What do you think?
Rate this book
Beacon Hill Chronicles #1-3
The Crazy Old Lady Omnibus
This is the Omnibus edition containing all 3 stories in Kathleen Valentine's Beacon Hill Chronicles:
• The Crazy Old Lady in the Attic
• The Crazy Old Lady's Revenge
• The Crazy Old Lady Unleashed
The series is psychological suspense with murder and a few ghosts thrown in. When Mattie Thorndike Michaud's wealthy elegant grandmother, GrammyLou, dies, Mattie inherits a fabulous five story townhouse on Boston's Beacon Hill. But as Mattie and her husband Stan prepare the house to be sold strange discoveries lead to long kept secrets, kidnappings, murders, and haunting. It is up to Mattie and Stan, with the help of Mattie's childhood friend Vivienne Lang, a strange woman of formidable skills, to rid the house of these horrors.
Volume 1 The Crazy Old Lady in the Attic
Novelette (15k words) Psychological horror. - The townhouses on serene, elegant Beacon Hill in Boston are some of the most lavish and expensive in the country. When Stan and Mattie take up residence in the dark and crumbling five-story house that Mattie grew up in, and has just inherited from her grandmother, their plans are to clean it out, fix it up, sell it, and return to their quiet life on Cape Cod. Mattie is overwhelmed by the gowns, furs and jewels in GrammyLou's bedroom. Stan is amazed by the fifth-floor ballroom which has been locked up since the night of Mattie's father's thirtieth birthday party -- the party that ended in the car wreck that killed both of her parents. Now, as they set about sifting through GrammyLou's endless possessions they find mysterious things: a closet full of still-wrapped presents, a marked passage in her grandfather's Bible, and a secret drawer with disturbing content. Mattie soon learns that her entire life has been built on a foundation of lies... that she was raised in a house of horror, by a monster.
Volume 2 The Crazy Old Lady's Revenge
Novella (39k words) Psychological horror - Growing up in her grandparent's apartment in Boston's Theater District, Vivienne Lang spent much of her childhood in the Beacon Hill townhouse of her best friend, Mattie Thorndike. Then Vivienne's life was uprooted and, by the time she returned to Boston, she was deeply changed. Now, she spends her time taking care of her grandfather and studying martial arts, a lonely and reclusive woman, until she reads a newspaper article about a body buried in the garden of Mattie's home. She and Mattie reconnect but within days of their reunion the realtor showing the house is found in the servants' stairwell with a broken neck. Then the old housekeeper, Nell, is found floating, face down, in the ocean. As more bodies turn up, Vivienne becomes deeply involved in inexplicable circumstances including meeting a handsome, sexy ex-cop named Joe Quinn, and a strange, yarn shop-owner who calls herself Madame Defarge. And someone seems to be stalking Mattie.
Volume 3 The Crazy Old Lady Unleashed
Novel (60k words) Psychological horror/suspense, ghosts/paranormal - Two years have passed since the horrible events in the Thorndike brownstone on Beacon Hill. Viv and Joe are recovering. Mattie and Stan have Adam, the little son they both adore. But strange things are going on in GrammyLou's townhouse; realtors refuse to show it because they say it is haunted and prospective buyers are being frightened away. Mattie hires a Salem ghost-hunter named Destiny Starlight, but though she identifies three distinct spirits haunting the old ballroom, her bungling only makes matters worse. With the help of Calista Defarge and Anteus Roosevelt Jones, an elderly historian, Viv discovers an ancient secret the house conceals. Guided by a mysterious Romanian monk, Brother Maksim Gromyko, Viv makes a terrifying journey that could end her relationship with Joe--and possibly her life.
• The Crazy Old Lady in the Attic
• The Crazy Old Lady's Revenge
• The Crazy Old Lady Unleashed
The series is psychological suspense with murder and a few ghosts thrown in. When Mattie Thorndike Michaud's wealthy elegant grandmother, GrammyLou, dies, Mattie inherits a fabulous five story townhouse on Boston's Beacon Hill. But as Mattie and her husband Stan prepare the house to be sold strange discoveries lead to long kept secrets, kidnappings, murders, and haunting. It is up to Mattie and Stan, with the help of Mattie's childhood friend Vivienne Lang, a strange woman of formidable skills, to rid the house of these horrors.
Volume 1 The Crazy Old Lady in the Attic
Novelette (15k words) Psychological horror. - The townhouses on serene, elegant Beacon Hill in Boston are some of the most lavish and expensive in the country. When Stan and Mattie take up residence in the dark and crumbling five-story house that Mattie grew up in, and has just inherited from her grandmother, their plans are to clean it out, fix it up, sell it, and return to their quiet life on Cape Cod. Mattie is overwhelmed by the gowns, furs and jewels in GrammyLou's bedroom. Stan is amazed by the fifth-floor ballroom which has been locked up since the night of Mattie's father's thirtieth birthday party -- the party that ended in the car wreck that killed both of her parents. Now, as they set about sifting through GrammyLou's endless possessions they find mysterious things: a closet full of still-wrapped presents, a marked passage in her grandfather's Bible, and a secret drawer with disturbing content. Mattie soon learns that her entire life has been built on a foundation of lies... that she was raised in a house of horror, by a monster.
Volume 2 The Crazy Old Lady's Revenge
Novella (39k words) Psychological horror - Growing up in her grandparent's apartment in Boston's Theater District, Vivienne Lang spent much of her childhood in the Beacon Hill townhouse of her best friend, Mattie Thorndike. Then Vivienne's life was uprooted and, by the time she returned to Boston, she was deeply changed. Now, she spends her time taking care of her grandfather and studying martial arts, a lonely and reclusive woman, until she reads a newspaper article about a body buried in the garden of Mattie's home. She and Mattie reconnect but within days of their reunion the realtor showing the house is found in the servants' stairwell with a broken neck. Then the old housekeeper, Nell, is found floating, face down, in the ocean. As more bodies turn up, Vivienne becomes deeply involved in inexplicable circumstances including meeting a handsome, sexy ex-cop named Joe Quinn, and a strange, yarn shop-owner who calls herself Madame Defarge. And someone seems to be stalking Mattie.
Volume 3 The Crazy Old Lady Unleashed
Novel (60k words) Psychological horror/suspense, ghosts/paranormal - Two years have passed since the horrible events in the Thorndike brownstone on Beacon Hill. Viv and Joe are recovering. Mattie and Stan have Adam, the little son they both adore. But strange things are going on in GrammyLou's townhouse; realtors refuse to show it because they say it is haunted and prospective buyers are being frightened away. Mattie hires a Salem ghost-hunter named Destiny Starlight, but though she identifies three distinct spirits haunting the old ballroom, her bungling only makes matters worse. With the help of Calista Defarge and Anteus Roosevelt Jones, an elderly historian, Viv discovers an ancient secret the house conceals. Guided by a mysterious Romanian monk, Brother Maksim Gromyko, Viv makes a terrifying journey that could end her relationship with Joe--and possibly her life.
374 pages, ebook
First published June 24, 2013
About the author
Kathleen Valentine
48 books118 followersFrom the Allegheny Mountains where she grew up, to the Gloucester seaport where she now lives and writes, Kathleen Valentine loves nothing more than listening to the stories that people tell while sitting on front porches, gathered around kitchen tables, or swapped in coffee shops and taverns. Her collection of legends, folklore, and tall tales are woven into her fiction. The award-winning author of novels, novellas, & short story collections, as well as books of knitting patterns, & a cookbook/memoir about growing up Pennsylvania Dutch, Valentine has been listed as an Amazon Top Selling Author in Horror, Mystery/Suspense, Cooking, and Knitting. As a writer her primary interest is delving into the psychology of her characters. Her stories are sometimes mysterious, sometimes funny, usually romantic, and frequently frightening. Her characters range from lost children and grumpy old folks, to mysterious men and women who are not to be trifled with. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, America's oldest seaport.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 19, 2015
A Psychological Suspense collection with Murder and a few Ghosts. My favorite story was the Crazy old Lady in the Attic. The other two stories The Crazy Old Lady's revenge and The Crazy Old Lady Unleashed are also well worth reading. I enjoy a well written Psychological Suspense story and in The Crazy Old Lady Omnibus you get that and more .
Want to Read
August 15, 2013Volumes 1,2,3 together $4.99
Kathleen Valentine has 1 review up for these books as a bundle
if you have read all 3 books can you go over to amazon and do a review for her?
Kathleen Valentine has 1 review up for these books as a bundle
if you have read all 3 books can you go over to amazon and do a review for her?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews