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Olivia's Ghost
Jackson and Olivia Porter’s daughter Ava is thrown overboard during a squall on Puget Sound. In a flash of lightning Livy sees someone on a nearby boat pull something from the water. No one comes forward with their child nor do they recover a body, yet Livy clings to the belief their daughter was rescued. Jackson believes his wife is mentally unstable and falls into dysfunctions of his own. Their marriage is torn apart and Livy flees to the Oregon Coast, where she encounters a legendary ghost-child in the lighthouse manned by her father. She begins to wonder if Jackson is right about her mental instability as she bonds with the ghost, who has a message about Ava. It is as if the squall from nowhere came to reside within each of them, as life unfolds into nightmares of their own making.
258 pages, Paperback
Published November 25, 2016
About the author
Kathryn Mattingly
7 books25 followersKat Mattingly is an award winning author, public speaker, and college educator. She has taught numerous writing courses at several private colleges. Her debut novel, Benjamin (2013) was a New Century Publishing finalist and her short story collection, Fractured Hearts (2014) includes five award winning stories. Here newest release, Finley's Song, (2025) and her fifth novel, Katya (2023) are award winning novels. Other titles include Journey (2015) Olivia's Ghost (2016) and The Tutor (2018) Kat lives on the high desert in Central Oregon with her husband, Dennis, and a Maine Coon cat named Atticus.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 28, 2016
Jackson and Olivia Porter’s daughter Ava is thrown overboard during a squall on Puget Sound. In a flash of lightning Livy sees someone on a nearby boat pull something from the water. No one comes forward with their child nor do they recover a body, yet Livy clings to the belief their daughter was rescued. Jackson believes his wife is mentally unstable and falls into dysfunctions of his own. Their marriage is torn apart and Livy flees to the Oregon Coast, where she encounters a legendary ghost-child in the lighthouse manned by her father. She begins to wonder if Jackson is right about her mental instability as she bonds with the ghost, who has a message about Ava. It is as if the squall from nowhere came to reside within each of them, as life unfolds into nightmares of their own making.
November 28, 2016
Olivia’s Ghost is the story of a mother pushed to her breaking point by grief, whose unrelenting hope and intuitive strength become the catalyst for untangling the wreckage of profound loss. An intricate story of determination, Mattingly has woven a tale with complex, relatable characters that you can love and agonize with.
As a mother, I loved how honest and raw Olivia's emotions were written. She was illogical, irrational and so full of hope that her daughter was alive - I could picture every strange and out-there action she took and went right along with her. longing to see her daughter again. She's in denial, she's angry she's strung out. She comes close to disaster in her personal life and her sanity is called into question. And all of these things seem reasonable given the trauma she's suffered. The book is an intense emotional journey and you'll be glad to come out on the other side. Great read!
As a mother, I loved how honest and raw Olivia's emotions were written. She was illogical, irrational and so full of hope that her daughter was alive - I could picture every strange and out-there action she took and went right along with her. longing to see her daughter again. She's in denial, she's angry she's strung out. She comes close to disaster in her personal life and her sanity is called into question. And all of these things seem reasonable given the trauma she's suffered. The book is an intense emotional journey and you'll be glad to come out on the other side. Great read!
August 15, 2018
I have very mixed emotions about this book and would give it a 3 1/2 rating if I were able to. For the most part the storyline was intriguing and kept my interest peaked throughout. The concept of losing a child is always a difficult topic to read about and the emotional journey the author brings the reader on during this story is definitely worth the read. I was definitely not a big fan of either Andrew or Nicole and thought they were meant to be together. Olivia and Jackson on the other hand were definitely meant to be together and my heart broke for them when they were torn apart by the loss of their daughter Ava. Some of their ways of dealing (or actually not dealing) threw me for a loop and had me wanting to toss the book in the trash. But overall, it was worth reading to the end!
July 6, 2018
thoroughly enjoyed this book, start to finish. read it in a day. perfect beach/vacation read. interesting storyline, very likeable characters I got very invested in, easy writing style.
November 29, 2016
With Olivia's Ghost, author Kathryn Mattingly once again uses rich language and a keen interpretation of human emotion (and human frailty) to carry the reader through a poignant adventure of the heart. I can't imagine the anguish that must stem from losing a child, yet Mattingly's descriptions in this tale are so frank, so earnest, so heartfelt, that I came much closer than I would ever want to. She made me feel just how empty and devastating such a loss would be. She made me want to be there with these characters to commiserate with them, console them, grieve with them. She made me want to believe, as her protagonist does, that there must be some other answer, some misinterpretation of events that would allow for something more than the harrowing, hollowing truth.
As with all of Mattingly's stories, there is a mystery here that demands resolution. But the true strength of the story, the common thread in the Mattingly books I've read, are the questions of love and loyalty. What must it do to a marriage, this greatest of losses? How does each person reconcile it, privately and together? At the peak of our vulnerability, what choices do we make in search of sustenance and support? The moral ambiguities presented in this tale raise dramatic questions difficult to answer. Which in turn heightens the tension. Whichever end you might be rooting for, it becomes hard to blame the characters should they choose an alternate path. Which meant I had no idea how it all might end, and was thus glued to the pages with anticipation.
As inherently, necessarily painful as much of the tone of this story is throughout, I found the ending highly satisfying. Heart-wrenching, yes, but true and organic to the events come before it. As with many writers, it's been great fun to see Mattingly's growth and maturity as a storyteller from one volume to the next, and I can't wait to see what next she has in store.
As with all of Mattingly's stories, there is a mystery here that demands resolution. But the true strength of the story, the common thread in the Mattingly books I've read, are the questions of love and loyalty. What must it do to a marriage, this greatest of losses? How does each person reconcile it, privately and together? At the peak of our vulnerability, what choices do we make in search of sustenance and support? The moral ambiguities presented in this tale raise dramatic questions difficult to answer. Which in turn heightens the tension. Whichever end you might be rooting for, it becomes hard to blame the characters should they choose an alternate path. Which meant I had no idea how it all might end, and was thus glued to the pages with anticipation.
As inherently, necessarily painful as much of the tone of this story is throughout, I found the ending highly satisfying. Heart-wrenching, yes, but true and organic to the events come before it. As with many writers, it's been great fun to see Mattingly's growth and maturity as a storyteller from one volume to the next, and I can't wait to see what next she has in store.
November 28, 2016
Literature is ripe with stories about the loss of a child; the theme of such grief ripples through many of John Irving’s novels. Where most authors would dwell on the simmering, if not open, hostility and recriminations between spouses, Kathryn Mattingly provides a twist by offering the reader two mysteries: the disappearance of one child, the daughter of Olivia and Jackson Porter, and a ghost associated with a lighthouse.
Two mysteries become a pathway to redemption and renewal. Readers will experience a mother’s determination and unflagging belief that her daughter is alive, despite what others around her think and believe. It is Olivia’s unrelenting conviction that Ava is alive that threatens to make a ghost of her marriage.
The author, without judgment, also shows how spouses deal with pain. Jack sublimates his grief through a day’s work and a night’s swim in the bottle, whereas for Olivia, the maternal instinct becomes stronger and stronger. Whether Ava is alive or not, Olivia wants proof of life or death, at any cost.
It is not easy writing – and a remarkable accomplishment – that Mattingly conveys the loss of identity in motherhood. Olivia is driven, asking difficult and painful questions. It does not help that both spouses have temptations around them, but Mattingly’s parting note is that love triumphs and mends wounds. The writing is lush and lyrical, conjuring the sights and sounds of the ocean. When the seagull caws, it is a reminder that grief’s answer is in the language of hope and a mother’s abiding faith.
Two mysteries become a pathway to redemption and renewal. Readers will experience a mother’s determination and unflagging belief that her daughter is alive, despite what others around her think and believe. It is Olivia’s unrelenting conviction that Ava is alive that threatens to make a ghost of her marriage.
The author, without judgment, also shows how spouses deal with pain. Jack sublimates his grief through a day’s work and a night’s swim in the bottle, whereas for Olivia, the maternal instinct becomes stronger and stronger. Whether Ava is alive or not, Olivia wants proof of life or death, at any cost.
It is not easy writing – and a remarkable accomplishment – that Mattingly conveys the loss of identity in motherhood. Olivia is driven, asking difficult and painful questions. It does not help that both spouses have temptations around them, but Mattingly’s parting note is that love triumphs and mends wounds. The writing is lush and lyrical, conjuring the sights and sounds of the ocean. When the seagull caws, it is a reminder that grief’s answer is in the language of hope and a mother’s abiding faith.
December 5, 2016
Mattingly writes with the deep notes of tragedy and a mother’s persistent belief, interweaving them through Olivia’s journey into a life without her daughter. The reader is taken, with matching optimism and despair, through the story; willing the unlikely survival of Olivia’s beloved Ava, and rooting for her fight for the truth to not be in vain.
Mattingly’s writing is a delicate tapestry, intertwining richly descriptive details and settling the reader beside her characters as they navigate through the realities of losing a child, the pressures that follow in their relationships, and the individual ways in which all humans approach and deal with loss.
I really enjoyed this book and it moved at a very good pace. Her writing is exceptionally descriptive and beautiful.
Mattingly’s writing is a delicate tapestry, intertwining richly descriptive details and settling the reader beside her characters as they navigate through the realities of losing a child, the pressures that follow in their relationships, and the individual ways in which all humans approach and deal with loss.
I really enjoyed this book and it moved at a very good pace. Her writing is exceptionally descriptive and beautiful.
November 28, 2016
From the first pages, Olivia's Ghost plunges the reader into a maelstrom of powerful emotions and a heart-rending mystery. Mattingly is a superb word artist, who paints the reader completely into the beauty and ruggedness of the Oregon Coast as well as into the lives of her well-developed characters. This is a thoroughly satisfying and enjoyable read with a great surprise ending."
Rene Villard-Reid , author of Finding the Magic
Rene Villard-Reid , author of Finding the Magic
December 3, 2016
Wonderful book! Kathryn Mattingly wrote a captivating story, one of tears and joy. I reached a point where I could not stop reading. Her beautiful descriptions of the Central Oregon Coast took me back to where we once lived. Her books never fail to be a good read. I easily set aside a book I was reading from the NY Best Seller List to read Olivia's Ghost. Benjamin should have been on that list. Sally Cook, author of Catch Them if You Can and The Sky Is Falling.
December 16, 2016
“Kathryn Mattingly has mastered the art of bringing complex characters to life and embedding them in a story that is hauntingly tragic, hopeful, and tinted with wisps of the supernatural. Add a stunning beach setting and historical lighthouse on the Oregon coast, two tormented men who compete for her love, and you have an emotional roller coaster ride that will leave you breathless.
December 13, 2016
Like the ocean she paints perfectly, Mattingly crushes you with tragedy and keeps you turning the page with a glimmer of hope. In this raw tale she dissects the complexity of human emotion, that is heartbreakingly relatable.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews