Master of the Hall

Eden Hall #4

by Veronica Heley

Eden Hall, the ancient English stately home, has brought Araminta Minty Sands more joyand heartache than she could ever have imagined. Shes worked hard to keep it open to the public; but, exhausted from looking after the twins, Minty has no energy to maintain the Hall as she once did. Worn-out and fearing another trouble-filled pregnancy, shes also pushed her husband, Patrick, away physically and emotionally. And now her old enemy has returned: Judith Kent, known worldwide as amoral rock star Maxine. Claiming to be reformed, Judith begs Minty for a job. Against her better judgment, Minty agrees.

Then, with Patrick in Brussels on urgent business, mysterious accidents begin to happen, endangering both Minty and her twins. When a horrifying secret surfacesone that, if made public, could destroy the hall and everything she has worked forMinty realizes time is running out. Has Judith really turned her life over to God, or is she plotting to take over everything Minty hasincluding Patrick?

Genres: Christian

Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Veronica Heley has published more than fifty books, including crime fiction, historical, and children's titles. She is currently involved in the Ellie Quicke series of crime stories and a variety of other projects. A full-time writer, she has been married to a London probation officer since 1964, and has one musician daughter.

AKA Veronica Thorne

Reviews

[Valerie (Val's Vicinity) · Rating 3 out of 5]

(My opinion is more like two and half stars, but half stars aren't an option, so I rounded up to three.)

"Master of the Hall" is the fourth and last book in the "Eden Hall" series.
After having really liked the other books in this series (especially the first two), I was rather disappointed in this book. Minty's behavior and attitude towards Patrick and towards her responsibilities at the Hall really got on my nerves, and was very uncharacteristic of her. She didn't seem to care about anything or anyone except for her two (annoying) children, and as a result, too much of the story revolved around the kids or had them being obnoxious in the background. To a point, it kind of seemed like this Minty and Patrick were not the same people that I had come to know in the other books, as they acted so differently than I would have expected them to. The last few chapters in the book were the best, which is good as it left me with a bit better memory of the book. If you've read the other books, you'll probably want to read this one as well, as it continues Minty and Patrick's story, and all of the same supporting characters are here, too. But I wouldn't recommend it if you haven't already read the first three books in the series.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minty and Patrick now have twins and are having a rough time finding time for them selves. Maxine arrives to beg a job as Judith and Iris and Carol's friendship is in doubt.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This final book of the series picks up approximately (in my opinion) two years after the birth of Araminta (Minty) and Patrick's twins, and I think she has suffered from and is just getting over PPD (Post-Partum Depression) as she is (to me) extremely whinny. Minty has hired Judith Kent (the "reformed" singer Maxine from Book Three - Secrets of the Hall) to start cataloging the old books in the library that might be in need of repair and it appears that she may be back to her old ways as there are mysterious "accidents" that are occurring around The Hall. Is Judith behind it, or are they truly accidents!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Glad that's over with. Normally, if a book is this bad, I don't continue on with the series. But I committed to reading this series a long time ago, and wanted to finish it no matter what. And all I can say is, I'm glad that's over with.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exploration of relationships, trust, faith and communication as the final book of the Eden Hall series.

[Gin Tadvick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this series!