The House on Tradd Street

Welcome to Karen White's Pump Up Your Books Virtual Book Tour.

About the Book:

Practical-minded Charleston realtor Melanie Middleton hates to admit that she can see ghosts—even to herself. But now she’s going to have to accept it. Because an old man she met only days ago has died, leaving Melanie his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog—and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her something…

Enter Jack Trenholm, a gorgeous writer obsessed with unsolved mysteries. He has reason to believe that some diamonds that went missing from the Confederate Treasury a century ago are hidden in Melanie’s new home. So he decides to turn the charm on with the new tenant, only to discover that he’s suddenly the smitten one.

But it turns out that Jack’s search has caught the attention of a possibly malevolent ghostly presence. Now, Jack and Melanie must unravel a mystery of passion, heartbreak, and even murder. And they must hurry, for an evil force—either dead or alive—lies in wait…

My Review:

4 stars: The interactions between Jack and Melanie were great. Melanie does not want to admit her attraction to Jack because he does not live up to what her ideal man should be. She keeps comparing him to Marc Longo, who is suave and sophisticated and Jack is just the ordinary guy.

This is considered a paranormal romance, but it is also a mystery. One of the ghosts that appear in the house is trying to show Jack and Melanie the answers they need and the other is trying to keep the answers hidden.

This author puts in a nice amount of humorous interactions between Melanie and Jack as well as with the rest of the characters. This keeps the book fun and lively.

I like how Karen White incorporates the city of Charleston and the restoration of The House into the story. I was able to understand the Charleston way of thinking and the importance of history and antiques are to the characters.

Another thing that stood out to me with this book was that there was no sex scenes. The one part were there was love making; it was alluded to. This was a nice change of pace. Everything implied.

Overall, I found this book to be an entertaining read. I am looking forward to reading the second book in this new series The Girl On Legare Street which will be out in November 2009.

About The Author:

Italian and French by ancestry, a southerner and a story teller by birth, Karen White has moved around quite a bit in her life. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she has also lived in Texas, New Jersey, Louisiana, Georgia, Venezuela and England, where she attended the American School in London. She returned to the states for college and graduated from New Orleans’ Tulane University. Hailing from a family with roots firmly set in Mississippi (the Delta and Biloxi), White notes that “searching for home brings me to the south again and again.” She and her family now live near Atlanta.

It was love at first sight when White first visited Charleston and South Carolina’s lowcountry in 1995. She says it was “inevitable” that she would set several novels in the area, as she did with 2005’s The Color of Light, which Booklist praises as “an accomplished novel about loss and renewal.” Three years later, she returned to the there with The Memory Of Water and, now, to Charleston with The House On Tradd Street. Her love of the southern coast shows no sign of abating. Her next novel, The Lost Hours (May 09) is set in and around Savannah.

Happy Reading