Customer Reviews

Celia: A Haunting Mystery

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Title:  A Gripping Mystery!

Celia: A Haunting Mystery by S. L. Cullars opens in North Carolina, where we find Cheryl, a successful New York brokerage firm owner, settling her recently deceased grandmother's estate. After meeting with the handsome, debonair attorney and executor of the will, Arthur Blevins, she unexpectedly discovers the family home is left to her instead of its current occupant, Aunt Gladys. This single act causes Aunt Gladys quite a bit of consternation as she is fearful that Cheryl will sell the house and leave her homeless. Cheryl quickly dismisses this fear and the two women quickly realize that they share similar experiences - sightings of Celia, Gladys's late sister. Celia's apparition, which begins appearing more frequently at inopportune times in heightening states of anguish, sparks Cheryl's interest into Celia's accidental death nearly 30 years before.

Cheryl's investigation takes her to the esteemed Graham estate to confront a man who belongs to a very powerful and conniving family who has members in the North Carolina Senate and Supreme Court. She eventually learns that their families share a sordid, painful, tangled history that many would rather keep buried at all cost. After several close encounters with death, Cheryl, with help from both aunts and Arthur, brings the long-buried truth to the surface and reveals forbidden romances, deep family secrets, racially inspired misgivings, hidden pregnancies, and murders by some unlikely, unexpected culprits. Cullars also sprinkles in a fateful romance between Cheryl and Arthur.

Despite a somewhat slow start, the book quickened its pace and turned into an attention-grabber! It evolves into a gripping novel filled with strong dialogue, a touch of the surreal, solid character development, and vivid descriptions. It is an engaging and suspenseful story-recommended for mystery lovers.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub, Nubian Circle Book Club
March 16, 2003

Sharon Cullars is a veteran of fifteen year's worth of writing; much of which, including her poetry and short stories, has been published in literary e-zines. She is also the editor of the e-zine ELAN, which focuses on issues for African-American women.

Celia is a Southern tale, set in North Carolina. Cheryl Thompson has driven from New York, where she runs a successful investment firm, to her home town after her grandmother, M'dear, has passed away. She begins seeing her Aunt Celia's ghost, who was murdered in 1967, everywhere she looks. Celia is obvious trying to tell her something, and her other aunt, Gladys, isn't telling. Cheryl meets Arthur Blevins, the young attorney with a gorgeous smile and winning personality, and together they try to piece together a mystery that is thirty-five years old:

"He didn't know what to make of all these haunting incidents, but despite his initial doubt, he believed her about Celia's appearances. And given the facts, he suspected that some foul play had been done. And yet, knowing this, he wished that this business would just go away so that Cheryl wouldn't feel compelled to put herself at risk. The Grahams were not some local yokels. They had enough power in this state to have things taken care of quietly."

Cullars weaves a chillingly sensitive tale about how the racism of the Old South is still played out, only in more subtle and even more evil ways. She weaves circles of touching love stories, both requited and unrequited, and the horrible murder of a young woman about to break out of her cultural bonds. Celia is an extremely sensitive tale, with nuances and layers of textures. Cheryl is a New-Age woman, struggling to help her dead and living aunts find peace after their family is cruelly singled out by a prominent political family for a perceived wrong going back generations. Cullars shows the reader that being African-American, and particularly female, is still a dangerous journey. Unfortunately, race relations still have a long way to go. It is a daily battle for those who are born into it, and Cullars' tale does an excellent job of enlightening those of us who have never had to live the nightmare. She also entertains us with a fabulous whodunit with characters who are vivid and wonderful, and a plot to match. A truly great read.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

I liked Celia:A Haunting Mystery, immensely. I was hooked from the very first chapter, and the rest of the book didn't disappoint me.

When Cheryl, the main character, goes back to North Carolina to settle her grandmother's estate, she is reunited with her Aunt Gladys, who is her only living relative. These two African American women, one from the rural old school, and the other a successful, urban, business woman, don't quite know how to relate to each other. A third character comes forward, the ghost of Cheryl's other aunt, Celia, long dead, who appears to be wherever she goes. It seems that Celia death had been determined to be an accident, but Celia comes back to say she was murdered many years before.

Cheryl becomes obsessed with finding out who murdered this Aunt, whom she never knew. After many twists and turns, including a love affair with the handsome attorney, Arthur Blevins, Cheryl finds the true culprit. Ms. Cullars leads her readers through a history of Celia's involvement with a prominent white family, and ultimately solves the mystery. The book is not without some really "hold your breath" scenes, when Cheryl, herself, is in danger.

This book, besides exploring the difficulties of the relationship between aunt and niece, a powerful insight into generational differences, particularly in light of African American history, is a very exciting mystery and well worth spending the time to read it. It has mystery, suspense, a beautiful love affair and psychological insight.

I highly recommend it. Bravo!

Celia, written by S.L. Cullars is an electrifying novel. Ghostly haunts, old murders, and family secrets are basic to this novel. Cheryl Thompson is on her way home to North Carolina from New York. Suddenly she looks in her car mirror and sees her Aunt Celia and is startled. How can this be since Celia died in a tragic car accident over thirty years ago? When Cheryl arrives home and is greeted by her Aunt Gladys she is overwhelmed with so many memories. While unpacking in her room she looks in the bathroom mirror and sees Celia's reflection looking back at her. Everywhere she goes she sees Celia and there is always the mysterious scent of lilacs. Cheryl knows when she smells the lilacs that Celia is always present. A trip to the cemetery to see the grave of her grandmother, who had died several weeks, makes Cheryl question whether Celia's death was really an accident.

In the story, we also meet Arthur Blevins the young, handsome attorney who handled Cheryl's grandmother estate. They began a relationship and sparks start flying. It is with Arthur's help that Cheryl begins to solve the mystery of Celia death.

Cullars' writing is clear and with excellent characterization. The plot is tightly woven to keep the reader interested. There is no way you can guess what happens next and it flows easily. Cullars takes family drama and mystery to a new level. Celia is by far the best mystery novel I've read this year and I would recommend it to mystery lovers. This is one novel that should be made into a movie. You cannot understand the meaning of haunting until you read this novel.

Reviewed by Dorothy Cooperwood

Cheryl Thompson is a successful young business owner working in New York. She is returning to North Carolina to take care of some necessary paperwork left after inheriting her grandmothers home. One the drive down she is a bit startled to glance in her review mirror and see her Aunt Celia staring back at her. Celia had been dead for many years, the victim of a terrible car accident when Cheryl was a small child
The story continues as Cheryl arrives at the house, faced with her hostile Aunt Gladys. Gladys is unsure of her future in the house. Cheryl quickly allays her fears but soon faces her own as Celia continues to turn up again and again often accompanied by the strong smell of lilacs.

What is Celia trying to tell Cheryl? Gladys refuses to help, a wealthy family in town seems unusually hostile and Cheryl's only friend in the case is a handsome young attorney, Arthur Blevins.

This book was a combination small town girl makes good, ghost story, romance and uncovering the family secrets.

The plot was well executed and kept this reader guessing to the very end. The characters were both appealing and appalling- but there must be a villain to have a good mystery.

I had a little trouble with the book's pace over half the way through. It was a little too slow for my taste. There were just too many obstacles getting in the way of the mystery. So the book didn't really start to grab this reader until the author decided to utilize the antagonist (the evil Graham family) more. Up until that point, nothing was really happening. However, the closer I got to the end, the harder it was for me to put down the book. It's around this time that revelation after revelation starts taking place, with each more riveting than the last.

Celia is the story of a 30+ year old African American businesswoman who goes back to North Carolina to settle her dead grandmother's estate. The grandmother had arranged to leave the family home to Cheryl as opposed to her own daughter, Gladys. So, that opens the door to some resentment on Gladys' part towards her niece. The relationship between Cheryl and her aunt starts out to be a rather chilly one at first because for one thing they don't really seem to know one another very well; however, due to somewhat tragic circumstances, the two start to develop a strong bond, forcing them to realize each is all the other has as far as family is concerned.

While in North Carolina, Cheryl becomes entangled in a 30+ year mystery involving the death of her aunt Celia, who had reportedly died in an auto accident. However, Cheryl soon realizes her death was definitely no accident for not only had a pregnant Celia been strangled apparently, but raped as well. And who helps her come to this conclusion? None other than her dead aunt, Celia. You see, Cheryl keeps seeing these images of Celia inside the house. She's even often overcome by the strong scent of lilac whenever her aunt is present.

Cheryl decides to start seeking answers as to who could have possibly murdered Celia, and soon discovers that an extremely powerful family in town may have been responsible. In fact, a secret is revealed that could possibly name one of the sons of this family (as well as possible future governor)as Celia's murderer.

In the meantime, Cheryl meets handsome attorney, Arthur Blevins, with whom she comes to love after realizing she's getting a second chance at love after suffering a recent divorce. The romance was cute and all, but I really wanted to get back to the mystery, so it was hard for me to get into it.

I think this book has a little of everything for the reader. However, I would like to have seen a little more time devoted to the antagonist (the Grahams). Now they were definitely a classic textbook case if ever there was one. Too many questions were left unanswered for me concerning C. J. and his father, Clifford. Clifford committed a horrible act for which he was never really punished. This family caused the family of the protagonist so much anguish. In fact, they were the real source of interest in my opinion. So, I definitely would like to have seen more interaction between the two, or at least more written about them.

Although I had some problems with the book's pace, I would definitely recommend it. Even though the pace was rather slow at first, the last half of the book does a great job in making up for it. I look forward to the author's next book.

I loved this book! Can it be any plainer than that? The characters are all so well developed that you feel like you know them personally and understood exactly what they are going through.

Celia grabbed me from page one and it was very hard to put the book down without trying to finish it in one sitting. I always thought I knew what was going to happen, but I was always wrong, which was great!

I highly recommend this book for any mystery loving reader! You won't be disappointed.