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Property of a Lady
Property of a Lady
Property of a Lady
Ebook337 pages5 hours

Property of a Lady

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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“An inventively plotted, goose-bumps inducing ghost story.” —Booklist
 
A house with a sinister past—and a grisly power . . .
 
When Michael Flint is asked by American friends to look over an old Shropshire house they have unexpectedly inherited, he is reluctant to leave the quiet of his Oxford study. But when he sees Charect House, its uncanny echoes from the past fascinate him—even though it has such a sinister reputation that no one has lived there for almost a century. But it’s not until Michael meets the young widow, Nell West, that the menace within the house wakes . . .
 
“Rayne spins eerie yarns within yarns like a latter-day Isak Dinesen or Wilkie Collins.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“A chilling mystery from another era. . . . Once again Rayne delivers.” —Booklist
LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 1, 2011
ISBN9781780100661
Property of a Lady
Author

Sarah Rayne

Sarah Rayne is the author of many novels of psychological and supernatural suspense, including the Nell West & Michael Flint series, the Phineas Fox mysteries and the Theatre of Thieves mysteries. She lives in Staffordshire.

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Reviews for Property of a Lady

Rating: 3.696969727272727 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

33 ratings3 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed this ghostly tale about Charect House and its former residents. Michael Flint's American friends have inherited the place and they ask him to go and oversee renovation works for them. After encountering some strange goings-on, he meets local antiques dealer, Nell West and together they try to find out what links the house and young girls going missing.I thought this was a really good story and probably the most plausible ghost story I have read. I find suspending belief very difficult but I didn't really need to with this book. There's also a good deal of historical story and looking into the past which I liked. Some of the dialogue was a bit naff but not enough to spoil my enjoyment. I'm looking forward to reading the second in this series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A creepy clock, a ghost, a hidden diary, all of these and more in this book. A gothic mystery with lots of twists and turns. An excellent story and a good ending. This is my first by Sarah Rayne but it won't be my last.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Do you want your standard ghost story set in a dilapidated English manor? This one has it all: graveyards, necromancy, people walled up alive, a grandfather clock crammed with documents, and of course rapping and tapping. The ghosts are hunted by Oxford professor Michael Flint and newly widowed antiques dealer Nell West, who are both assisting the hapless Americans who have inherited this very special house. Romance is in the air almost immediately, but it's not laid on too thick for us non-romantics. I want to make fun of this book, but actually it really hit the spot. The narrative is reminiscent of Wilkie Collins - thanks to those documents in the clock and other letters and diaries helpfully left behind by the dead. It's cleverly plotted, occasionally quite creepy, and it's set in Shropshire. What more could you want?

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Property of a Lady - Sarah Rayne

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