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Five "Spooks & Shivers" Stars
Haunting Intrigue!
Since this is a trilogy then I am going to break it up into three book parts with a small taste of what lies within each book section and then I will add final thoughts for all three books at the end of the blog.
A taste of what lies within:
Book One: Wrath of the Ancients
Setting: 1913
The story follows Adeline who finds herself with a job inside a mansion of a renowned and deceased archeologist Dr. Emeryk Quintillus. Adeline's job revolves around her typing up memoirs from notes of Emeryk Quintillus and what he had experienced during his time of discovering Cleopatra's tomb.
When spooky things start happening in the mansion is when Adeline begins to worry about what lies within the dark shadows of the mansion as things are not what they seem and the staff within the place just seem to be not as friendly as she would like, but when Adeline wants to know more about what is causing the spooky activity and she goes exploring into places that are supposed to be off limits is when she finds there is more than "spooks" that haunt the deep recesses of the mansion.
Book Two: Waking the Ancients
Setting: 2018
Paula Bancroft and her husband Phil decide to lease the mansion that once belonged to Emeryk Quintillus even though it had been bought in later years by a man named Markus von Durnstein and now is owned by his family.
When they learn that they will have access to almost all of the mansion except for the basement is when Paula's curiosity is piqued as she cannot understand why the basement door has locks on it but no one seems to have the key for it.
While Paula and Phil seem to settle into the mansion - spooky things begin to happen to Paula right away - Phil doesn't experience anything but when his job keeps him away from home quite a bit it ends up leaving Paula by herself to explore the rambling old place.
Paula starts feeling cold drafts along with a creepy atmosphere that seems to linger in the mansion but things escalate when she decides that she really wants to get down into the basement to see what is down there and when she invites her sister over while Phil is gone from home is when things go from calm to spooky wild as something has awoken down in the darkness of the basement!
Book Three: Damned by the Ancients
Setting: 2018
Ryan and Yvonne Mortimer along with their nine year old daughter, Heidi are the next tenants to lease the old mansion from the Durnstein family. The disappearance of Phil and Paula Bancroft weigh on their minds as Phil use to work with Ryan at the UN but they try not to let it bother them as they settle into the mansion.
Not too long after moving in knockings are heard on walls and cold drafts are blowing through the mansion. Their daughter Heidi starts talking to things that are not there up in her room but what really sends Ryan and Yvonne into a shocked state is when Heidi learns how to speak German and Egyptian without anyone teaching her.
The Mortimers are not in the mansion very long before things start to escalate and forces from beyond seem to be in control of the mansion as the more they try to learn what is happening they realize that evil is growing and before they realize it they are all in the midst of powers from beyond the grave which is after the soul and body of their daughter, Heidi!
Final Thoughts:
All three stories are steeped in historical horror of the past that is tied to Egypt and Cleopatra.
The first book starts it off with glimpses into the past of the character archeologist Emeryk Quintillus and how his story is weaved into what happens within the mansion with the main character Adeline. The suspense and intrigue is built up as the story unfolds which sets the stage for the next two books in this trilogy.
The second book in this trilogy goes deeper into what took place in the first book and more things are revealed about the character, Quintillus and what his spirit was trying to achieve. There are more secrets that are revealed but there are more puzzles that pop up as to why the mansion is haunted and what the Bancrofts learn as they live in the mansion that is wrapped up with Egyptian history.
The third book is the revelation of the previous two books and goes into more depth of what made the mansion fully haunted as the Mortimer characters learn quickly that something is not right within the mansion and they will have to do what they can to save their daughter from the evil that has lied dormant in the basement.
I became attached to all the characters as I read each story and the historical theme of the Egyptian past came alive on the pages as I made my way through each story. The pace was fast through most of the trilogy as things would escalate and then the suspense would kick in where I would find myself just barreling along as I did not want to put the book down! All three stories travel back and forth between the past and the present as I learned a little more of how the character, Emeryk Quintillus was involved with the haunting of the mansion and how so much of all three stories are wrapped within Egyptian times.
Author, Catherine Cavendish has become one of my favorite authors as her stories are always wrapped up within gothic historical settings that just grab you and hurl you back to the past. I always feel when reading her books that I am right there with the characters and experiencing everything that they are going through. I could tell by reading this trilogy that the author went into quite a bit of extensive research of the Egyptian era as she brought it all to life within the pages of this trilogy. I could just feel the essence of the past wrap itself around my soul as I became involved in all three stories. Another awesome book by this author and it has been added to my favorites shelf!
Attached is the author, Catherine Cavendish, profile page from Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4961171.Catherine_Cavendish
Attached is the author, Catherine Cavendish, profile page from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Catherine-Cavendish/e/B0059GDROQ
Attached is my review from Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5344631252
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