A Sound Among the Trees

Starred review from August 15, 2011
A woman marries into a Southern family with a dark past in this mystery about love and loss. Marielle Bishop meets her future husband, Carson, online and moves to the steamy Virginia hills from her home in the arid Phoenix desert. She soon learns that the family’s stately mansion, Holly Oak, houses more than just her new family. Ever since the Civil War, the Bishop family has been afflicted with hardship and strife—with many locals blaming their troubles on the estate’s alleged haunting. Suspicious herself, Marielle decides to investigate Susannah Page—the family’s former matriarch and spy during the Civil War—to figure out why her spirit refuses to leave the property. Meissner (The Shape of Mercy) delivers a delightful page-turner that will surely enthrall readers from beginning to end. The antebellum details, lively characters, and overlapping dramas particularly will excite history buffs and romance fans.

November 15, 2011

Adelaide is the matriarch of Holly Oak, an antebellum mansion said to be haunted by the ghost of her great-grandmother, Susannah Page. But Adelaide believes that it is not Susannah but the house that has brought nothing but loss to her, including a daughter addicted to drugs and the death of a granddaughter. When Carson, the granddaughter's widower, remarries a young woman from the West, Adelaide has nothing but contempt for the new bride. But Marielle soon gets caught up in the mystery of Holly Oak. VERDICT Meissner (The Shape of Mercy) shifts between the past and present with some success, although the switching of time periods can be confusing. Rich dialog and the hint of long-buried secrets help move the story. This might be enjoyed by fans of Michael Phillips, whose novels also focus on family secrets.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.