The House On Tradd Street
Mystery/Fiction
By Karen White
Reviewed by Eleni R.
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Simpleminded realtor Melanie Middleton just wants an average life, no connecting to and seeing ghosts, no reminders of her rough childhood and the past, just an average life. However, we don’t always get what we want. When Melanie finds herself the new owner of a Historic house on Tradd Street she can neither sell, nor abandon, things change. Mr. Vanderhorst, even in old age knew how to secure it in his will so his house would go without a doubt to the unsuspecting Melanie, he met only once. Melanie is forced to discover a mysterious past and all the secrets dating as far back as the Civil War while living in the house, restoring it to its glory. She finds it nearly impossible to block out the ghostly spirits she encounters in the house on Tradd Street, both the good and the bad, and is forced to use her ability to avenge a mother’s disappearance. With the help of her more than willing father, an eccentric young writer and her down to earth best friend, Melanie discovers not only the houses’ secrets, but her own as well.
Karen White provides us with an all around packed book. She includes the mystery of life, the importance of family, ghostly presences, friendship, suspense, adventure, history and a beautiful Charleston, South Carolina background all in one. The House on Tradd Street is perfect if you’re looking for history, mystery and ghostly presences but as far as the romance part goes, you can tell Karen was holding off on the Jack Trenholm, Melanie Middleton relationship until later in the series. Throughout this book you find yourself loving Melanie, hating her, feeling sorry for her and wanting to slap her, she’s not always likeable but it helps to create the story. This fictional story takes a while to really get going but once it does you won’t want to put it down. Karen White writes this story with historical accuracy in a realistic, relatable, present day environment. For the most part The House on Tradd Street is an enjoyable, quick and generally easy read. I loved how Karen brought us history, but not in a boring kind of way, she made it very enjoyable to read.
