More than thirty years have passed since Richard Hadlow purportedly killed his servant and wife before committing suicide. The house he built has remained empty throughout the decades but is finally going to have new residents.
At the behest of his employer, Samuel Butler moves his wife, Rose, and daughter, Patience, into the Hadlow House. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that something is amiss. Patience, in particular, is convinced that there is an otherworldly being there—a woman in a grey dress who seems determined to cause harm.
Will the Butler family fare better than the Hadlows? Or will tragedy strike again?
This book was definitely entertaining but I enjoyed the first part better. I think the biggest issue, for me, was that it didn’t consistently feel as though the story took place in the eighteenth century. Patience, especially, felt “out of place” given the time period. I strongly disliked Samuel and Rose. Samuel was overbearing, rude and horribly sexist. Rose whined too much.
I can generally overlook typos but I thought it was careless that Rose was repeatedly referred to as Ruth. It disrupted the flow of the story a number of times. My final issue is that the ending felt rushed. There’s one part, toward the very end where certain characters have a light-hearted exchange following a perilous situation. I know it was probably meant to be a sweet moment, but it just wasn’t believable given the high stress they should have been under.
All in all, though, I did enjoy the story and do plan to continue the series. I hold Amy Cross in high regard and think that she is an immensely talented author and brilliant storyteller. This series is definitely worth reading.