| 9781605988788 |
| 1605988782 |
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Call Number | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Penrose Library | Book | BENE | Fiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Step back into Bliss House, the yellow-brick Virginia mansion with a disreputable, dangerous past, that even the sheen of 1950's domesticity cannot hide . . .
The fall of 1957 in southern Virginia was a seemingly idyllic, even prosperous time. A young housewife, Charlotte Bliss, lives with her husband, Hasbrouck Preston "Press" Bliss, and their two young children, Eva Grace and Michael, in the gorgeous Bliss family home. On the surface, theirs seems a calm, picturesque life, but soon tragedy befalls them: four tragic deaths, with apparently simple explanations.
But nothing is simple if Bliss House is involved. How far will Charlotte go to discover the truth? And how far will she get without knowing who her real enemy is? Though Bliss House may promise to give its inhabitants what they want, it never gives them exactly what they expect.
Author Notes
Laura Benedict is the author of several novels of dark suspense, including Isabella Moon and Devil's Oven . Her essays and short fiction have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine as well as numerous anthologies, and she originated and edited the Surreal South short fiction anthology series. She lives with her family in the southernmost region of a Midwestern state.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in 1957 in southern Virginia, Benedict's suspenseful, atmospheric follow-up to 2014's Bliss House finds housewife Charlotte Bliss devastated by the death of her four-year-old daughter. At the family mansion, Charlotte sees the ghost of her mother-in-law, Olivia, also recently deceased, who gradually reveals disturbing secrets about Bliss House, her own past, and Charlotte's husband, Press. When she tries to flee with their toddler son, Charlotte discovers that Press won't let her go. Cut off from family, trapped in a house of ghosts, and unable to trust anyone in nearby Old Gate, she realizes Olivia may be her only ally. Expertly paced revelations help build a sense of encroaching horror, though readers new to the series may feel they're missing important background. Sexual violence runs throughout, and while Benedict avoids graphic detail, scenes of rape, sadism, and an orgy will likely trouble some readers. Others, however, will find this a satisfyingly creepy tale for a rainy night. Agent: Susan Raihofer, David Black Agency. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Benedict ups the ante in this suspenseful sequel to Bliss House (2014), as the elegant nineteenth-century Virginia country manor wraps its talons around Charlotte Bliss, wife of the latest owner, Preston Bliss. Charlotte disjointedly narrates horrors as she experiences them, in nonlinear fashion, so that neither she nor the reader is certain of her sanity. Metaphorical portents snake, raven, spontaneous fire, four accidental deaths, and a ghost screaming Haunted house! But the people, albeit slightly off-kilter (especially the creepy butler, Terrance), are solidly real and unfailingly polite, lending a surreal quality to even the mundane. Charlotte pursues the ghosts she sees, certain that they can reveal the horrible secrets that curse both house and residents and they do. Murder, sexual obsession, and misogyny explode in the final scenes, bringing all the simmering evil to the surface in a shocking finale that, as in all good horror stories, is probably not really the end. You just can't look away from this bombsite nor forget it. Dripping with southern gothic atmosphere, this novel is for those who crave more, like Elizabeth Lord's The Chandelier Ballroom (2014) and Brendan Duffy's House of Echoes (2014)--Baker, Jen Copyright 2015 Booklist
