House of Secrets: The Haunting of Winchester Mansion / The Haunting of Bechdel Mansion

by Alexandria Clarke, Roger Hayden

Mystery masterminds Alexandria Clarke, author of "The Haunting of Winchester Mansion", and Roger Hayden, author of "The Haunting of Bechdel Mansion", which have collectively accumulated 250+ five-star reviews come together in this SUPER BOX SET for the first time! That's TWO complete book SERIES comprised of SIX NOVELS. In the small town of Black Bay, a vacant, forgotten house sits atop an overlooking bluff. When Bailey and Bodhi Taylor move in and begin renovations, the house seems perfect. But things move on their own, screams echo from the basement, and Bailey sees a shadowy figure out of the corner of her eye. Is the house haunted? And if it is, what does the ghost want with Bailey? The Haunting of Bechdel A Haunted House Mystery One couple must unearth the secrets of a small-town murder before it's too late. A young couple from the city move to a small town, looking for a fresh start. They soon find their dream house in an old Victorian mansion and everything seems perfect, that is, until they experience strange supernatural occurrences linked to an unsolved mass murder from forty years ago. Unearthing the secrets buried within the mansion won't be easy. Can they solve the mystery in time, or will they face the same doomed fate as the tenants who came before them?

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Paranormal

666 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 23, 2017

About the author

Alexandria Clarke is a writer, cat lover, and all-around optimist. She loves to immerse her readers in mystery and intrigue, meaningful friendships, and the worlds of characters who learn by doing. When she's not writing, Alex enjoys playing guitar, watching Wynonna Earp, and spending time with her family. She currently lives in Orlando, Florida with her partner and their four pets.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a boxed set of two books, each in three serial installments, by two different authors. Both books are about hauntings. What can I say, around Halloween I always like to read a ghost story or two. My review and star rating is mostly for the first book. First, I don't like the serialized book approach, and only read these because they were in a set and, when I got them, free. But the volumes flowed into the next smoothly. I thought the story was interesting, and I liked that there were multiple mysteries going on. I especially appreciated that the author did not disclose what was going on with the main characters' relationship right away. However, I did feel that there were several unlikely plot points. More importantly, I was frustrated by the habit of the author in using "Bodhi and I" when it should have been "Bodhi and me" in numerous instances. That and other editorial issues lowered the rating for me. For the second book, I found that I could not continue past the first chapter due to numerous editorial problems.

[Patti Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved these 2 books. Both of you have a style of writing that kept my interest to the very end, couldn't stop reading. Would have liked to hear more of their lives afterwards.

I would recommend to anyone who likes suspense and the paranormal. Riveting. Liked the way the writing went back and forth in time.

[Karen Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!

This was a very entertaining read. It kept my attention the entire time. I would recommend this book to all who enjoy a great book.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took me forever to finish this book because there were just so many things I didn't like about it. I'm speaking of the two Winchester Books that really could have been edited into one.

As others said, the plot seemed fairly predictable and the more I read it, the more I felt this should be a YA book, considering how it was written. The only thing I had trouble figuring out was who Milo was. I had my suspicions - and was right, but it didn't make sense until the explanation in book 2. But honestly, I felt she could have wrapped things up in book 1.

So many issues with this book that I couldn't ignore.
1. I found it ridiculous that the murderer would not have destroyed evidence linking him to the murders (i.e. Murder weapon) after 20 years.
2. The one ghost can hurt people and really hurt Bailey, which caused two issues for me. Why would she hurt the people she wanted help from? And how come the ghost easily attacks Bohdi and Bailey, but never her murderer who visited the house many times? Makes no sense. And if the other ghost has a stronger physical presence (can be seen and touched) why couldn't he deal with his murderer himself? (because if thee ghosts could there'd be no book, but there has to be plausible reason why they couldn't do this themselves and none is given)
3. Bailey does research on all these houses and it was common knowledge the house was haunted, but she never came across anything about hauntings so it was a complete surprise to find a ghost.

There were just so many other plot inconsistencies but too many to mention. I also felt the blog posts were too much. We get she's a blogger. Don't need so may complete blog posts that don't do anything but slow down the narrative (with the exception of maybe two). I found myself skimming just to see how it ended, which was about what I expected.

I didn't read the second set of books after seeing reviews that it was basically the same kind of thing.

If you have a teen who likes mysteries and ghosts then maybe they'd enjoy this but an adult reader might just be distracted by all the plot holes and predictability.

[Jan Funnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Haunting of Winchester Mansion was a reasonable story but I can't say that I was that hung up on it. I absolutely hated the way it was written as if in three episodes or instalments.

The second book I liked even less, neither the story or the characters was really credible I did skip large parts of this book just to get to the end of it all and even after all that you still don't get to find out what, if anything was actually hidden in the catacombs (if there were any) below the house.

[Beth Burthwick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dumb

Dumb
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
Dumb dumb






This is a very stupid book, childish and peoples abilities do not work like that. You should do more homework before writing and people should not be forced to write a review-held hostage-could not go forward or back until review was written

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half decent...

I’ve read a number of the books in this series and while I never expected Pulitzer-prize winning literature from a haunted house series, I couldn’t believe how poorly written and edited the second book in this box set was.

Alexandria Clarke is at least a decent writer but it seems this set was never actually edited. It’s simply a number of short stories stitched together to make a “book”, often repeating things as an opening salvo to the next part of the story so you feel like you’re reading the same thing over and over again. There are even notes from the authors that bisect each piece, thanking the reader as if that’s the end, only to start up again. While the first story about the Winchester renovation was decent, I had a hard time getting past one very large question in my mind: why on earth would you name a haunted house the Winchester House when there’s already an exceptionally famous— and famously haunted- Winchester House? Was it arrogance? Or a carefully crafted ploy for more readers? Either way the story certainly didn’t live up to the legend of the real Winchester House.

The second story about the Bechdel Mansion had such a promising premise and setting but was an epic letdown from the very first pages. Perhaps some of the worst editing I’ve ever seen, there were typos galore, words misused constantly, stilted dialog, and more plot holes than...well... the book “Holes”.

I have a hard time putting a book down even if it’s this bad so I powered through but now I’m wishing I could request a refund on Kindle Unlimited books.

[Lesley Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love getting two great ghost stories for one price

I mainly obtained this for The Haunting of Winchester House by Alexandria Clarke as I had just recently discovered her books. This one didn't disappoint and the poignancy at points actually had my eyes tearing up a bit. Like her other titles I have read so far, it is well written& well plotted with a mystery that will keep you guessing. The second selection include in this set I had previously read before but it was one of those books that is good enough that despite having read a plethora of other ghost stories between then & now, it's still one that sticks in my mind. Both stories are great & being available like this, it's a great bargain. Just my usual word of caution; don't start near bedtime or if you have any appointments coming up as you will definitely have trouble putting it down. Just one more chapter quickly becomes oh darn finished this one why don't I just at least start the next book by reading a couple of pages. Happens to me all the time and next thing I know it's like 4am. If only I had a job that consisted of reading

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The haunting of Winchester Mansion was great, 4 stars and reviewed it Nader that title.

The second half, was a 1 star book. Each sequel, or book in the series spends half the book telling you exactly what happened in the last book before moving the on, and while 5 of 10 chapters dedicated to the last book may be okay if you were reading the books as a two or three years between publishing dates in a collection, it’s horrible. Pls this happens 4 times, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.

Not only that but they make errors “..she had never told anyone, not even Curtis”, next recap “ Curtis had been skeptical about her abilities, even before they were married.”

On top of that Mary is a total bag, by the end of the third chapter of the first book I was hoping the ghosts would kill her.

[Deedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Winchester Massion set: I loved this story!A couple move to a house that is haunted.The house was abandoned 20 years before when the family died in a boat accident,or WAS it an accident?The new homeowners,who 'flip houses', will have to figure it out.
The Bechdel Mansion:
A couple moves to a haunted mansion not knowing that 40 years earlier a party of people were murdered there.The ghost of a child will lead them.I very much enjoyed this series!
Both were narrated by Tia Rider Sorensen.
I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

[Dianna Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read , perfect for the Halloween month..

This is the month of Halloween and we are all looking for a great scary or paranormal read!! This is intriguing,, and well played out each and every one of the books!! Kept my interest and made me want to read more!! What is more believable is this could be a true story Orr two from anywhere!! History is many levels of intrigue!! The past draws us in!!

[Rosa Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two very good books

Both these stories will leave you with not wanting to put it down. Suspence in every chapter. This occurs during October so I am “tagging” it Halloween so I’ll know to read it during Halloween season making it that much more spooky. Because of some of the situations I can not recommend to my advanced reading preteen friends just not appropriate for younger readers. But everyone else enjoy!

[Cher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read the first 3 volumes, which shouldn't have been divided to begin with because you need to read all 3 to get a complete story arc. There weren't enough characters in this long book, so there was no mystery for me. The events and the writing were repetitive. That said, I liked the unusual take on a hunted house story.

[Robbie J. Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book five stars because I couldn't put it down. I do, however, have to admit that I skipped many parts that seemed redundant. I feel as though this book could have done without 3 parts; 2 parts would have been plenty. The story although a fun read, dragged on and on when by the second chapter you knew whodunnit, although WHY remained a big question.

[Jacqui Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home, Sweet Home ?

Small towns are wonderful. Everyone knows everyone, and everything. This story has so many wonderful elements to it. You keep guessing, but in the end you’re surprised to find you were wrong. I couldn’t wait to finish this book, to find out all the secrets. Great Book !

[Cheryl Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thankful for Boxed Set

I titled this “Thankful for boxed Set” because the books are addicting and after I read one, I’m glad I didn’t have to go download the next.

Both authors kept the story moving right along. Look forward to reading other books by both authors. Great work to both of you.

[Josh Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twists and turns

It was a slow read at first, but well worth the wait until the end. I love the twists and turns. There was only on plot I didn’t understand which was first the cell phones zapped out and then soon after they worked again. Must have been due to where they were at the time.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gently scary

I enjoyed this book. It had just the right amount of romance, scary, and characters. I would have liked more description of the house and renovations. I recommend this book.

[Mimi Davis Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whose Haunting Who

This is a very well written story, with loads of interesting twists and turns. The characters and the storyline south are exceptional. Great mystery and ghost story riled up in this fabulous story. Great job by this great author.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fun and Exciting Read

I could read books this well written all day long. Although it was released as 3 separate books when in fact it is truly only one book. I don't really understand the resent trend in releasing single novels as multiple shorter novels.

[Elizabeth K Bourgeois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed set

The only thing I had a problem with was the end of each section having the request for opinions at a critical time in reading. I didn't do them because I was in a hurry to keep reading. The story was proficient .

[RedHandedBee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first set was a good, interesting mystery read. Have not gotten into the second set, will finish eventually but I got pretty attached to Bailey and Bodhi from the first story so I am waiting a while to really get involved in the second.

[Eva Boileau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Supernatural

This set of books kept me on my toes from beganning to end. Highly recommend them. If supernatural interests yoiu that read on

[Angie Cassista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great books

Two great books! So hard to put down!!! If another book is ever added I would so read it. B

[Karen Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

First was best

Enjoyed the first book much more than the second. Not really into description of leaves on trees, etc. Action and more action for me

[Aimee Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chills and hair standing on ends

Loved it. Spine tingling, action packed until the end. Glad justice was served in the end. Was hoping to read about the treasure.

[CYNTHIA GARNAND · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theo

So what happens to Theo? Interesting character, are you going to bring him back? Mary and Curtis' baby, will she be gifted too?

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entrancing

I couldn't put it down would fall asleep reading it can't wait to read more. Hope others enjoy it as much as i did.

[Monica Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it!

I couldn't stop reading, though there were some events that confused me a bit at the beginning, but in the end I understood.

[Kim Blittle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could have been better.

Enjoyed the series however both stories were similar in content. Wish there would have been completely different scenarios. But still really enjoyed them.