Ghost Moon [Mass Market Paperback]

Karen Robards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 2001

Nine years after leaving in disgrace, Olivia Morrison is coming home again with her eight-year-old, Sara, to put things right with the Archer clan. But there is no welcome for the prodigal daughter at the lavish Louisiana estate.

Her stepcousin, Seth, once her only comfort, is icy, dangerously attractive — and engaged. Her formidable stepgrandfather collapses with a heart attack at the sight of her, gasping her dead mother’s name: “Selena!”

The bayou echoes with memories of her mother’s mysterious death. Suicide by drowning, they said. But Olivia’s terrifying nightmares suggest another story. She is determined to learn the truth, and to face a newly ignited passion for Seth, who is too close for comfort, despite his vows.

When a new danger threatens her and her daughter, Olivia must find the courage to confront her old demons ... and uncover a shocking secret buried in the long-forgotten past....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Set in rural Louisiana, Karen Robards's Ghost Moon finds prodigal daughter Olivia Martin returning home to reconcile with her stepfamily. Her sudden arrival after nearly a decade throws the family into a tizzy, and sets off her grandfather's heart attack. With entrances like this, you know the drama won't be skimpy.

Trying to reconnect with her family, Olivia searches through her past memories and unearths disturbing recollections of her mother's drowning. With the help of sexy step-cousin Seth, Olivia begins to rebuild her life and find happiness. Unfortunately, a crazed psychopath is haunting the neighborhood, and he's got eyes for Olivia's daughter.

Part romance and part suspense-thriller with supernatural elements thrown in, Ghost Moon has something for everyone. The chapters focusing on the killer's history of abducting girls are chilling and ominous, and the slow development of Olivia's relationships is both realistic and satisfying, making for a pleasing if sometimes terrifying read. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The fainthearted should be warned: Robards (The Midnight Hour) has crafted a mossy modern gothic drenched in gore. In northern Louisiana, little girls die at the hands of a twisted villain, and the author's detached style makes the killings' gruesomeness especially hard to take. The psychotic murderer has kidnapped four girls over the course of a decade, and he's ready to strike again. Will the next victim be eight-year-old Sara, weight-conscious daughter of broke, divorced Olivia Morrison? Or will it be eight-year-old Chloe, glamorous offspring of single dad Seth Archer, Olivia's stepcousin? Livvy and Seth remain blissfully ignorant of lurking danger, consumed with the welter of contradictory emotions kicked up by the ongoing drama in their family. Raised by her stepfamily, the wealthy Archer clan, Livvy left La Angelle Plantation nine years ago to become the teen bride of a no-good cowboy. She has just returned to the Louisiana estate, humbled by her greatly reduced circumstances and with daughter Sara in tow. Though she is welcomed back, Livvy is haunted by shadowy, frightening nightmares and the mystery surrounding her mother's death almost 20 years ago. Robards conveys the dusty heat of the Louisiana summer, and has an ear for the nuances of dialogue. But the cast of characters is so big, and the dramatics so unrelenting, that readers never have a chance to fully absorb the dynamics of the clan, and the serial killings remain an unintegrated subplot till the very end. When the bogeyman makes a move close to home, and Livvy and Seth get romantically involved, the murder mystery and the love story finally, satisfyingly, converge. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Dell (October 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440225078
• ISBN-13: 978-0440225072
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Regency

More About the Author

Karen Robards is the bestselling author of twenty-seven novels. The winner of six Silver Pen awards for favorite romance novelist, as well as numerous other awards, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, Doug, and their sons Peter, Christopher, and Jack. She says, "I read, I write, and I chase children. That's my life."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heavy on character interactions--light on suspense!, February 20, 2000

By 

paula_k_98 "paula_k_98" (Muskogee, OK USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ghost Moon (Hardcover)

When Karen Robards writes good (i.e. Heartbreaker) she writes good and when she writes bad (i.e. The Senator's Wife) she writes bad. Ghost Moon, thankfully, is in between and a terrific read. I wanted to give it a five due to the wonderful story that involves a complex family. Olivia Morrison has returned to her family after several years of supporting herself and her eight-year-old daughter. She, in a moment of teenage rebellion gave up everything an affluent child could want, to run off with a cowboy who eventually dumped her. After struggling to make ends meet, she puts away her pride and returns home at the request of her aunt. Upon her return, her appearnace shocks her grandfather into a heart attack and the story takes off as Olivia and her daughter, Sara, try to make their place in this huge family. There is good romance as Olivia and her step cousin, Seth, struggle to regain the relationship they once had while Seth also copes with his daughter from a previous marriage. What kept me from giving this book a five is the suspense component. The book opens with one of the scariest abduction scenes of a child that you can read. It gave me chills. Every so often through the book, another scene of a child's abduction is repeated, each one just a little scarier. What made me give the suspense a three was the fact it is isolated and dragged out until the end of the book, then Ms. Robards tries to tie it up within the last twenty pages. By the time I got there, I could not have cared in the least about the suspense part. Anyone who reads these types of books will have already picked up on who is abducting the little girls. By putting the romance and suspense scores together, I came up with a four. It's a good book and you'll get your money's worth of entertainment out of it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Louisiana love story, February 20, 2000

By 

Kathleen Hughes (Pawleys Island, SC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ghost Moon (Hardcover)

Kidnapped children, a ghostly presence, repressed memories, a passionate love affair and an evocative Louisiana setting are just some of the elements that make Ghost Moon and exciting and satisfying read.

Olivia Morrison returns with her young daughter Sara to her childhood home after a disastrous early marriage. As she quickly renews the once close ties between her and her many step-relatives, she also fights an attraction to her step-cousin Seth, now engaged to the superperfect Mallory. As Olivia grows more confident and relaxed in her new home, she begins to remember confused scenes of an early trauma. Meanwhile, the reader is aware of a teriible danger nearby.

I read Ghost Moon in one day and highly recommend it to all lovers of contemporary romance. The characters are believable and the plot is fast-paced. The kidnapper's modus operandi may be over the top but Robards keeps his identity a secret until the final chapters.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A MACABRE TALE SUPERBLY READ, November 16, 2000

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ghost Moon (Nova Audio Books) (Audio Cassette)

Author Robards ("The Midnight Hour" and "The Senator's Wife") has penned her most macabre epic to date with this set in Louisiana tale of Olivia Morrison's return to family home and former foes.

In addition, unexpected emotions are reawakened when she confronts Seth, her older stepcousin, to whom she is once again drawn.

Reader Dean Robertson is appropriately chilling as he relates the 20 year old murders of little girls the same age as Olivia's daughter.