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Haunted
Gwendolyn McTutcheon can’t move on even though she’s been dead for a year. Having left behind a grieving husband, Evan; and three sisters, Trudy, Bethany, and Sarah; she knows there is work yet to do. Sarah, Gwen’s youngest sister, is back in town to help her two remaining sisters confront a depressed Evan about settling Gwen's will. Still grieving—and raw from wrongful accusations made by Trudy and Bethany that he’d murdered his wife—Evan must set to the task of putting the past, and Gwen, to rest. But not all of the past stays in the past when Sarah offers her help and a romance between her and Evan begins. After all, it was that inappropriate kiss years ago that sparked the notion he might have harmed his wife in the first place. As Gwen watches, unable to intervene, Trudy and Bethany keep secrets of their own, secrets that level the field and make Sarah consider coming home to stay again. But when an arsonist sets his sights on Evan’s bar, Duard’s, and Sarah’s life is threatened, Gwen knows she must find a way to intervene, for her family and for her own peace.
424 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2014
3 people want to read
About the author
Reggie Lutz
10 books6 followersReggie Lutz is a former radio personality, she now writes fiction in speculative and mainstream genres as well as the occasional play.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 18, 2014
Haunted is a great story about family, love, and moving on. Reggie writes with a sublime nuance on occasion, that is enjoyable like decadent chocolate truffles melting on your tongue. The relationships and characters become very well-defined. You'll start to think of them as family and friends, and for me, I also started picturing this as a great movie as well - one with Hugh Grant as Evan, and perhaps Julianne Moore as Trudy.
Although she makes it clear this is set in small town PA, it could easily be anywhere. It's about grief, and loss, and adjusting to new circumstances. The relationship dynamics are well done, and it reads well. With her writing, it does become a real page turner...you'll want to read "just one more chapter" before bed.
This author is going places, and you won't be disappointed being at the start of this writer's promising career.
Although she makes it clear this is set in small town PA, it could easily be anywhere. It's about grief, and loss, and adjusting to new circumstances. The relationship dynamics are well done, and it reads well. With her writing, it does become a real page turner...you'll want to read "just one more chapter" before bed.
This author is going places, and you won't be disappointed being at the start of this writer's promising career.
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March 15, 20155 Stars: Recommended or readers who enjoy reading a story with strong character emotional development.
Reggie Lutz ("Fork You" PANVERSE ONE, 2009) releases her debut novel; HAUNTED. Lutz's story of a young woman adjusting to her death while furtively observing her living family is a character-driven journey of one family whose lives have diverged until they come together to settle a death.
Gwen McTutcheon has been dead for a year, but she hasn't quite shuffled off this mortal coil. She hangs around her grieving husband, Evan, and her three sisters; Trudy, Bethany, and Sarah as they sort through her life, a year after her death.
Now, it is time for everyone to move on.
A surprisingly lively study of death, mourning, and what will happen before Gwen moves on, HAUNTED explores the human condition and the ghostly condition through Gwen's point of view.* I enjoyed Lutz's spectral mechanics and her exploration of each character's emotional arc. While this novel is certainly not devoid of dramatic action, I recommend this novel for readers who enjoy reading a story with strong character emotional development.
Reggie Lutz ("Fork You" PANVERSE ONE, 2009) releases her debut novel; HAUNTED. Lutz's story of a young woman adjusting to her death while furtively observing her living family is a character-driven journey of one family whose lives have diverged until they come together to settle a death.
Gwen McTutcheon has been dead for a year, but she hasn't quite shuffled off this mortal coil. She hangs around her grieving husband, Evan, and her three sisters; Trudy, Bethany, and Sarah as they sort through her life, a year after her death.
Now, it is time for everyone to move on.
A surprisingly lively study of death, mourning, and what will happen before Gwen moves on, HAUNTED explores the human condition and the ghostly condition through Gwen's point of view.* I enjoyed Lutz's spectral mechanics and her exploration of each character's emotional arc. While this novel is certainly not devoid of dramatic action, I recommend this novel for readers who enjoy reading a story with strong character emotional development.
September 17, 2014
Death is the weirdest lens to look through at life, especially for the deceased. Gwen has recently passed on and as she waits to depart from this reality, she can't help but be permanently sidelined watching the drama she left behind; her 3 sisters and her grieving husband.
Being dead has it's perks though Gwen can travel wherever she wants, and she can read people's mind, even odd ones from man who's an arsonist. All in all, Death is just a front row seating of the life Gwen had, the people who are left behind and the secrets the arise from the pain, and frustration of her departure.
Reggie's talent with description leaves no stone un turned in the imagination of the reader. She manages to have us turning the pages without concern of the health of our fingers and possible paper cuts caused by our velocity to know what will happen next. She gives us humor in-between and heart felt human emotions.
Being dead has it's perks though Gwen can travel wherever she wants, and she can read people's mind, even odd ones from man who's an arsonist. All in all, Death is just a front row seating of the life Gwen had, the people who are left behind and the secrets the arise from the pain, and frustration of her departure.
Reggie's talent with description leaves no stone un turned in the imagination of the reader. She manages to have us turning the pages without concern of the health of our fingers and possible paper cuts caused by our velocity to know what will happen next. She gives us humor in-between and heart felt human emotions.
November 12, 2014
In Haunted, Gwendolyn McTutcheon is dead and has left her three grieving sisters and husband behind. The author tells the story of lives after death through deftly woven narrative and realistic dialogue. It's easy to keep turning pages when characters drive the story the way they do in Haunted.
The personality of each character is clear and each character is treated fairly by the author. The sections from Gwen's point of view are carefully written; the author doing fair service to the idea of a ghost as a character and making that character believable.
The action in the story is paced well, makes sense, and never comes across as far-fetched or written just for the sake of driving plot. The arsonist plot line does not read as melodramatic and does not just come out of the blue. Again I mention the ease of page turning!
I would recommend Haunted to fans of both literary fiction and genre fiction.
The personality of each character is clear and each character is treated fairly by the author. The sections from Gwen's point of view are carefully written; the author doing fair service to the idea of a ghost as a character and making that character believable.
The action in the story is paced well, makes sense, and never comes across as far-fetched or written just for the sake of driving plot. The arsonist plot line does not read as melodramatic and does not just come out of the blue. Again I mention the ease of page turning!
I would recommend Haunted to fans of both literary fiction and genre fiction.
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June 23, 2015Gwendolyn McTutcheon and Evan Carrelsmith were deeply in love, but a year ago she died in a tragic accident. Gwen’s sisters are having a tough time moving on, but they’re all coming together to force Evan to settle Gwen’s will. Evan has to face life without Gwen, the less-than-veiled accusations of two of Gwen’s sisters, Trudy and Bethany, and a strange attraction to Sarah, Gwen’s younger sister. Gwen herself hasn’t moved on either, watching over Evan and her sisters as they try to move on with their lives. HAUNTED has a good premise – how people are affected by the death of a loved one. The relationship between the sisters was authentic and it was interesting to see how those relationships matured over time. An intriguing twist is readers also get to see events and memories through Gwen’s viewpoint, after her death. A good point the author showed throughout HAUNTED is how moving on after a tragedy doesn’t mean forgetting, but accepting the loss and reminiscing on the good times.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews