"It's something of a Romeo and Juliet story. There was a young couple in Salem, long ago . . . And the girl's mother, she hated the boy. When the witch-hunting began, mother, daughter, and suitor all ended up at the Blackthorne hanging."
Now, ages later, in the cold, dark heart of the Victorian era—an age of black clothes and black moods—one train is bound for Blackthorne, near Salem, where a winter carnival awaits. The cars are full of the promise of fireworks, sleigh rides, and skating. But for Tess and Tobias Goodraven, this train will take them to a place much darker than they imagined.
Even a seasoned pair of ghost hunters like Tess and Tobias didn't expect a witch like Old Mother Malgore—a witch who stalks the forests, silent as snowfall, hunting, hungering. When the train derails and the casualties climb, the Goodravens must bridge the gap between past and present tragedies if they have any chance of quieting the souls of the living, the dead, and the haunted.
In J. P. Hightman's richly woven story of ghosts and witchcraft, the simple is sinister, the dead stalk the living, and the only real weapon is love.
Amazon.com
I bought this one on a whim one day from Book Outlet (I'm guessing you know how that goes... ), not really knowing much of anything about it, just being intrigued by the mix of ghost story & ties to Salem Trials... a couple of my book back cover buzzwords! Decided to pick it up on Halloween Eve because I'd been in a minor reading slump, my "spooky" picks for this not really wowing me. Instantly the prologue got me hooked. The scene with the father & daughter on the frozen lake -- no joke, my heart stopped for a second! That poor girl!!
The following early chapters introduce the reader to married couple and Victorian ghost-hunting team Tess & Tobias Goodraven, both age 17, both strong in empathic tendencies. Both Tess & Tobias lost their parents in the same theater fire (what are the odds!) which is how they meet and bond with each other as children. Tess and Tobias are split up for a few years while Tess lives with one of her relatives and Tobias goes off with his uncle. After the uncle's death, Tobias inherits the estate, proposes to Tess, marries and sets up the cozy little life... cozy if you don't count the ghost hunting expeditions, that is.
So the reader comes in as the Goodravens learn the story of hauntings going on in Salem, MA believed to be tied to the spirit of The First Accused, a witch from Trial days who, for the longest time, was able to evade being apprehended and who seems to continue to make her presence felt through the mysterious and gruesome deaths of the townspeople. The locals believe this is the spirit of the Widow Malgore, who in Trial days disapproved of her daughter's romance with a German immigrant. Legend says that Malgore and her daughter were hung as witches, while the German man was also hung for associating with witches. The locals now believe that the troubles that have befallen their community stem from a curse either Malgore or her daughter carried out from the other side, Malgore still mad about her daughter's romance, or the daughter still angry that she was torn away from her lover.
Tobias seems to always crave a good wraith chase, while Tess is more fearful, more concerned about which investigation will be the one that takes them too far into the other realm. Though Tess would prefer to spend their Christmas holiday doing something quiet and lovely, Tobias convinces her to use the holiday to go to a winter festival being held in Blackthorne (near Salem) to investigate the story for themselves. 'Cause nothing screams "Peace on Earth" like handling witches and potential demons, right! The festival is meant to get young people interested in living in the area again and to take some of the steam out of the urban legends and "cursed land" stories.
Michael smiled back at Jurey, humoring him. "So then, are you an expert in folk legends and ghost stories?"
"Folktale, you say? A little bit of progress comes in, and the truth becomes a folktale," Jurey replied, dismissing all things youthful and ignorant.
The train ride they take to get to Blackthorne initially felt like it was taking FOREVER, chapters and chapters, until I realized that oh, this IS the story, the train ride gone horribly wrong. The Malgore witch causes the train to wreck so she can get everyone all panicked and huddled in one place to more easily mess with them, so the bulk of the story is Tess trying to rally the troops of the survivors of the wreck, while Tobias puts a team together to hike the few miles left into town to get help. Once separated from each other, the two are infinitely more vulnerable, which the Malgore witch uses to her advantage. And that's when it all gets crazy!!
"Our life is one long train wreck, isn't it? Fires and tragedies... you can face anything." He laughs nervously. "The woods here aren't going to beat you. There's just less light in there, that's all. We'll walk right past them and stay along the tracks."
>> Tobias to his wife Tess
With the initial chapters of this story, prologue aside, I was entertained but slow to be wowed so I was thinking this would be a solid 3 star read but little more. I was pleasantly surprised to find this was one of those books that only gets more gripping the closer you get to the end. The characters start out a little silly sounding, immature but finish with super strong, admirable inner character -- particularly with Tobias, who at first tends to throw around the bravado and jokes that fall flat but as the story progresses shows himself growing up quick, his quips get better and he starts to sound more and more like a man rather than a boy (remember, our two stars of the show are only 17!). His bravado never entirely goes away, but considering his line of work, I imagine bravado in moderation comes in handy. Early on, the Goodravens, though married, sounded more platonic than romantic, more brother/sister - like, perhaps because they are so young? They just didn't strike me as married until later on in the story but by the end I did like them as a team.
What really gripped me though was how the story never entirely lets you get comfortable. Every time you think someone's just having a chill get-to-know you conversation BOOM monster takes somebody out, and most viciously! The witch Malgore is legit creepy, the way she has a thing for stealing the spinal columns of her victims, and her .. just, pure animalistic hunting style. There were a few plot twists near the end, one in particular that actually made me gasp, that elevated this from a 3 to a 5 star read for me in just a few short chapters.
I also liked the small side story / budding friendship between Tess & Annette. When Tess first meets Annette, she makes a snap judgement and writes off Annette as someone flighty and frivolous in nature, without much substance or intelligence. After disaster strikes and they have to work together to survive, Tess comes to learn that Annette is actually a woman of impressive inner strength, not to mention an admirable goal of starting a school for the blind, where students can grow to become educated, cultured and self-sufficient members of society.
"You can't know everything, Tess, whatever you may think. Judge less and help more."
>> Annette to Tess
But then we can't have nice things, can we? You'll see what I mean when you check this one out... Highly recommended for ghost and witch lovers and fans of (mild) dark humor!
And Wilder! Ugh. Still can't get over the suddeness of it all!
0
