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Isabella Moon

by Laura Benedict (Goodreads Author)

3.17 of 5 stars 3.17 · rating details · 334 ratings · 92 reviews

“Isabella Moon is a book of secrets and dark miracles. Laura Benedict writes with tender power and understanding, filling the pages with characters whose mysteries and longings will matter to every reader.”
–Luanne Rice, author of The Edge of Winter

Sometimes the past comes looking for you. . . .

Two years ago, in idyllic Carystown, Kentucky, nine-year-old Isabella Moon disa...more “Isabella Moon is a book of secrets and dark miracles. Laura Benedict writes with tender power and understanding, filling the pages with characters whose mysteries and longings will matter to every reader.”
–Luanne Rice, author of The Edge of Winter

Sometimes the past comes looking for you. . . .

Two years ago, in idyllic Carystown, Kentucky, nine-year-old Isabella Moon disappeared on her way home from school. Is it just coincidence that Kate Russell, a young woman with no discernible past, arrived in town just months before Isabella’s disappearance? When Kate walks into Sheriff Bill Delaney’s office to tell him that Isabella’s ghost has led her to the child’s hidden grave, he immediately views her as a suspect. Mystery follows mystery as a local athlete drops dead, inexplicably, on the basketball court, and someone close to Kate is viciously murdered.

Quiet Carystown was to be Kate’s salvation, and she’s settled into a comfortable job, a charming cottage, and a blissful romance. But having lied to her boyfriend, Caleb, for so long about the terrors of her past life, she finds she can’t trust him to understand the terror that Isabella Moon has now brought. And Kate’s best friend, Francie, is too wrapped up in her own troubles–particularly a secret affair with a man she at once loves and despises–to give Kate the help she needs. Utterly alone, Kate is torn between finding justice for the dead child and keeping away old ghosts of her own.

The unsolved disappearance of Isabella Moon has been the biggest disappointment of Sheriff Delaney’s career. But he senses that Kate is trouble. As he investigates her impossible claims, he also uncovers a series of unsettling truths about Carystown itself. Behind his hometown’s genteel façade is a morass of lies and murder, drugs and destruction. And Carystown’s residents are about to discover that even though the past is buried, it can rise again–with a vengeance.

Dark and suspenseful, tense and eerie, tinged with the supernatural, Isabella Moon is an engrossing, beautifully written debut novel, a breathtaking and artful story of the dark mysteries that can lurk in the most bucolic of places–and the ghost of a little girl who watches as evil rises unstoppably to the surface.(less)

Hardcover, 368 pages

Published September 25th 2007 by Ballantine Books (first published September 1st 2007)

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Feb 05, 2009 LJ rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary_post_1945, kentucky, paranormal_fantasy, thriller, female_author

ISABELLA MOON (Para/Thriller-Kate Russell-Kentucky-Cont) - Poor
Benedict, Laura – 1st book
Ballantine Books, 2007, US Hardcover – ISBN; 9780345497673

First Sentence: Kate was surprised when the stern-looking young woman at the duty desk told her to take a seat instead of just asking her name and sending her on her way when she announced, in a voice she could barely keep from shaking, that she knew where they could find the body of Isabella Moon.

Kate Russell has been seeing a small child. The proble...more ISABELLA MOON (Para/Thriller-Kate Russell-Kentucky-Cont) - Poor
Benedict, Laura – 1st book
Ballantine Books, 2007, US Hardcover – ISBN; 9780345497673

First Sentence: Kate was surprised when the stern-looking young woman at the duty desk told her to take a seat instead of just asking her name and sending her on her way when she announced, in a voice she could barely keep from shaking, that she knew where they could find the body of Isabella Moon.

Kate Russell has been seeing a small child. The problem is that it is the ghost of a child who disappeared two year previous. Although Kate can’t convince the sheriff, Lillian, the mother of Kate’s friend, Francie, believes the spirit wants Kate to find her body. Once the body is found, it seems all the towns secrets come to life.

I like woo-woo books and the handling of that, frankly, was the best part of this book. The rest? Not so much. But even though the appearances of the spirit were well done, the actions were completely predictable.

There were a lot of characters that the story jumped between. About half of them were not unlikable, but even some of the more appealing characters spent much of their time being just too stupid to live. I ran out of sympathy for them very quickly. The villains of the piece, of which there were many, were so obvious it negated much of the suspense.

There were large sections of back flash providing us Kate’s history, which while relevant, was all printed in italics, making it difficult to read. What was really off is that there was no good reason for all the events that happen to have happened at the same time.

There was quite a bit of sex, which isn’t a bad thing in itself, but with next to no romance it became unappealing. I know it was used as a way to demonstrate power and control but, for me, it just became boring.

The ending felt rather bizarre and as though the author had reached her word quota. You read and read and waited and waited and suddenly…it’s done.

I know all this sounds as though I hated the book. Oddly, I didn’t. It certainly kept me reading and I read it in one sitting. But after starting off really so well, it felt as though it spun off out of control into…nothing. This was such a disappointment.
(less)

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Mar 08, 2008 Myfanwy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Any of you city slickers who imagine small-town life is dull ought to read Laura Benedict's suspenseful, sexy, and haunting debut novel, Isabella Moon, as this book set in Carystown, Kentucky, proves otherwise. It's a page turner that is just as much about character as it is about plot. In fact, the characters are richly, artfully drawn with Benedict's deft hand.

And just who is Isabella Moon? Well, she's the missing girl who comes back to haunt the novel's protagonist, Kate, and reveal her secr...more

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Feb 06, 2009 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

I enjoyed this book. There were several plots twisting and weaving together yet all having to deal with the one major murder in the book. It seems everyone in the book had something to hide either from there past or something presently such as a hidden affair. I was shocked at the brutality of the murders and often shocking descriptions. I wasn't ready for the dirty cop and the scene that played out and exposed the person was confusing to me. I did not like the ending however. It felt unfinished...more

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Jul 28, 2008 Katy-Del rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 08, 2009 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads

A little girl disappears without a trace. A newcomer to town begins to have visions (visitations?) which lead to the discovery of her body. Unlike LULLABY this book had characters that I wanted to know more about. Not necessarily because they were likable, but because they were interesting. Each new chapter brought on another aspect to the characters keeping my interest peaked. The ending was a surprise too. It did not really take me to where I expected ... in this case ... a good thing!

1 like · like · see review

Jan 05, 2008 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jessica by: Poisoned Pen

Shelves: borrowed-from-mom, mystery

While the Amazon reviews for this book weren't great, I really enjoyed it - I thought the soft, meandering pace of the story suited the rural Kentucky setting perfectly. The characters are a little Springeresque, but Kate's story grabbed me at the beginning and I was willing to forgive a lot for it. It's also a nice change from most small-town mysteries that present the country as an idyll; the reality of rural life is closer to the meth-damaged poverty of Carystown than the shiny-scrubbed view...more

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Mar 13, 2008 Cherice rated it 2 of 5 stars

Kate Russell has lived in her small town for 2 years, hiding from her "secret" past. The book is interesting in the beginning with firends Lillain & Francie. The life of Sheriff Bill and the station. Kate's "secret" is told in flashbacks throughout the book.
Then, half way through, the book wanders off course and never gets back on. The last part of the book was rushed, the plot and character backstories are never fully developed and the end was confusing to me. Very disapointing after a pro...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Tamar Love rated it 1 of 5 stars

When I picked up this book at a thrift store, I was excited -- a literary ghost story/murder mystery ... what's not to love? Unfortunately, I loved nothing. This character-driven story was barely a ghost story, and the crime elements were weak at best. Not much was made of the reveals of the various murderers; they were sort of thrown toward the end of the story, but it didn't really matter because any mystery aficionado could have figured it out about a third of the way through the book. No sur...more When I picked up this book at a thrift store, I was excited -- a literary ghost story/murder mystery ... what's not to love? Unfortunately, I loved nothing. This character-driven story was barely a ghost story, and the crime elements were weak at best. Not much was made of the reveals of the various murderers; they were sort of thrown toward the end of the story, but it didn't really matter because any mystery aficionado could have figured it out about a third of the way through the book. No surprises here.

The stock characters were little more than your average archetypes: The Small-Town Sheriff, The Rich Bitch, The Wealthy Bad Boy, The Misguided Woman, The Hapless Protagonist. In addition to being single-faceted, the characters were entirely unlikeable and poorly developed. Logic gaps made the characters even worse -- why on earth did the sheriff dislike the main character from the beginning, and yet find himself attracted to her toward the end? Why did he suspect her of one of the murders when she clearly had nothing to do with it and was physically unable to commit it? Why did one of the characters call another (I don't want to reveal spoilers) when it would be quite unlikely for the character to do so, and why was this call never explained?

The use of italics to tell relate stories that happened in the past was bizarre and made reading these sections difficult. The cliched writing in the scenes became unbearable -- the author used the phrase "all things XXX" over and over again. The dialogue was stilted and filled with cliches, and sounded nothing like how real people would speak.

As one reviewer pointed out, the end was rushed and unfulfilling and read as though the author had, indeed, reached her word count. The penultimate fate of the main character was never explained adequately. It's tough to relate this without giving spoilers, but something happened that wasn't supported by the scene in which it happened, and the major element of the scene was that the character "disappeared," but it was logically impossible for someone not to have found the character.

I'm glad I only paid a buck for this book. It's going back to the thrift store, but I pity the person who buys it. I'm tempted to include a note in the book warning people away. (less)

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Jun 25, 2011 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklit

I completely forgot what this book was about, so I had copy and paste a review that thankgod, was on Amazon which reminded me. It reminded me how freakin' weird this book was! It was like the author was trying to jam in as many different types of stories into one book. Romance, friendship, family, a ghost story and just all around weirdness. A women arrives in town a few years before out of nowhere. She starts having dreams about some girl who died mysteriously a few years before about where she...more

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Jun 15, 2012 Susie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, indie

This book was engaging enough to start, but it didn't really follow through on the buzz I'd been hearing. I grew up in the area of the country where she writes about--at least in this book--but it didn't feel right to me at all. I know for a fact that I highlighted something in the book and said, "People from Kentucky DO NOT talk like this."

The characters read as being a little one-dimensional. The book had not one but two psychopaths vying for tension and attention. It had a ball-busting, succe...more

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Aug 13, 2011 Becky Ippolito rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

Ok, I gave this book one star because the story had potential, but this book frustrated me like not many do. The storyline had so many holes- I'm not talking unanswered questions- I'm talking the characters would mundanely have conversations about something that was going to happen and the next thing you know the conversation would happen and the reader wasn't any part of it! It was soooo frustrating! Then I would have to go back, thinking I missed something when it turned out it was not me, but...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, mystery-crime

Two years ago, Kate Russell moved to rural Carystown, Kentucky, aiming to build a new life for herself, and reticent about her past. Recently her sleep has been interrupted by dreams in which a little girl, Isabella Moon, beckons her into the night. Isabella disappeared some time ago, and her fate has never been discovered, which sticks in the craw of Sheriff Delaney. When Kate's dreams indicate where to find Isabella's body, she feels it's her duty to inform him. He knows better than to take fa...more

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Mar 10, 2009 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars

A little more romance than I usually like in mysteries but I enjoyed this book. Interesting characters and a ghost who seems less spooky than spunky.

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Oct 15, 2007 Kerri rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This book was not what I expected. It was well written so I quickly fell into the captivating pace of the story. The murder mystery kept me intrigued while the supernatural elements somewhat fit this time of year...
It held a bit too much gore, violence and drug use to be a great read but it was something different for me. And the characters were fairly deep and well connected.

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Mar 17, 2009 Julie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 16, 2009 Pmcdnld2 rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good little mystery: wife hidng from an abusive husband, a little girl's ghost and the gossip of a small town. I enjoyed it.

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Aug 25, 2008 Robin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

How far would you go to escape an abusive husband? Kate Russell changed her identity and moved to Carytown, Kentucky, and was living a quiet, relitively happy life until she was visited be Isabella Moon's ghost. Though it reminded me of Jodi Piccoult's early books, it is entertaining, though far-fetched in many ways. It was a pretty good read.

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Jul 26, 2008 Julie Compton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Laura Benedict does an excellent job of getting into the minds of her various characters, particularly control-freak Miles. He was downright scary and gave me nightmares! She also handles the intricacies of the story well; there were a few plot twists that I simply did not see coming. That's hard to pull off.

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Mar 04, 2012 Jennifer Brooks rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Every so often, I read a book so powerful that it pervades my soul, lingering there far longer than most. Laura Benedict’s debut novel, Isabella Moon, is just such a book. Few words exist that measure up to the task of describing this story, but evocative, soulful, and exquisitely heartbreaking certainly top the list.

Two years ago, nine-year-old Isabella Moon disappeared on her way home from school. For two years, Sheriff Bill Delaney and his deputies conduct a fruitless investigation, until Isa...more

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Nov 01, 2007 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

This book literally kept me up at night reading...to finish with a not-outstanding conclusion. 3 and half stars I'd award it, but I'll give it four because it's a first novel and because I've been thinking about it all day. It's a spooky ghost story/murder mystery/southern gothic tale.

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Dec 26, 2007 Kendra rated it 2 of 5 stars

This should have been an interesting and suspenseful mystery, but in the hands of this author, it was just a mess -- too many storylines, distractingly bad soap opera-ish names, and after wasting my time reading 351 pages, I'm still not sure what the point of it all was.

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Dec 06, 2007 Briana rated it 3 of 5 stars

a very compelling, dark read about a woman visited by a dead girls ghost while she deals with her own ghosts... the ending is ambiguous but that fits well with the mood of the book (definitely not a satisfying ending though).

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Mar 11, 2009 Mona rated it 1 of 5 stars

Isabella Moon was awful. The review sounded so great. I needed a book for the airplane. After I finished it, I felt like you feel when you eat a doughnut. I can't believe I ate that whole thing, I feel terrible and it didn't even taste good.
Benedict just writes without any regard for her characters or her readers. You get the feeling that she had scenarios up on a dart board and choose her plot through a series of (misplaced) hits. I was so mad at this book-I started to leave it on the plane an...more

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Apr 22, 2010 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it 2 of 5 stars

I found it difficult to enjoy Isabella Moon because I felt that it was ovecrowded with characters and plotlines that were related only tenuously. Kate's story and her role as the lead character and the catalyst for Isabella, was overshadowed by the other intrigues happening around her. I felt the resolution of her story was weak and paticulary her final scene with Miles inexplicable.
Quite a few of the casts motivations were irrational, plot conveniences, but each of the characters (and there wa...more

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Apr 05, 2008 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was similar to a Jodi Picoult book and I love her writing. Also reminded me of "Lovely Bones" and "Sleeping with the Enemy".

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Jan 27, 2008 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

The title of this book caught my eye at the library. I am glad I did. I truly enjoyed it and couldn't put it down.

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Apr 17, 2012 Coleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1/16/11 - I wanted to like this more than I did. It's kind of a mystery/thriller, with a little bit of supernatural thrown in. Isabella Moon is the name of a young girl who disappeared from a small town in Kentucky. But that's not the only storyline going on in this novel, and not even necessarily the main one. There are several storylines which interweave within one another. I liked that about this book, but somehow they weren't pulled together quite right. The whole last quarter or so of the b...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Larry Hoffer added it

I liked this book quite a bit. I agree with some of the other reviewers that it is a little slow to start, but the story quickly grips you and pulls you in until you find yourself torn between flying through the pages to see what happens and reading slowly because I was enjoying the way the story unfolded. The ending did disappoint me a bit, but I still think the way much of the story wrapped up was fairly realistic. I would like to see these characters again, although given the way the story pr...more

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Dec 17, 2007 Lelia McKee rated it 2 of 5 stars

disappointed in the ending.

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May 01, 2013 justablondemoment rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: missing-persons, ghosts, psychic-ability, scandal-and-gossip, mixed-race, drug-manufacturing-and-sales, meth, cocaine, read-2010, thriller-psychological

I really liked this book it was much more than I expected. It didn't quite make a 5 star for me, but it was a very close call. Way more than just your typical ghost story and I found myself being carried away with the... who done it... aspect.

Really, the only thing that kept it from being a 5 star was that as I got more into the story, it became pretty predictable. Still, even if I had figured it out, it wouldn't have bored me like sometimes books do when you know what's coming. I will definite...more

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About Laura Benedict

Author of the dark suspense novels, DEVIL'S OVEN, ISABELLA MOON and CALLING MR. LONELY HEARTS. Edits the SURREAL SOUTH anthology series with husband Pinckney Benedict. Lives in a far, far away place among coyotes, owls, deer, two substantial dogs, and a cat who is in charge of them all.

More about Laura Benedict...

Books by Laura Benedict

Surreal South: An Anthology of Short Fiction and Poetry

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