Specters in the Glass House | ARC Review

Posted September 10, 2024 by Christine in 4/5, review / 0 Comments /

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Specters in the Glass House | ARC Review
Specters in the Glass House Published by Bethany House Publishers by Jaime Jo Wright
Genres: Christian, Mystery, Historical
Pages: 368
Source: Netgalley
Format: ARC, eBook
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads
Find the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

ISBN: 076424146X
Rating:4 Stars

In 1921, Marian Arnold, the heiress to a brewing baron's empire, seeks solace in the glass butterfly house on her family's Wisconsin estate as Prohibition and the deaths of her parents cast a long shadow over her shrinking world. When Marian's sanctuary is invaded by nightmarish visions, she grapples with the line between hallucinations of things to come and malevolent forces at play in the present. With dead butterflies as the killer's ominous signature, murders unfold at a steady pace. Marian, fearful she might be next, enlists the help of her childhood friend Felix, a war veteran with his own haunted past.

In the present day, researcher Remy Shaw becomes entangled in an elderly biographer's quest to uncover the truth behind Marian Arnold's mysterious life and the unsolved murders linked to an infamous serial killer. Joined by Marian's great-great-grandson, can Remy expose the evil that lurks beneath broken wings? Or will the dark legacy surrounding the manor and its glass house destroy yet another generation?

Renowned as a "trailblazer extraordinaire" (Booklist) of inspirational dual-time suspense, award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright weaves a haunting tale of mystery, legacy, and the relentless pursuit of truth across two distinct eras.

So, this was a “Christian” read without the Christianity suffocating the story right out, as Christian books can be wont to do. Seriously, as a Christian, Christian fiction can be difficult for me. Oftentimes, they overlook the ugliness and instead focus on trite, boring, predictability as not to offend or get to real. Because real can be sinful.
It’s incredibly refreshing to read a Christian story that, instead, focuses on that reality. The reality that life is sometimes messy and ugly, and (Christian or not) we’re all just fumbling through.
This story was on this side of macabre. Not TOO, mind you. Just enough spooky to make the mystery that much more addicting.

And in the end, the story was the perfect way to speak on mental health issues, especially at a time when many didn’t concern themselves with it.

 

 

About Jaime Jo Wright

Daphne du Maurier and Christy Award-Winning author, Jaime Jo Wright resides in the hills of Wisconsin writing suspenseful, mysteries stained with history's secrets. Jaime lives in dreamland, exists in reality, and invites you to join her adventures at jaimewrightbooks.com!