Title: The Drake House by Kelly Moran
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Romantic Suspense
Length: 350 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Author
Summary:
In her dreams, a ghost demands to be heard…
Once plagued by mysterious nightmares, Trisha Eaton always chalked them up to childish nuisances–until they return with a vengeance. Something about the Drake house next door haunts her, and now her night terrors and sleepwalking seem to be luring her to something dark. After a series of strange events, Trisha turns to Nick Mackey.
As the new deputy in town, Nick wants to forget his traumatic past. His undeniable attraction for Trisha has him wondering if a shot at a normal life is possible. But Trisha has somehow struck a nerve in their small, superstitious town, and a long-buried secret threatens to surface again. A secret that someone will kill to keep veiled.
Answers only lead to more questions in a case where nothing makes sense, but one chilling fact remains…some nightmares are all too real.
The Review:
The Drake House by Kelly Moran is the perfect combination of romance, mystery and paranormal elements. Long time secrets, nightmares and a ghostly presence are just a few of the intriguing aspects of this compelling and well-written story.
The return of Trisha Eaton’s childhood nightmares and sleepwalking coincides with threatening notes and phone calls. She turns to local police to investigate and new Deputy Nick Mackey is assigned to the case. All clues point to the property that borders Trisha’s orchard, but Drake House has remained uninhabited since Alexandra Drake’s mysterious death twenty years ago. As Trisha and Nick soon discover, someone is willing to go to any lengths, including murder, to keep the truth about long held secrets from being revealed.
Trisha is a feisty, independent woman who is not easily intimated. She is very protective of her friends and family and she will do whatever it takes to keep them safe. With no one willing to talk about a puzzling event from her past, Trisha is willing to risk just about anything to uncover the truth.
Haunted by a justified shooting and the devastating aftermath, Nick is enjoying his new career as a small town deputy. Surprised by his attraction to Trisha, he tries to keep their relationship on professional level as he investigates the inexplicable occurrences at her orchard. Working closely together, the two give in to their passion but his unresolved past continually comes between them.
Nick and Trisha’s relationship is rocky right from the beginning. They quickly indulge in a casual fling, but it is short-lived. The investigation continues to put them in close proximity, but neither is ready for a serious commitment. Nick and Trisha work well together, but their personal relationship runs hot and cold for much of the novel.
The mystery aspect of the storyline has its roots in long ago events, but Nick and Trisha are stone-walled by her parents and her close friends. Nick and Trisha, along with her best friend Brad, quietly look into Alexandra Drake’s past and what they uncover is puzzling. Equally troubling are the present day murders of two of Trisha’s friends and the unexplained disappearance of a longtime family friend.
The Drake House is a suspense-laden mystery with a just the right amount of romance and the tiniest bit of a supernatural component. The characters are wonderfully developed with realistic flaws and imperfections. Kelly Moran does an excellent job obscuring the perpetrator’s identity until the novel’s exciting conclusion.
