Review: In the Blue Hour, by Elizabeth Hall – with Giveaway

4 November 2016 by Melissa

About the book, In the Blue Hour

Paperback: 316 pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (November 1, 2016)

Elise Brooks dreams of a car accident on an icy road. Weeks later, her beloved husband, Michael, is killed in just such a crash. Now, overcome with grief and uncertainty, Elise believes his spirit may be following her in the form of a raven, trying to tell her something from beyond the grave.

Desperate to understand the signs, Elise embraces both the Native American wisdom she grew up with and the world of psychics and seers. So when a tarot-card reader suggests she take a journey to the mysterious address found in Michael’s old jacket, she embarks on a cross-country trek to follow the clues.

Accompanied by Tom Dugan, an engineer and scientist who does not believe in psychics, mediums, or the hoodoo “conjure woman” they encounter on the road, Elise navigates the rituals and omens of the spirit world in an attempt to unravel the mystery of her husband’s message.

Buy, read, and discuss this book.

Amazon | Books a Million | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the author, Elizabeth Hall

Elizabeth Hall, author of Miramont’s Ghost, has worked as a teacher, communications consultant, and radio host. She spent many years in the mountains of Colorado and now resides in the Pacific Northwest, where she indulges in the fiber arts of knitting, beading, and weaving.

My Thoughts

I read Elizabeth Hall’s previous novel, Miramont’s Ghost, about a year and a half ago, and really enjoyed it, so I was eager to see what she’d do with a more contemporary story. With In the Blue Hour, I feel like she’s really come into her own, solidifying herself as a writer who does amazing things with supernatural thrillers.

One of the things I loved about Hall’s previous book, and which she continues to excel at in this novel, is in vivid descriptions of place. I know Taos, NM, mainly from the writings of Natalie Goldberg and one too-brief overnight there twelve years ago, when my husband and I were driving from California to Texas, but after reading this book, I feel like I’ve spent a month in Taos and its surrounding areas.

Hall’s characters are all very vivid. While I enjoyed reading about protagonist Elise’s relationship with her deceased husband Michael (told in flashbacks), it was Elise’s friendship with Monica that I found to be exceptionally strong. This is a life-long friendship in which both women met as girls, grew up together, and stayed friends into adulthood. I really loved the changing dynamic of the two, as well as the way each woman remained completely herself.

I found the actual story of In the Blue Hour to be quite lovely. A bit on the cozy side of thrillers, with a strong spiritual element, I found the author worked Native American traditions into her story very plausibly. It never seemed like there was any tokenism or appropriation, but rather a deep reverence for and appreciation of all the traditions depicted – even the tarot reader.

In many ways, In the Blue Hour takes its cues from true gothic romance, resetting that trope in a contemporary setting, but however you classify it, it’s an interesting, compelling story with a rich tapestry of people and places.

Goes well with cheese and onion enchiladas and a margarita.

Giveaway

One person in the U.S. or Canada will win a copy of Love Literary Style. How? There are three ways to enter:

Find my tweet about this book, and retweet it (make sure my tag is intact @melysse)
Find my post about this book on Facebook, like it, share it, and comment that you have done so.
Leave a relevant comment about this book, here on this post. (Comments from first-timers must be approved and may not go live for 24 hours).

Deadline: 11:59 PM Central Standard Time on Thursday, November 17th.

Elizabeth Hall’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS

Tuesday, November 1st: All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Wednesday, November 2nd: Thoughts on This ‘n That

Thursday, November 3rd: Books A La Mode (Guest Post/Giveaway)

Friday, November 4th: Bibliotica

Monday, November 7th: Kritter’s Ramblings

Tuesday, November 8th: Bewitched Bookworms

Wednesday, November 9th: Write Read Life

Thursday, November 10th: A Chick Who Reads

Friday, November 11th: Brooke Blogs

Monday, November 14th: Kahakai Kitchen

Tuesday, November 15th: Wall to Wall Books

Wednesday, November 16th: From the TBR Pile

Thursday, November 17th: Broken Teepee

Monday, November 21st: Chick Lit Central

Tuesday, November 22nd: Mama Vicky Says

Wednesday, November 23rd: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Miramont’s Ghost, by Elizabeth Hall – #Review #Bibliotica

9 March 2015 by Melissa

About the book, Miramont’s Ghost

Paperback: 334 pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (February 1, 2015)

Miramont Castle, built in 1897 and mysteriously abandoned three years later, is home to many secrets. Only one person knows the truth: Adrienne Beauvier, granddaughter of the Comte de Challembelles and cousin to the man who built the castle.

Clairvoyant from the time she could talk, Adrienne’s visions show her the secrets of those around her. When her visions begin to reveal dark mysteries of her own aristocratic French family, Adrienne is confronted by her formidable Aunt Marie, who is determined to keep the young woman silent at any cost. Marie wrenches Adrienne from her home in France and takes her to America, to Miramont Castle, where she keeps the girl isolated and imprisoned. Surrounded by eerie premonitions, Adrienne is locked in a life-or-death struggle to learn the truth and escape her torment.

Reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, this hauntingly atmospheric tale is inspired by historical research into the real-life Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

Buy, read, and discuss Miramont’s Ghost

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Goodreads

About the author, Elizabeth Hall

Elizabeth Hall spent most of her life in the mountains of Colorado, working as a teacher, writer, and radio show host. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she writes and plays with fiber.

My Thoughts:

I always enjoy a creepy story, especially if I can relate to it in some way. Having spent a significant portion of my childhood in the mountains of Colorado, I know first-hand the sorts of mansions, castles, and spooky houses that are tucked into the Rockies, and I’ve even toured some of them, so the latter half of this novel, in which Adrienne is in such a place – the castle in the title – and is feeling trapped really resonated with me. Author Hall did a good job of contrasting the scope of historical Colorado with the confines of a single stone building.

That’s not to say there aren’t some great moments in the first half of the novel, because there are. We meet Adrienne as a young child, and see how her clairvoyance affects not only her, but those around her. Compounding the more typical problems of a child prone to blurting out anything she thinks or feels or ‘sees,’ there is also the mystery surrounding the specific circumstances of her grandmother’s death. Adrienne’s clairvoyance, it seems, was inherited from her.

Of course, Adrienne isn’t the only character, there’s her cousin, who is a priest when we meet him, and who builds the titular castle, there’s her Aunt Marie, a strong-willed woman not afraid to pull strings behind the scenes, and the girl’s mother, Genevieve, who probably means well but is rather weak.

Most especially, there is also Adrienne’s grandfather, the Comte, who gives every appearance of being a kindred spirit of the best kind.

Moving between joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, relative safety and constant jeopardy, Miramont’s Ghost is much akin to a modern gothic. It’s spooky enough to leave a hint of a tingle on your skin if you’re reading it all alone after dark, but it also offers enough explanations to keep the story grounded when it’s required.

Goes well with: Hot tea and butter cookies.