Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Beatrix Greene has made a name for herself in Victorian England as a reputable spiritual medium, but she’s a fraud: even she knows ghosts aren’t real. But when she’s offered a lucrative job by James Walker—a scientist notorious for discrediting pretenders like her—Beatrix takes the risk of a lifetime. If her séance at the infamously haunted Ashbury Manor fools him, she will finally have true financial freedom. If she fails, her secret will become her public shame.

But James has his own dark secrets, and he believes only a true medium can put them to rest. When Beatrix’s séance awakens her real gift—and with it, a vengeful spirit—James finds that the answers he seeks are more dangerous than he could have imagined. Together, with a group of supernatural sleuths, Beatrix and James race to settle the ghost’s unrest before it strikes— or else they might not make it out of the haunted manor alive.

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, along with Ash Parsons and Vicky Alvear Shecter, weaves darkness, death, and a hint of desire into this suspenseful mystery for fans of Sherlock Holmes and Crimson Peak.

Review:

Autumn is that time of year where a good, spooky story is welcome.  The Haunting of Beatrix Greene, by Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parsons, and Vicky Alvear Shecter, has a lot of fun horror elements:  ghosts, murder, and a mystery.   Even though I expected these things, the story got sidetracked by plot holes, and an improbable romance.  This was a fun horror story, but it could have been even better without the cheesy melodrama.

What I Liked:

Premise:

Women in Victorian England don't have many options to make a living, so Beatrix Greene makes the most of her theatrical background to work as a Medium.  But she knows she's a fraud.  When a wealthy skeptic offers her and her friend a large sum of money to conduct a seance, she can hardly say no.  She is all set to fake it, but then she makes contact with REAL spirits!  I loved this premise so much.  It gave the reader a sense of how difficult life was for women, but also turned the tables on the "Medium".  This was really fun.

Mystery:

The seance sets the stage for the central mystery of the book:  why did James's mother kill his brother, and then kill herself?  Why would she do it?  It became an infamous murder in the universe of the novel.  And why was his father so violent?  The house seems to be, itself, a character.  All is revealed when the seance begins and Beatrix becomes possessed by the spirit of James's mother.

Characters:

Besides Beatrix, who is a strong, independent woman (especially for Victorian England), there are several wonderful supporting characters, such as Amanda (an American photographer), and Harry, her friend and assistant.  I thought they brought some normalcy to a strange situation.  Amanda especially represents new opportunities for women, as another female with a career.  And Harry is just a wonderfully supportive friend.

What I Was Mixed About:

Plot Holes:

At the beginning of visiting Ashbury Manor, James invites Beatrix, Harry, Amanda, and a Dr. Doyle, for the seance.  Dr. Doyle is, of course, the name of the creator of Sherlock Holmes.  As tantalizing as this is, this goes nowhere.  He literally is gone in the next scene.

There is also a friend of James, a fellow aristocrat named Stanhope, who crashes the gathering.  He later becomes important in the story, but it's never explained how he knows so much information about Ashbury Manor, and the family curse.

Romance:

The time is set in Victorian England.  Yet, Beatrix and James get very familiar, very quickly.  I know that Beatrix is supposed to be more modern and independent, but this would have been scandalous in those times.  Given the difficultly Beatrix has supporting herself, would she have risked being branded a loose woman?  Even as a Medium, no one would have wanted to associate with a wanton woman.  And I just didn't think the romance was believable.

Rating: 

Release Date:  October 28th, 2020

Authors:  Rachel Hawkins, Ash Parsons,  & Vivky Alvear Shecter

Publisher:  Serial Box

Genre:  Gothic Horror

Page Length:  198 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  While it was entertaining and fun for Halloween, I would grab it from the library.