Rose Wood

by Sharon Mikeworth

In 1919, fourteen-year-old Emma Gage disappeared from her home in Andersonville, South Carolina, never to be seen again. Ninety-one years later, Aileen Whitney, on assignment for Southern Aurora magazine, stumbles onto the nearly forgotten mystery when she is struck by lightning at Rose Wood Plantation, where the girl once lived. She soon becomes aware that Emma isn't resting and isn't going to let her rest either until she finds out what happened to her on that long-ago day. As she finally begins to unearth the truth behind Emma's disappearance, she discovers a terrible betrayal in her own life and realizes that nothing is what it seems.

326 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2013

About the author

Award-winning author Sharon Mikeworth was born in South Carolina, where she resides today. Before discovering her passion for storytelling, she worked as a computer programmer, instructor, and tutor. Among other novels, she is the author of Into the Mist, which won the Literary Titan Gold Award; Flight 3108, a Finalist in the Eric Hoffer Awards; and Restoration, which was named the Bronze Award winner in the Reader Views Reader Choice Awards. In her spare time, she can sometimes be found hiking and canoeing in the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains.

Reviews

[Jjean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Gothic thriller - chilling story of paranormal hunting of the Rose Wood Plantation - will make you believer ....her personal life has an unexpected upset and then...ends well. Very Interesting story.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book,lots of twist I didn't see coming, awesome characters.. Will defiantly be reading more from this author

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the synopsis I read, I thought ROSE WOOD would be a paranormal horror story, filled with scares and flashbacks on every page, instead to me it was more a coming of age mystery. I found the story to be focusing on the main character Aileen and her life problems, as opposed to the detailed paranormal aspects/mystery aspects.
As far as the mechanics and grammar go, nothing is lacking, it's the realism I had problems with. For example, the main character, Aileen Whitney writes for a paranormal magazine. Since graduating, she has become a virtual hermit, in that she only sees a few people she works with or writes about and her mother. She has one best friend, Colleen. In one scene, Aileen receives several calls from Colleen, but instead of answering one, she ignores them totally. Yes, she is with the new boyfriend in one scene, but she isn't even worried about her, even though its her best friend. The main character barely even questions as to why she is calling, even though she knows that Colleen has been having some issues lately.
The author does attempt to show both sides of the paranormal issues in that she shows Aileen one person who was scared to death with his experience and another who had a good experience. The temperature drop, the scents, the visions are presented in the story and she even has a tv crew making a paranormal experience.
To me, the best part of the book was the prologue which occurs in 1958. When I read this, I thought the story was going to be terrific. In the prologue, you have the jealousy, murder, teenagers and of course the ghostly presence. Instead of continuing the story with these characters, it picks up in 2010 with Aileen. I would like to see more dealing with these four characters and how they dealt with the events of that night.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rose Wood should appeal to a wide audience. It is an adult contemporary mystery with a slant toward the occult. Sharon Mikeworth adds in some good ol' southern history and charm to provide an entertaining blend in an enjoyable read. There are actually two mysteries that must be solved by the main character Aileen. One involves the death of two young girls in 1958. Another involves events involving Aileen and her friends in 2010. The end of the book is filled with page-turning suspense.

[크리스티 (Kristy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the premise of the book - it gave a very eerie feeling and as the story unfolded it continued throughout the whole book. The history and the plot twists were amazing. About half way through you had to kind of push yourself through it got a little long winded but once you get over that it is well worth it. The last part of the book had me reading like a crazy woman to find out what happened to Emma. A good novel not too over done with the a-typical ghost/suspense/occult novel.

[Scooby2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this from Library Thing's Member Giveaway and I'm so glad I did. "Rose Wood" was more of a mystery story compared to a paranormal one. I found the southern history enjoyable and liked how Emma was able to see spirits after a near death experience. I recommend this story to those who like a good mystery with spirits thrown in.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book off of Librarything! I thought it was going to be a pure horror story but it turned into a bit of a paranormal mystery. It had a few errors through out the book and I figured out the ending before I got there but all in all it was ok.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to turn the light on for a middle-of-the-night bathroom run after reading the scene where the ghost "introduces" herself to Aileen. This was a fast moving story that kept me guessing with a great twist at the end. I really enjoyed Rose Wood.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good ending.