Sigh...another DNF.

Too many modern mores for a 1920's time period. The supernatural aspect was fairly creepy, but then it devolved into a romance, with some unexpected sex scenes. Not what I was hoping for.

I'll try not to ramble too much, but I'm working on a sleep deficit caused by staying up way too late finishing this book. I read this book after both Susanna Kearsley and Molly O'Keefe recommended it to me, and what a wonderful read it was! As others have commented in their reviews, I did solve the mystery rather early on, but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book one bit.

The story is told in the first person and Sarah Piper is a delightful narrator. Not only do we get treated to a sto More...

I loved this book - I was freaked out. The mysteries - all of them! Were page turning and the romance was really satisfying. For readers who like well balanced romance/mystery/historical - this one is for you!

I received a copy of The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James from the Good Reads First Reads Program and I will honestly tell you that it took me a long time to get around to reading it. When I did finally sit down and start it, I was able to read it in about a day and a half. Don’t get excited though, I wasn’t able to get through it so quickly because it was a great book; it wasn’t a horrible book either. I gave it four stars on goodreads, but I’m now starting to wonder if maybe it only More...

An excellent ghost story with some truly terrifying moments. This is Simone St. James' first book, and I actually read her second book first before going back to this one. They are not connected, although they have a similar setting and sets of characters. Their similarity in no way detracted from my enjoyment of both books.

It is 1922, and 24-year old Sarah Piper leads a lonely, very threadbare existence. It is hinted that there was a traumatic event in her past, and as such, she seems to be goi More...

A ghost story but a woman's story too in the beginning of the twenties. A very interesting period with wounded veterans, a new world to rebuild and the beginning of a new era for women. A love story, with a mystery and a ghost!


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Avis de Callixta

Voilà un roman qui aurait pu passer inaperçu s’il n’avait pas été nominé aux RITA, la fameuse récompense le plus prisée de la romance. Simone St James est en effet parmi les finalistes dans la catégorie des premiers l More...

This book was a really great reading experience, in part because it's well written, but also because it's unique. It's a real ghost story -- not a Romancelandia gentle paranormal haunting, but a full-out, dangerous, deadly ghost, good enough for a horror novel. Add to that the historical fiction elements, because the post World War I setting is important and is handled well, and also a strong focus on women's roles. Plus there's a mystery to solve to dispel the ghost. The romance plot (and yes, More...

Wow! I came across this book by just browsing the new shelves at my library.
I generally never read books of this genre anymore. I feels a bit like a Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt or something of that sort, that I read as a teenager. I have to say, it is better than any books like it that I have read.

I found the book to be frightening and so real that it felt like an accurate retelling of events that had actually taken place.

I felt so sorry for Maddy. She was really scary but when one finds out he More...

I grabbed this out of the ether, from someone's mention here on Goodreads. England between the wars, a female protagonist, a haunting...hey, I loved The Little Stranger . What more could I want?

Well, this is less of a literary novel and more of a Gothic historical romance. If that's a thing. It's also a fast read. The setup pulled me in, and the writing is smooth and proficient. The author definitely relies on some tropes--our first-person POV heroine is not above noticing the sooty eyelashes of More...

I am not a big "ghost stories" person. However, this book kept popping up and the reviews were favorable. The story itself is interesting, and I enjoyed the characters, for the most part. I think really I would give this story a 3.5, but I rounded up.

The story is that of a temp agency girl hired to help out a self-proclaimed ghost hunter. At first it seemed like a quirky, fun ghost story, but it soon turned a bit disturbing and dark. The book is eerie, but not over the top. However, there are so More...

I am not an avid reader of ghost stories. In fact, I try to avoid them. I got scared while reading Jane Eyre--so please use this if you need a gauge for how lame I am with ghost stories. That said, I kept coming back to this book on goodreads because I was intrigued by the story and the books that brought me to looking at it as a potential read (The House at Tyneford and The Snow Child...one of those "if you like these, try this..." ordeals). Anyway, a totally spontaneous trip to the beach in Sa More...

I'm into ghost stories and gothic themed books this month. Here vacationing in hot and sunny Barbados, feeling quite happy with myself for buying this gem of a book. Simone. St James has infused some interesting twists and turns into a ghost story mystery. The story starts off simply enough with our heroine, Sarah meeting ghost hunter, Allistair for what she assumes is a secretarial job. He needs her to encounter a male-hating ghost named Maddy Clare who committed suicide in a barn and whose spi More...

Since I was a child I have always loved ghost stories, but when I began to read this story I noticed that it was nothing like the other ghost stories I had ever read. This book was so much more than your typical, creepy, horror story. It was also a tale of romance, bravery, and friendship. Out of every story that I have read I would have to say that this is one of my favorites. I read the entire book in three days, which is fast for me. When you read this book you find that it's very hard to put More...

Although I prefer a little more subtlety in ghost stories -- the book's spirit made her presence known early on and spectacularly -- the book started off strong. There was some nice period detail, and the premise was interesting enough that I was willing to accept it on its own terms.

THEN the author threw in an anachronism that ruined much of my enjoyment.The story was set in 1922. Sarah compared Evangeline to Norma Shearer, claiming she'd seen all her movies. Although Norma Shearer had begun a More...

I picked up this book after reading Unholy Night/Seth Grahame-Smith and Life/Keith Richards. Lightness was needed and this looked like the book for it.

Romances are not what I normally read as over the years I have read at least a thousand Harlequins (whilst having a great soak in my mother's bathtub with all her Harlequins on the floor beside me) and really do I need any more? But this~~post WWI era, England, intelligent heroine, handsome young men wounded by the War, village atmosphere, a littl More...

I have always enjoyed a good ghost story and one set in the post WWI era in England was even more appealing. The historical background and a positive comment from one of my favorite authors, Susanna Kearsley, made The Haunting of Maddy Clare a must read for me.

The utter devastation wrought upon an entire generation by the first mechanized war coupled with the effects of the influenza epidemic of 1918 brought about unprecedented social change. While WWI claimed an estimated 16 million lives, the More...

It has been quite a while since I read a book in one day. But this was the case with The Haunting of Maddy Clare. Set in England after WW-1, the story revolves around Sarah Piper, a temporary worker hired by Alistair Glennis to be his assistant. Turns out, he is a ghost hunter.

This is England, after all, where every house has a ghost and every pub has a poltergeist, and Alistair admits he has seen evidence of "manifestations" but never really encountered a ghost. But Maddy Clare is no curious po More...

Ok, it is December and I should be reading a Christmas related book. But, this book was a book club read in October and I never found time to sit down and enjoy it. So, I finally picked it up and found myself happily surprised. I loved the setting of post World War I in England and I loved the heroine Sarah. Sarah is a young woman living in London who relies on employment from a temp agency. She finds herself employed by a young man, Alistar, who is a World War I veteran who is a ghost hunter. A More...

I chose this book because 2 of the quotes on the book jacket are from Deanna Raybourn and Susanna Kearsley. I figured if they liked it, it must be good. This is really my first time reading this type of ghost story, and HOLY COW was it scary.

The protagonist here is Sarah Piper, a London girl with no family or friends to speak of, making a living through work for a temp agency. She is hired by Alistair Gellis for her most unusual assignment yet. Alistair is a ghost hunter, and he has been contact More...

Joint review originally posted on The Book Smugglers

First Impressions:

Ana: Thea was supposed to be doing a solo review of The Haunting of Maddy Clare but then last week I was having a moan about not wanting to read any of the books on my TBR and then Thea was like, “What do you want to read dude” and I was like, “I think I am in the mood for a historical novel, possibly Horror as well. Maybe.” and she was like, “Dudette, why don’t you read Maddy Clare with me” and I looked it up and it was a his More...

Although I figured out the plot about 2/3 of the way through I loved the humanness of the characters and the whole feel of the story. There are some masterful twists of the plot which leave the reader stunned and having to happily read on. Set in the 1920's rural England, the story centers around Alistair Gellis, a WWI veteran and avid ghost hunter who hires Sarah Piper to replace his indisposed assistant Matthew Ryder, a fellow veteran. When Matthew returns and finds that Sarah and Alistair hav More...

The Haunting of Maddy Clare is about a young woman, Sarah Piper, who is hired on in a temporary position to assist a self-proclaimed ghost hunter as he tries to have an encounter with the ghost of a young servant girl who is haunting an old barn and hates men. The events that follow are chilling and occasionally quite disturbing.

One of the creepiest, spookiest books I have read in a long time, and I found it to be absolutely thrilling. I honestly have such a soft shell when it comes to ghost st More...

The Haunting of Maddy Clare – St. James
3 stars

In life, Maddy Clare was a severely abused, traumatized and powerless servant girl. It is not surprising that following her despairing suicide, she would return to seek her revenge. In fact, very little of this ghost story was surprising. Set in an English village just after World War I, the ghost busters are two shell-shocked veterans and Sarah Piper. Sarah is hired from an employment agency specifically to communicate with Maddy. Maddy is underst More...

Having a very hard time deciding stars...2 or 3. This book sounded promising and there were some very well written parts, but it did come up short. If you are an avid reader that just needs a book when sitting on the toilet or the commuter train, this will suffice. If you are an avid reader and looking for high quality, skip this and move on. The book's problems will distract you along the way and you will waste time evaluating these problems after you have finished reading, realizing that you c More...

My friend Sandi had rated this highly, and since I haven't read this type of story in a long time, I decided to give it a shot.

This was definitely a different kind of ghost story - I always enjoy post-WWI English settings in grand manors (although the manor was not quite so grand here albeit upscale), thanks to reading a plethora of early Agatha Christie.

I also like first-person narratives - Sarah Piper is a 20-something, no family, (and seemingly no friends) and no income, who accepts a tempora More...

Nothing is more perfect than a ghost hunt across the English countryside in the 1920’s. Suspenseful, wicked, sexy – this novel is everything that gothic and paranormal lovers crave. A must read!

Sarah Piper’s lonely, threadbare existence becomes an adventure she could never have predicted when she accepts an appointment to meet with her possible future employer. Sarah works for a temporary agency in London and is currently in-between jobs, so the unusual request to meet a stranger in a coffeehou More...

rah Piper is not sure how to respond when the handsome Alistair Gellis asks her to become a ghost hunter. It would be strange unheard of today, but unheard of for London, 1922. So Ms. Piper does the only things she can do - she tells him yes and with that one word, her whole life changes.

In a quiet English village, Sarah meets the Maddy Clare, a tortured soul in life, who has has become a destructive force after her death and Sarah soon learns that Maddy is not ready to leave yet - not until she More...

I don't read books involving ghosts very often, but I'm glad that I read this one. It captured my interest from the start, and if I hadn't gotten spooked a few times while reading late at night, I would have finished it faster. This is the kind of read where you need to know what happens next but at the same time are afraid to find out.

The writing and pacing are excellent. It's very easy to believe Alistair Gellis when he tells Sarah Piper that ghosts exist in post-World War I England. I thought More...

8/8/2012:

I would have loved to live post WWI for the huge changes taking place both socially and economically but I'd never have fit into the fashions nor looked good in the hair cuts. I would have loved to worn marcelled hair with spit curls at my temples but that is not to be; so I can feel Sarah Piper's desire to fit into the clothing styles and hair styles but fall short due to monetary straits.

Sarah Piper, a twenty-something in 1922 London, is working and supporting herself through a tempor More...