The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St James - 5 stars

[Barbara M]

Sarah Piper works for a temp agency. Its obvious she isn't very well off and she's kind of reserved. Its about 5 years past World War I. She is assigned to meet a man at a coffee shop for an interview but she's reticent and almost doesn't go but she needs the money. She meets with Alistair Gellis who seems to be the right age for a returned soldier. He's become a writer of serious research into ghosts. His assistant is not available and he needs Sarah to step in, its unclear what her responsibility will be, Alistair keeps his own notes. Alistair's assistant shows up at the last minute before they set off on the adventure. Sarah is not released from her obligation because this particular ghost seems to hate men according to the woman who is asking for him to come and rid her of an angry spirit. She will only let a woman approach the haunted barn or the ghost makes things very uncomfortable for the household.

The book is well written, there's a strong romance element but the ghost is definitely the star of the story. Our ghost is Maddy Clare who showed up at the Clare house when she was perhaps nine years old, no one knows her age for sure because she can't seem to remember how she got to the home dirty and beaten. They even have to name her, hence she has the same name of the owners of the house where she begins to work as a maid. Ten years later, she commits suicide and begins to haunt the barn at the Clare home. It seems that Sarah is sensitive to Maddy, much to her chagrin.

The audio is well done and definitely kept my attention, I constantly wanted to get back to listening. The story is very exciting, a good read I recommend.