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Haunting Refrain (McGuire women #1)
by
Ellis Vidler (Goodreads Author)
Good intentions go awry and a newly discovered psychic gift becomes life-threatening in Ellis Vidler's debut, Haunting Refrain. After a psychometric photographer touches a headband and witnesses, in her mind's eye, a missing coed's murder, and a reporter hard up for news mentions the mystery vision, the girl's killer embarks on a new homicidal mission: he'll do anything to...more
Kindle Edition, 184 pages
Published
May 31st 2011
by Ellis Vidler
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In Haunting Refrain, Kate McGuire and her elderly friend, Venice, take part in a parapsychology study. Kate picks up a headband which, unknown to her, was last worn by a missing college student. Kate "sees" things, and from there the story takes off in directions that will entertain you until the last page.
From the police to a reporter named John Gerrard, everyone is reluctant to pay attention to Kate's visions, and Kate is the most reluctant of all. Unfortunately, the reporter writes a story fo...more
From the police to a reporter named John Gerrard, everyone is reluctant to pay attention to Kate's visions, and Kate is the most reluctant of all. Unfortunately, the reporter writes a story fo...more
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This book combines all the elements that make it a page-turner: mystery, suspense, romance, and a little bit of the paranormal. And Ms. Vidler can write.
This is an entertaining romantic suspense with a slight supernatural bent (if you consider psychic visions supernatural). The book has interesting and likeable characters and an engaging storyline. Even though I found it relatively easy to predict who the murderer was, I did not find that it detracted from the overall story. I was still sucked into it and read it quickly.
There were a couple of things that I thought could have had more follow-through. The main thing is Kate's visions. They playe...more
There were a couple of things that I thought could have had more follow-through. The main thing is Kate's visions. They playe...more
I found the beginning of this novel a little abrupt (if a beginning can be abrupt!) as it starts from the very first scene with Kate's discovery of her psychic ability. This makes it rather harder to fill in a clear picture of what Kate was like before her life changes - a pity, as that's what she wants to get back to, and what we want for her. Once it gets going, though, it improves a lot. It's a tense read with a sweet romantic subplot that develops very smoothly. The paranormal element, while...more
I just love the cover art for this book. The choice of blue is perfect and the scene evokes the same feelings I got from reading the story.
She doesn’t want to touch it again. But she has to. Kate can’t ignore what she’s seen.
"Hands, cold and hard, tightened around her throat, choking her. Long fingers encircled her neck, and fingernails cut into her flesh. Strong thumbs pressed into her windpipe, forced her head back. She clawed at them, tried to free herself. Blinded by the rain and the curtain...more
She doesn’t want to touch it again. But she has to. Kate can’t ignore what she’s seen.
"Hands, cold and hard, tightened around her throat, choking her. Long fingers encircled her neck, and fingernails cut into her flesh. Strong thumbs pressed into her windpipe, forced her head back. She clawed at them, tried to free herself. Blinded by the rain and the curtain...more
Sep 16, 2011
Katy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of mystery/suspense/thrillers
Recommended to Katy by:
Ellis Vidler
Shelves:
ebook
Kate McGuire divorced her wealthy politician husband and set up a photography studio, slowly gaining business over the past year. Deciding to try something fun, she joins a parapsychology group at a local college. It’s entertaining, until she gets a vision of an angry man strangling a young woman – a vision that is so vivid that she feels as though she is the one being strangled. After the professor running the group – Martin Carver – checks the registration on the item Kate was holding, it is d...more
Book: Haunting Refrain
Author: Ellis Vidler
Genre: Paranormal (psychic abilities), Suspense, Thriller, Romance
Length: Novel
Excellent read!
Kate McGuire has a gift. She can find things that are lost, keys, purses and such. She joins a parapsychology group with her good friend, Venice, to explore her talent. She gets a little more than she bargains for when she's handed an unidentified woman's headband. Touching this object sends Kate into a full blown psychic encounter that has her experiencing the...more
Author: Ellis Vidler
Genre: Paranormal (psychic abilities), Suspense, Thriller, Romance
Length: Novel
Excellent read!
Kate McGuire has a gift. She can find things that are lost, keys, purses and such. She joins a parapsychology group with her good friend, Venice, to explore her talent. She gets a little more than she bargains for when she's handed an unidentified woman's headband. Touching this object sends Kate into a full blown psychic encounter that has her experiencing the...more
Portrait photographer Kate McGuire touched a headband and slammed into another place, a place where she was being choked to death. An experiment gone awry in a parapsychology class puts Kate in a killer’s crosshairs. Kate hadn’t paid much attention to her psychometry ability before, but she’s suddenly thrust to center stage of a murder investigation. Reporter John Gerrard and the police become very interested in her visions as they provide leads to the missing coed’s killer.
A page turner.
A page turner.
I liked the paranormal aspect of this mystery, which isn't surprising since my own novel Dream or Destiny has a similar theme, though my heroine has a dream while the heroine of Haunting Refrain uses psychokinesis. The characters were well-developed and distinctive.
Ellis Vidler tells a good story in Haunting Refrain. The amount of backstory is delicately balanced with dialogue to allow the plot to move a a steady pace, keeping the reader engaged. Her lean character list is nice and each character has a distinct voice. I enjoyed Haunting Refrain and am looking forward to Cold Comfort, it's waiting on the kindle.
Una Tiers
Una Tiers
This book contains everything a person can love in a book! Thriller, romance, mystery, and even a little - very tiny amount - of paranormal. The book is a great page turner, and the characters are well thought out. Definitely a book worth picking up!
I liked it. I have to say the story grabbed me from the first page. It has some mystery and some romance and it kept me reading until the end. She did a fair job of keeping you guessing about who the murderer was.
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Very good book. I took two fiction classes that Ellis taught and not only is she a good writer, but she is a great teacher as well. Her advice helped me ace my creative writing class.
1 like · like · see review
Photographer Kate McGuire has a modest talent for psychometry--the ability to divine information through touch. It gets her into trouble during a parapsychology experiment, when she has visions of a murder being committed. Reporter John Gerrard mentions her experience in an article about a missing coed when, as Kate predicts, the victim's body is found in a cold mountain lake. The police dismiss her insights, but the murderer doesn't. And if her instincts are correct, then the official investiga...more
Not as good as Cold Comfort, but still entertaing. I like this author.
This was a great quick read. The story never stopped me, I didn't want to put it down!
Nov 14, 2012
Lindsay
marked it as kindle-i-own-to-read
Amazon Freebie 11/14/2012
Listen/read my review here - http://alchemyofscrawl.wordpress.com/...
I enjoyed this book and I think you will too.
Haunting Refrain is a good, solid mystery. I especially enjoyed the paranormal (ESP) element. The characters were well-drawn and interesting. I did guess who the villain was pretty early on, but it was a fun read, nonetheless! I'll definitely be looking out for more from Ms. Vidler!
Jun 19, 2013
Niki
marked it as to-read
Jun 17, 2013
Deanna
added it
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Sharon
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Jun 03, 2013
Skaistė
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Elizabeth
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Jun 02, 2013
Dustin Rhodes
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our Generation: Weekly Read - 12/9 - 12/15 | 3 | 6 | Dec 09, 2012 12:48pm |
South Carolina author: TIME OF DEATH, suspense with a hint of romance. COLD COMFORT, romantic suspense. HAUNTING REFRAIN, suspense with a little romance; THE PEEPER, with Jim Christopher, suspense.
3 short stories, TEA IN THE AFTERNOON, Southern fiction.
Some favorites: To Kill a Mockingbird, Prince of Tides, Tarzan of the Apes, Anne of Green Gables, The Lord of the Rings, Beach Music--those are o...more
More about Ellis Vidler...
3 short stories, TEA IN THE AFTERNOON, Southern fiction.
Some favorites: To Kill a Mockingbird, Prince of Tides, Tarzan of the Apes, Anne of Green Gables, The Lord of the Rings, Beach Music--those are o...more
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