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No Matter What
When Robert and Mary Michaels buy an historical estate in Paddington, Massachusetts, they soon find themselves and their troubled 10-year old daughter Lynn embroiled in a centuries-old tragedy that challenges everything they believe about life and death. First they learn that 10-year old Clara Mallory has been haunting the estate for over 300 years and then Robert, a psychiatrist, uncovers another shocking discovery...his new patients are the reincarnations of those responsible for her death! It is Lynn's growing connection to the troubled young ghost that draws the most concern, however. As Lynn becomes more and more lost in the young ghost's identity, it is a race against time for Robert and Mary to save their daughter and possibly the fate of all their souls.
514 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2012
83 people are currently reading
353 people want to read
About the author
Deborah J. Hughes
13 books147 followersAn avid reader and writer throughout most of her life (from the time she learned to do both!), Deborah took a detour from her writing dreams to pursue a career in the United States Air Force. That took up over twenty years of her life and gave her lots of experiences, some good, some bad but all of it worthwhile! Her military life now behind her, Deborah is focused on bringing her stories into existence through the production of her novels. All six books in her Tess Schafer-Medium series have made it onto Amazon's top-selling book lists for their genre. She and her character Tess have become pretty tight and she hopes to continue telling her stories for a long time to come! Not limited to just writing novels, Deborah also has a blog and it is there that she writes about a variety of topics. Her motto is: If curiosity killed the cat, reincarnation brought him back! Yeah, she believe in life after death, reincarnation and past lives...among other things. She figures it best not to limit herself when it comes to her beliefs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 12, 2015
Discombobulated nonsense.
I wanted a book about paranormal. I enjoy a good ghost or psychic story. I agree with the others that the story got repetitive and drown out. I even fast forwarded the the last chapter and still it went on and on. As far as it being spiritual or about God. Yea this is what my title is in reference too. Numerology, reincarnation, there is no hell and any other system of belief the author tries to mash together. I started with this book because I found another book of the series that looked interesting but wanted to start at the beginning of the series.. Even with Kindle Unlimited I can't bring myself to read another. As of today I've read 200 fiction books this year alone. Rare do I find a book I can't push through to the end.
I wanted a book about paranormal. I enjoy a good ghost or psychic story. I agree with the others that the story got repetitive and drown out. I even fast forwarded the the last chapter and still it went on and on. As far as it being spiritual or about God. Yea this is what my title is in reference too. Numerology, reincarnation, there is no hell and any other system of belief the author tries to mash together. I started with this book because I found another book of the series that looked interesting but wanted to start at the beginning of the series.. Even with Kindle Unlimited I can't bring myself to read another. As of today I've read 200 fiction books this year alone. Rare do I find a book I can't push through to the end.
October 26, 2019
I almost gave up on this book at first because it was a bit long and drawn out. I stuck with it and am glad I did. It was a good October read. Not scary, but had lots of paranormal, past lives and spiritual matter to it.
March 31, 2017
I gave up. Struggled and struggled with this. Kept putting it down for weeks and trying to plunge in again. The plot is so repetitive that it was hard to figure out what which ghostly fit Clara was going through. I almost never give up on a book, usually struggling through the most mundane novel, but I'm not getting any younger. Time to move on.
September 20, 2016
I got halfway through this book and had to stop for several reasons.
1. Boring. Repetitive. How many times do we have to hear the same vague stories about Clara or about reincarnation? Why are there pages of psychiatric patient visits? This book could have been cut in half with a decent editor.
2. Things are mentioned in such a way that it feels more like authorial agenda than good fiction. Yeah okay let's talk about numerology and then do Lynn's, that could be cool, except it's all exposition--explain vaguely how it works, how great it is, and then go right to "well here are some things I found out" without potentially having some interesting action pointing out numbers and significance.
3. The main characters are painted as saintly and you know what? They are horrible parents. If your daughter says the gardener who you met a week ago was chasing her, you do not dismiss it and tell the gardener how much you trust him. They have zero trust in their daughter and I think that is reflected a little bit in the story by her thoughts, but incidents like the one I just mentioned happen to push the story along and are either totally unrealistic or indicative that these are horrible people. So either I am supposed to stop trusting/liking the characters, or the book is badly written. I'll go with both.
1. Boring. Repetitive. How many times do we have to hear the same vague stories about Clara or about reincarnation? Why are there pages of psychiatric patient visits? This book could have been cut in half with a decent editor.
2. Things are mentioned in such a way that it feels more like authorial agenda than good fiction. Yeah okay let's talk about numerology and then do Lynn's, that could be cool, except it's all exposition--explain vaguely how it works, how great it is, and then go right to "well here are some things I found out" without potentially having some interesting action pointing out numbers and significance.
3. The main characters are painted as saintly and you know what? They are horrible parents. If your daughter says the gardener who you met a week ago was chasing her, you do not dismiss it and tell the gardener how much you trust him. They have zero trust in their daughter and I think that is reflected a little bit in the story by her thoughts, but incidents like the one I just mentioned happen to push the story along and are either totally unrealistic or indicative that these are horrible people. So either I am supposed to stop trusting/liking the characters, or the book is badly written. I'll go with both.
November 8, 2013
This is a great book! It took me a while to get through it, but it was worth it. I only gave it 4 stars because it turned out to not be as scary as I thought it was going to be. By the end, it was more touching than anything. I cried a little.
June 29, 2016
A movie?
This is one of the best books I have ever read,concerning paranormal.expertly written.supurb storyline.fantastic characters,and totally believable.This book would make a fantastic motion picture.NO explicit material,and just a few naughty words.Highly recommended read...
This is one of the best books I have ever read,concerning paranormal.expertly written.supurb storyline.fantastic characters,and totally believable.This book would make a fantastic motion picture.NO explicit material,and just a few naughty words.Highly recommended read...
November 28, 2017
Wow! I am utterly speechless! Extremely insightful!
What an amazing life changing story! I am in awe of Deborah Hughes! She is by far one of the best writers I have by far ever read! I absolutely loved the Tess Schafer Medium series!
I cannot fully put into words the profound impact reading this book has made on my entire being! From the very beginning she draws you in by giving you very little but just enough to keep you wondering 'What's going to happen next?'
Brilliant! Thank you Deborah Hughes for the wonderfully amazing stories you create! I have learned so much from you and it has helped me more than I can really express. After all, there is truth in fiction!! I look forward to reading more from you!
What an amazing life changing story! I am in awe of Deborah Hughes! She is by far one of the best writers I have by far ever read! I absolutely loved the Tess Schafer Medium series!
I cannot fully put into words the profound impact reading this book has made on my entire being! From the very beginning she draws you in by giving you very little but just enough to keep you wondering 'What's going to happen next?'
Brilliant! Thank you Deborah Hughes for the wonderfully amazing stories you create! I have learned so much from you and it has helped me more than I can really express. After all, there is truth in fiction!! I look forward to reading more from you!
March 12, 2018
This book was so slow and long. if not for the VERY last chapter I would have tried to give it negative 5 stars, there are a ton of spelling mistakes and weirdly worded sentences. Two of my favorite are when Mary asks Frannie if she likes boiled meals, and she was described as having worn her hair in a pun. An editor or three would have helped this book a ton. But the last chapter was well written and made the story way more interesting than the entire rest of the book, which seemed to be the longest drawn out overview of reincarnation ever. Glad it was free from Kindle, all I wasted was time.
September 1, 2017
Excellent read
This is very well do e--the situation is unusual and it takes a long time to understand what is going on. It is spiritual in nature, but those that love a good ghost mystery will probably like it too. And they might learn something. This is a standalone book, complete in itself.
This is very well do e--the situation is unusual and it takes a long time to understand what is going on. It is spiritual in nature, but those that love a good ghost mystery will probably like it too. And they might learn something. This is a standalone book, complete in itself.
May 27, 2018
Lynn
This is a haunting book that will leave you guessing do spirits really live among us?
Robert and Mary's daughter Lynn is ten years old but is very wise and mature for her age.
Clara is a little girl who everyone thought was a witch and evil.
I highly recommend this book, but be prepared to have nightmares and tears of sorrow.
This is a haunting book that will leave you guessing do spirits really live among us?
Robert and Mary's daughter Lynn is ten years old but is very wise and mature for her age.
Clara is a little girl who everyone thought was a witch and evil.
I highly recommend this book, but be prepared to have nightmares and tears of sorrow.
March 13, 2019
Absorbing storyline and characters!
Mesmerizing plot seamlessly blending present and past. Captured my imagination and led to an engaging and satisfying conclusion that left me healed and sated. Will continue to follow this author's literary journey!
Mesmerizing plot seamlessly blending present and past. Captured my imagination and led to an engaging and satisfying conclusion that left me healed and sated. Will continue to follow this author's literary journey!
May 22, 2017
Twists and turns!
A surprising read. Lots of twists and turns. I very much enjoyed it. It's one of those books you just have to binge read because it's hard to put down.
A surprising read. Lots of twists and turns. I very much enjoyed it. It's one of those books you just have to binge read because it's hard to put down.
November 18, 2018
Long, but very good nonetheless
Worth it. Absolutely, a good read. I cried near the end and could feel every word. Very well written. Stick with it till the end.
Worth it. Absolutely, a good read. I cried near the end and could feel every word. Very well written. Stick with it till the end.
October 27, 2019
Ugh. The story had the bones to be very good and the characters were actually pretty interesting. I couldn't stomach the repetitive preaching about reincarnation and the need to live many lives in order to learn and become the best 'you'. Four stars for the creepy scenes and two stars for the boring sermons.
May 21, 2025
If you believe in ghosts, possessions and reincarnations, then this is a book for you. It's a little long winded but written in a way that to keep your attention.
July 31, 2016
Inflection given to Jeb and the Sparks' speech is NOT a New Englander's accent, being from there until 4 years ago, I know we just don't speak that way in Connecticut or Massachusetts. Especially if born and raised as we're being led to believe by the entire idea that this is a town that people don't leave and if they do they come back.
Few characters names changed, either spelling wise, or all together different than what they were previously called.
Mable tells Helen's story when the Michaels' meet her and Doc at the restaurant, and then reiterates it nearly verbatim in chapter 16. There's actually a bit of repeated information. At times it seemed to be filler.
The ending fell kind of flat because with all the talking and revealing among the various characters I saw it all coming.
There were some good spine tingling moments. A few tears shed, but overall it was a bit long winded. It could've been better, but it could've been worse too. Middle of the road with three stars is the best I can do.
Few characters names changed, either spelling wise, or all together different than what they were previously called.
Mable tells Helen's story when the Michaels' meet her and Doc at the restaurant, and then reiterates it nearly verbatim in chapter 16. There's actually a bit of repeated information. At times it seemed to be filler.
The ending fell kind of flat because with all the talking and revealing among the various characters I saw it all coming.
There were some good spine tingling moments. A few tears shed, but overall it was a bit long winded. It could've been better, but it could've been worse too. Middle of the road with three stars is the best I can do.
July 15, 2016
Is she a ghost or no? Read and find out.
I found this story of a family's interaction with a possible ghost very interesting. From the beginning I was intrigued and wanted to know more. However I got bogged down in the last quarter of the book and just wanted to know how it would end. I'm not sure what caused the feeling, but it just seemed like things were taking quite a while to finish up.
Over all I was fairly happy with the resolution of the story. Finding out what happened to Clara and how all of the people in town were connected. The flash backs were well written.
*Spoilers*
Though I was a bit disappointed there was no follow up with how the Michales family explained Lynn's death to the authorities. I mean the child died but had no health issues other than her mental ones.
I found this story of a family's interaction with a possible ghost very interesting. From the beginning I was intrigued and wanted to know more. However I got bogged down in the last quarter of the book and just wanted to know how it would end. I'm not sure what caused the feeling, but it just seemed like things were taking quite a while to finish up.
Over all I was fairly happy with the resolution of the story. Finding out what happened to Clara and how all of the people in town were connected. The flash backs were well written.
*Spoilers*
Though I was a bit disappointed there was no follow up with how the Michales family explained Lynn's death to the authorities. I mean the child died but had no health issues other than her mental ones.
August 30, 2016
Great, easy read
This book is extremely good. The plot kept me entertained the whole time, and the writing was so good that even in the less-interesting parts I still enjoyed reading. My only criticism is several grammatical errors. They were pretty easy to forgive since they were all very common grammatical errors people make when speaking today, but it still caused tiny bumps in the road while reading.
This book is extremely good. The plot kept me entertained the whole time, and the writing was so good that even in the less-interesting parts I still enjoyed reading. My only criticism is several grammatical errors. They were pretty easy to forgive since they were all very common grammatical errors people make when speaking today, but it still caused tiny bumps in the road while reading.
July 8, 2016
Kudos to the author!!!!
I loved every minute of reading this engrossing tale.
The characters were vibrant and endearing.
The scene where Clara and Lynn both achieved their aim, accompanied by some old acquaintances was a real tear jerker.
My two favorite characters achieved all that I hoped for them.
Thank you Ms. Hughes for such a wonderful time.
I loved every minute of reading this engrossing tale.
The characters were vibrant and endearing.
The scene where Clara and Lynn both achieved their aim, accompanied by some old acquaintances was a real tear jerker.
My two favorite characters achieved all that I hoped for them.
Thank you Ms. Hughes for such a wonderful time.
August 4, 2016
loved this book! at first I thought this would be another typical haunted house ghost story, but surprisingly found it was more! I highly enjoyed Frannie's views and insights and that feel of the book, since it resembles my own beliefs. I enjoyed how beautifully it was described and put into words.
February 4, 2015
Amazingly soulful,insightful
Started out like most but quickly threw a curve ball and kept you guessing and anxious through out the whole storyline as to where it was all going to end. Very thought provoking .
Started out like most but quickly threw a curve ball and kept you guessing and anxious through out the whole storyline as to where it was all going to end. Very thought provoking .
November 9, 2015
Reimcarnation
A couple and their young daughter buy a house in the country. The town's people all seem to bel juju eve their house is haunted. A stirring story of reincarnation. I recommend it highly.
A couple and their young daughter buy a house in the country. The town's people all seem to bel juju eve their house is haunted. A stirring story of reincarnation. I recommend it highly.
July 7, 2016
Amazing!
This book is a serious page turner! I couldn't put it down! What an awesome author! The way she writes literally paints a picture in your mind! I can't wait to read another!
This book is a serious page turner! I couldn't put it down! What an awesome author! The way she writes literally paints a picture in your mind! I can't wait to read another!
Read
August 10, 2016Wonderful story
I absolutely loved this story. The characters, the plot, the way it ended. Perfection. Highly recommend. Deborah did so well at writing this in such a way that I could easily place myself within the pages, observing.
I absolutely loved this story. The characters, the plot, the way it ended. Perfection. Highly recommend. Deborah did so well at writing this in such a way that I could easily place myself within the pages, observing.
July 31, 2016
Wow, what a book!
I was mesmerized throughout the whole reading of this book. I did not know what to expect when I started out reading it. The plot and characterization was excellent; a perfect demonstration of irony.
I was mesmerized throughout the whole reading of this book. I did not know what to expect when I started out reading it. The plot and characterization was excellent; a perfect demonstration of irony.
August 23, 2016
Slightly enjoyable read
I chose this book based on the description. I love haunted house, past lives, and unsettled spirits. Although it was an interesting read, I felt it spent TOO much time explaining past lives. It was still a good read.
I chose this book based on the description. I love haunted house, past lives, and unsettled spirits. Although it was an interesting read, I felt it spent TOO much time explaining past lives. It was still a good read.
Read
September 19, 2016I loved this book.
Gave me things to think about when it comes to the possibilities of reincarnation.
Wonder story. I loved how things just fit together. There are reasons behind most things that happen, I have always believed that.
Gave me things to think about when it comes to the possibilities of reincarnation.
Wonder story. I loved how things just fit together. There are reasons behind most things that happen, I have always believed that.
November 9, 2015
I loved this story.. It was really hard to put down because I couldn't wait to see where it would go.
June 26, 2016
This is an awesome well written book. The ending was exactly what this book needed. I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. I would recommend it to anyone that loves a great ghost story!
July 15, 2016
Garbage!
Well written and enjoyable. Too bad it totally contradicts God's inerrant an Holy Word. As fiction it is a great book. But your underlying reincarnation message ruined it.
Well written and enjoyable. Too bad it totally contradicts God's inerrant an Holy Word. As fiction it is a great book. But your underlying reincarnation message ruined it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews