down the walls they have both put up or is it too late?. I really felt the romance helped the story, adding that extra dimension as not knowing if they would get together.

The tension ratchets up gradually as Letitia is trying to save Finola, as well as protecting herself and Alasdair. The atmosphere and action works well and keeps you gripped and engrossed.

If you like a horror story, but don’t want too much gore then this is perfect, great storyline, great characters. What more could a reader ask for?

Thank you to Blackthorn Book Tours for inviting me on the tour and for the ebook, all thoughts and opinions are my own and not influenced in any way.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beginning a writing journey with an epic 21 book series, Ejay started her author career in 2014 and has taken on the ups and downs of self-publishing with her fantasy series The Last Prophecy since 2016. At the start of 2019, she put the series on the backburner to write Behind the Veil in 25 days, and signed a publishing contract for the gothic noir novel to independent publisher Literary Wanderlust. Behind the Veil is set for release on the October 1st 2021. She resumed self-publishing a scifi series, Queen of Spades released across 2020 and 2021, as well as signing another contract with Literary Wanderlust for NA fantasy, Echo of the Evercry. Believing in more than one path to a career in publishing, Ejay pursues self-publishing alongside querying traditional publishers with multiple manuscripts.

· Purchase Link: http://mybook.to/BehindVeil

· Print length: 252

· Age range: 18+

· Genre: Gothic noir

· Trigger warnings: dark adult themes, death, murder, miscarriage, suicide, rape and paedophilia (those last two are mentioned only, there is no explicit content in the book).