THE VILLAGE IS FILLED WITH SECRETS
583150
This book is a new adventure of Miss Seeton along with her Scotland Yard friends, the local villagers and local policemen. The book is written by Sarah J Mason, writing as Hamilton Crane. It is the first new book written about Miss Seeton and her many friends in about 20 years. We still have the charm and character driven plot we would expect from a Miss Seeton story. This is a wonderful entry in the series. If you have not read any other books in the series, you will still enjoy this quirky mystery.

The time is shortly after the end of World War II. Britain is still recovering and anti  Nazi emotions are still high.

Miss Seeton has returned to the village of Plummergen after a visit to the North. She finds that the village is still enjoying the after effects of Nigel Colveden's marriage to a French girl, the daughter of a count. A decision has been made to create a quilt which will show the history of the village. It will be Plummergen's answer to the historic French Bayeaux Tapestry. Women will select what part of history they will create and how they will create it. Some will embroider, some will applique and everyone will keep their needlework contributions secret. The history will include dramatic events back to medieval times.

As is normal in the village, gossip is running rampant and keeping secrets has become an art form.

When a mural is discovered in a Tudor cottage being renovated more history is about to be made. The mural is a painting of Henry the VII but when looked at upside down it is a menacing painting of Satan. The former occupants of the cottage evidently were Nazi sympathizers and they may or may not have had secret Nazi treasure.

Miss Seeton is drawn into another mystery by her Scotland Yard friends, Inspector Delphick and Officer Bob Ranger. She draws pictures showing events and people but these are not simply drawings. Her automatic pictures can show inner character of people as well as events which may not have yet happened. She is oblivious to what her pictures do for the police and how her art can look into the hearts of people.

As is always true in a Miss Seeton mystery, all threads eventually form a complete and wonderful picture.

This is an entry into the Miss Seeton series which is a fine example of Miss Seeton and her wonderful adventures.

I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I am voluntarily writing this review and all opinions are my own.
3674728
A multi-layered story of a modern village community, acknowledging the reality of Irish social behaviors in the last thirty years against the consequences of the collapse of the tiger. The intensity of the social constrictions of past generations playing against the unsustainable indulgences of the present. Yet with a very light touch. Captivating.
2292834
Seventeen-year-old Rhiannon Morgan has finally had her fill of her aunt.  Shes tired of her small villages hypocrisy, especially from her Aunt Diana.  So, she takes matters into her own hands and sets off to live in the woods a short distance from the village.  Once there, she begins to craft her own imaginary world full of stories of heroes that she learned from the village storyteller.  But back in the village, life begins to unravel for many of its occupants.  A dark secret from the past begins to reveal itself causing a chain reaction that could ensure that history repeats itself.

This was a fascinating debut novel.  Wong really brought the character of Rhiannon to life in a relatable way.  Being essentially orphaned and having to live with her Aunts family and the uncle that she actually made a connection with died a few short years later.  Now she has developed a thick skin, she pushes people away rather than being accepted by them.  Diana too developed a habit of pushing people away, but also bullied others into getting her way as a leader.  The story is ultimately about forgiveness in many different fashions.

I liked that the stories that the children were told were actually based on fact rather than myth, but isn't that always the case?  Just because something seems farfetched or not attainable doesnt mean that it is true.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.  The views and opinions expressed within are my own.
1821094
In the village of Montepuccio in 1875, a child is born of the deflowering of a forty-year old virgin. Cast out from the Italian village after his birth, Rocco Scorta Mascalzone holds only bitterness for Montepuccio, his mother's village. Rocco is "violent and insatiable", the only remaining member of the Scorta clan, who will come to be known for his thievery and repression of helpless travelers, building his family's fortune on the backs of the innocent who suffer the misfortune of crossing his path. His three children, Domenico, Giuseppe and Carmella are made paupers by their father's dictate. Consigning his fortune to the church after his death, the children are propelled into poverty, the villagers made rich by Rocco's posthumous gift, repaying the debt of his ill-gotten gains. The only caveat to his death bed bequest is that any Scorta's be buried like princes.

After their father's death, the children leave the country for New York, their experience on Ellis Island never to be forgotten. Returning to Montepuccio, they find their mother has died; contrary to Rocco's contract with the priest, she has been buried in a pauper's grave. The homecoming is marred by this news, but the grown children are delighted to be reunited with their childhood friend, Raffaele, whom they embrace as one of the family. The four confront the new priest, who refuses to honor the agreement of his predecessor. Outraged, the Scorta's dig up their mother's remains that night; at least she may at least rest in a grave dug by her sons. Surprisingly the town backs the Scorta's instead of Don Carlos Bozzini: "The Scorta's are good-for-nothings, but they belong to us!" Throwing their energy into the survival and financial success of their line, all their efforts share that goal. The three remaining Scorta's, and Raffaele, marry, procreate children of their own and pass along family secrets, instilling pride in each new child that is born to them.

A family line begun in infamy, the Scorta's, although secretive, have the most noble of motives, not adverse to a little black market smuggling. They are insular and protective of one another, understanding since childhood that this small village is capable of great cruelty, old superstitions and hot-headed judgments ingrained in daily life for centuries. Montepuccio is their home, their destiny. The House of Scorta is a piece of history, such villages no longer viable in a modern world, young people gone to the cities, the old waiting to die, the cemetery more familiar as loved ones join their ancestors. In a culture rapidly growing extinct, this intimate portrait reveals the passions, obsessions and immense appetite for life in a people who carve a living out of the land, feast on the bounty of the sea and their olive groves and give the evil eye to their enemies. In the southern Italian tradition, the Scorta's relish family, work and the meals they share, each generation adding to the family folklore. Luan Gaines/2006.
3105856
As book 1 in a series of 3 I enjoyed the story line of a town with people that have different talents and a family that live there who each has a different talent as well. This starts with a person who comes to the town to work and can see and talk to ghosts. The person tries to hide their gift from others at first until the people around do not show that it is out of the ordinary.
4376108
I loved the world that I was thrown into as I read the pages of this book.  I was never quite sure where the path was leading, which kept my interest alive while experiencing the lives of the people in this small town.  Life is strange indeed!  Secrets are sure to come back to haunt us in one manner or the other.
2579379
Beautifully written story. It's not the simple little village tale that I expected. Darker and more interesting.
3843194
A beautiful setting in the gorgeous village of Gresham with the usual types of people - the vicar, the busybody, the do-gooders and the not so nice.  But it all works out well in the end.
1862978
While organizing a town festival for the small South Carolina town of Abundance, Virginia Cleeland Foster discovers family secrets. The author tells several stories in this book which takes place in 1998, and at various points earlier in the lives of the characters. I found the story of the lifelong friendship of two elderly ladies, Zadie and Topie, white and African-American, most intriguing.  An entertaining and engaging read.
915098
A wholesome village is torn when the 'creature' surfaceses due to the inquisitive local children. Can they stick to their elders pact? Or will their curiosity be their downfall?
665723
Loved the book, I found a small village with its human components, good and evil, under a mysterious cloud, which keeps you hanging!!!
2137625
Slow start but when more details of the town are revealed, I did not want to put it down.  Could have more details on the family members
1726864
An attractive young couple is looking for a perfect little house. An attractive little house is looking for the perfect couple. When Midge and Mike find Gramarye, a darling, quaint little cottage in the English countryside, it is as if a spell had been cast upon them. They purchase this little cottage in the middle of nowhere, after a rather unusual negotiation.

Warm and cozy, with an inviting air, Granmarye is everything of which they ever dreamed, and they thrive in its salubrious atmosphere. The days never seemed brighter, nor the nights more romantic. The local flower and fauna around the cottage seem to blossom right before their very eyes. The small animals in the woods seem especially friendly, as do its birds, and they all seem to want to pay a call at the cottage. It is as if the house had a positive psychic energy of its own. It is as if it were a fairytale come true.

Midge and Mike discover that Granmarye's former owner, an elderly woman, had a reputation as a healer. They also discover that a local cult lives not far from them and that its members are reviled by the nearby townspeople. They meet a few of these so called cult members, and they do seem a tad peculiar. They also appear to be quite nervous when visiting Midge and Mike. The cult's leader, however, seems to want to visit very badly. Midge does not mind, but Mike has certain reservations, as there is something about that cult that just does not sit right with him.

Slowly, a shift in the atmosphere in the cottage takes place. As the tension in the book increases, strange and creepy things begin to occur in the cottage. A change in its psychic energy is beginning to take place, replete with a mysterious figure in the woods. Slowly but surely, Midge's and Mike's paradise on earth starts to become a living hell. Spooky, mysterious, and, alternately, charming and chilling, this is one of the author's best books.
2565142
Entertaining anecdotes of people living the small town life in an enchanting place.
1846784
In every neighborhood there is always one house that all the children know to stay away from. But these houses aren't just limited to tiny suburbs in small towns. Even in New York City there's a building that all the neighborhood children know to avoid. An old building known as The Rockwell where witches and trolls and vampires live.
When newlywed Caroline Evans moves into her husband's apartment at The Rockwell, her children are quick to voice their fears about the ongoing rumors.
To Caroline, those who live there are just a bunch of lonely elderly people who simply adore her children and shower them with gifts and lots of homemade goods.
It isn't long, though, before the rumors become real for the children when they hear strange voices and laughter at night. Soon after, not only does Caroline's daughter begin to have recurring nightmares but she also becomes strangely ill. Just like the foster girl who lived upstairs. Now that little girl has disappeared - and when a social worker begins asking too many questions, she disappears too.
Everyone knows witches and trolls and vampires aren't real. But when Caroline and her children realize the evil that truly resides at The Rockwell, it just might be far worse.
Filled with things that go bump in the night, the imagery alone in Midnight Voices will leave the reader with lots of chills and thrills. This book also reads somewhat like a crime suspense novel, and though some parts are a little predictable, it still provides a very entertaining read.
597476
The small Welsh village of Penmorfa is the main setting of the story which revolves around Coralie Casey and Gethin Lewis. Coralie is a newcomer to the village, she has left behind her busy corporate life to set up a small business selling her own range of natural beauty and cleaning products - inspired by her late Grandmother. Gethin, on the other hand, is a native of Penmorfa. He left the village many years before and is now a successful artist based in New York. Gethin has returned to refurbish and sell his childhood home after the recent death of his father. Gethin doesn't have happy memories of the village, and many of the residents seem to resent his success, especially as they feel that his most famous painting does his home village no favours.

Christine Stovell gradually introduces other characters into the story, and although they do not take centre stage, their personalities and complex lives are just as entertaining and often as intriguing as the two main players. The essence of village life is captured very well, from the gossipy old women, to the handsome young surfer and the modern-day worries of marriages, business and how to raise funds for the much needed new Community Centre.

As the story unfolds and the reader gets to know both Coralie and Gethin, my initial impressions of them changed. Gethin starts out as something of a cold and distant character, often appearing arrogant and uncaring. Coralie has an air of mystery to her, and at times appears quite vulnerable. As their relationship with each other develops, so does the relationship between their characters and the reader.

Move Over Darling is a traditional romance with a modern twist, and a hint of suspense and mystery running through it that makes for a satisfying and entertaining read.
4226787
A sweet story, full of well developed characters set in a delightful village.  This book would make a wonderful television series.