Synopses & Reviews
Amidst the lush farmland and orchards in Old Gate, Virginia, stands the magnificent Bliss House. Built in 1878 as a country retreat, Bliss House is impressive, historic, and inexplicably mysterious. Decades of strange occurrences, disappearances and deaths have plagued the house, yet it remains vibrant. And very much alive. Rainey Bliss Adams desperately needed a new start when she and her daughter Ariel relocated from St. Louis to Old Gate and settled into the house where the Bliss family had lived for over a century. Rainey's husband had been killed in a freak explosion that left her 14 year-old daughter Ariel scarred and disfigured. At the grand housewarming party, Bliss House begins to reveal itself again. Ariel sees haunting visions: the ghost of her father, and the ghost of a woman being pushed to her death off of an upper floor balcony, beneath an exquisite dome of painted stars. And then there is a death the night of the party. Who is the murderer in the midst of this small town? And who killed the woman in Ariel's visions? But Bliss House is loath to reveal its secrets, as are the good folks of Old Gate.
Review
"Haunting. This mystery will simultaneously tug at the heartstrings and scare the bejesus out of readers. In a word: unforgettable." The Chicago Tribune (Past Praise for Laura Benedict)
Review
"An exquisite, closely observed novel.
Review
"Like digging up an unmarked grave in the gloaming.
Review
"An exquisite, closely observed novel.
Review
"An exquisite, closely observed novel.
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"An exquisite, closely observed novel. It captivated me instantly and haunts me still." Luanne Rice, < m=""> New York Times < m=""> bestselling author of < m=""> The Edge of Winter < m="">
Review
"A classic murder mystery, one in which she skillfully and inextricably links the 'haints' and the homicides--and fills her novel with rich Virginia detail. Unabashedly dark and inevitably addictive. A dream (or would that be a delicious nightmare?) come true for fans of suspense fiction." The Richmond Times Dispatch
Review
"In Laura Benedict has written just the type of novel I love to read: A ghost story replete with good and evil, the past and present colliding, and compelling characters to root for.
Synopsis
Rainey Bliss Adams desperately needed a new start when she and her daughter Ariel relocated from St. Louis to Old Gate and settled into the house where the Bliss family had lived for over a century. Rainey's husband had been killed in a freak explosion that left her 14 year-old daughter Ariel scarred and disfigured.
At the grand housewarming party, Bliss House begins to reveal itself again. Ariel sees haunting visions: the ghost of her father, and the ghost of a woman being pushed to her death off of an upper floor balcony, beneath an exquisite dome of painted stars. And then there is a death the night of the party. Who is the murderer in the midst of this small town? And who killed the woman in Ariel's visions? But Bliss House is loath to reveal its secrets, as are the good folks of Old Gate.
Synopsis
Death never did come quietly for Bliss House . . . and now a mother and daughter have become entwined in the secrets hidden within its walls.
Amidst the lush farmland and orchards in Old Gate, Virginia, stands the magnificent Bliss House. Built in 1878 as a country retreat, Bliss House is impressive, historic, and inexplicably mysterious. Decades of strange occurrences, disappearances and deaths have plagued the house, yet it remains vibrant. And very much alive.
Rainey Bliss Adams desperately needed a new start when she and her daughter Ariel relocated from St. Louis to Old Gate and settled into the house where the Bliss family had lived for over a century. Rainey's husband had been killed in a freak explosion that left her 14 year-old daughter Ariel scarred and disfigured.
At the grand housewarming party, Bliss House begins to reveal itself again. Ariel sees haunting visions: the ghost of her father, and the ghost of a woman being pushed to her death off of an upper floor balcony, beneath an exquisite dome of painted stars. And then there is a death the night of the party. Who is the murderer in the midst of this small town? And who killed the woman in Ariel's visions? But Bliss House is loath to reveal its secrets, as are the good folks of Old Gate.
Synopsis
Death never did come quietly for Bliss House . . . and now a mother and daughter have become entwined in the secrets hidden within its walls.
About the Author
Laura Benedict is the author Isabella Moon (Ballantine, 2007), and her work has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, PANK, and numerous anthologies. She originated and edited the Surreal South Anthology of Short Fiction Series with her husband, Pinckney Benedict, and recently edited Feeding Kate, a charity anthology, for their press, Gallowstree Press. She lives with her husband in Carbondale, Illinois. Visit her at &