For aspiring novelist Ellis Brooks, the idyllic setting of Bosco promises to provide the perfect backdrop for finishing her book about its founder, Aurora Latham. But the artists' retreat is not providing the inspiration she hoped for. Instead of being visited by her muse, Ellis is haunted by the spirits of dead children who seem exceptionally playful, even vicious. Bosco is famous as a centre for the arts and for its gardens based on Greek and Native American mythology. But it's infamous for the scandal that took place there early in its history.In an effort to ease his wife's spirits after the death of three of their children, Milo Latham summoned feted spiritualist Corinth Blackwell to Bosco. There she performed two seances, both of which ended in tragedy. But was Corinth medium or charlatan? Seductress or seduced? And when she disappeared from Bosco, did she spirit the Latham's only surviving daughter, Alice, away with her? It seems the events of the past are taking on disturbing relevance for the occupants of the artists' retreat in the present. It transpires that they all have some sort of connection to Bosco or the scandal associated with it.
And the ghostly visitations are becoming progressively frightening and violent. But are they truly haunted or is the explanation much more mundane, more earthly, more close to home.
This time around, Carol Goodman serves up a ghost story with her signature solving-mysteries-from-the-past plot. The chapters alternate between the past and the present, and I really like the way they're linked together. The setting, a mansion with a sprawling garden populated by statues and a maze, comes to life with Goodman's descriptions and the gardens almost become a character themselves.
I think [b:The Lake of Dead Languages|120274|The Lake of Dead Languages|Carol Goodman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320554718s/120274.jpg|3159707] remains my favorite Goodman novel, but this one comes in at a close second.
Reading updates
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20 October, 2008:
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20 October, 2008:
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