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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great mystery, excellent character building - wonderful book!, September 16, 2011
Kate McGuire divorced her wealthy politician husband and set up a photography studio, slowly gaining business over the past year. Deciding to try something fun, she joins a parapsychology group at a local college. It's entertaining, until she gets a vision of an angry man strangling a young woman - a vision that is so vivid that she feels as though she is the one being strangled. After the professor running the group - Martin Carver - checks the registration on the item Kate was holding, it is discovered that it had belonged to a young woman named Kelly Landrum, who has gone missing several days before. Venice Ashburton, a professional psychic, receives a similar vision. When Kate refuses to go to the police, Venice decides to take matters into her own hands and contacts John Gerrad, a reporter, who meets with Venice and Kate and then mentions them in an article about the missing girl. While Kate is upset about people finding out she is involved with a psychic research group because she is afraid it will negatively impact her business, what she should have been concerned about was what the killer would think when reading the article - because now the killer thinks that Kate and Venice know more than they do - and plans to do something about it ...
Ellis Vidler has created a very well-crafted mystery/suspense in "Haunting Refrain." Several good suspects are kept in the mix through the book and while I did figure out whodunit, I wasn't absolutely sure I was correct until the denouement. I was also impressed by the fact that, up until the end, the heroine was shown to be pretty sensible, taking the advice from the police and from Gerrard for her own protection. Of course, then she did go and do something stupid ... but it was a necessary part of the plot to move things forward properly so I'll let it go. It was just refreshing to have a heroine that was willing to listen to reason and behave in a somewhat logical manner as far as protecting herself went, once she realized she was in danger. I also liked the fact that Ms. Vidler did such a good job at giving each of her characters such an individual voice - having recently read a book in which all the characters sounded the same, it was nice to see this done so well. Overall I was highly impressed with this book and fans of mystery, suspense and/or thrillers should love this book. Definitely check it out.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Story by a Gifted Writer, September 5, 2011
Ellis Vidler has created a nice mystery with plenty of suspense in it. Her heroine discovers by chance that if she touches an item belonging to a victim, she sees what has happened to the victim. This was one of the elements of the story that especially intrigued me because I do believe this happens, and I can tell you, there's one scene in this book that will stay with me forever. When you read it I bet you'll know right away which scene that is. I also liked the romantic element with the reporter, which was just right for this story. Good job by Ellis Vidler, and I'm looking forward to her next book.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific book, August 12, 2011
In Haunting Refrain, Kate McGuire and her elderly friend, Venice, take part in a parapsychology study. Kate picks up a headband which, unknown to her, was last worn by a missing college student. Kate "sees" things, and from there the story takes off in directions that will entertain you until the last page.
From the police to a reporter named John Gerrard, everyone is reluctant to pay attention to Kate's visions, and Kate is the most reluctant of all. Unfortunately, the reporter writes a story for the newspaper about this situation and he includes her name. The killer decides that Kate's visions need to come to an abrupt end, and after all, he's already killed. What's one more death? Yes, the college student's body is recovered, under the circumstances that Kate described.
The interaction between Kate and her friend, Venice, is priceless. Kate and Venice are both characters you'll remember after you put the book down. I enjoyed Ellis Vidler's portrayal of the players in this story and I'll definitely be looking for her next book. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good story and characters.
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