Customer Reviews

House of Whispers: Book One Of The Supernatural Properties Series

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When I think of haunted houses, I imagine creaky floorboards, cobwebs, dark recesses, and a gray clapboard house covered by a tangle of vines inhabited by bats. House of Whispers breaks the mold, relegating its spirits and the human who encounters them to an ultra-modern, sun-filled mansion on the edge of a Pacific cliff--a home created by an award-winning architect who has become the victim of an angry son--or so the story goes. The book's heroine, Claire, a neophyte real estate saleswoman, wins the dubious honor of having to market and sell this spectacular home where, unfortunately, a great tragedy, the murder of an entire family, has taken place. Her skepticism about all things paranormal disintegrates as the spirit of one of the dead reaches out to touch her in search of justice. Her attraction to the brother of the architect/victim wavers under the shadow of suspicion. Author Margaret Lucke's prior successes in mystery writing (and teaching others to write mysteries) adds a literate and believable edge to the who-done-it aspect of the story. What a great read for an eerily sunny afternoon when chimera are least expected.

Claire Scanlan is starting on a new career as an Estate Agent and hoping to get over her divorce through work. Unfortunately another new employee at the Estate Agency, Avery Collier, is also hungry for success and Claire's new house listing might be a significant problem. Although the house is a wonderful building designed by a renowned architect it was also the location of the murder of that same architect and his wife and child by his son. Many people have been to view the house previously but have been put off by strange feelings - is the house haunted?

Claire discovers very early on that the house probably is haunted. She's always been very open to supernatural events and often dreams about things. When she realises someone in the house is trying to contact her and that there might be more to the murders than the police originally thought, she doesn't know who to trust. Is Ben Grant, the brother of the architect and the man listing the house, too good to be true? Can Claire be a success in her job when Avery keeps trying to get her in trouble?

This was an enjoyable book with an interesting mystery which gradually unfolded. The author's sense of pace was good and it wasn't easy to guess who was the guilty party. However I also felt that the book didn't have anything particularly new to say and that the characters felt more like ciphers, without particularly deep feelings. There is a romance within the book but it didn't feel very thoroughly portrayed; I also felt that the author used Eden, the surviving daughter, as a rather clumsy plot device when she tells Claire something she hasn't told anyone else, despite having known her only a couple of days. The book was interesting in its way but nothing particularly special.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

After she catches her husband in bed with another woman, Claire Scanlon starts divorce proceedings and returns to her California hometown where she quickly shares a home with her best friend Lindsay. She obtains a realtor position with Golden Gate properties. Because she is late on her first day on the job, her boss makes her compete with another newbie Avery for the LeGrande listing. The seller Ben Grant will select the realtor of record after he meets the rivals and gets their opinions on how to show the house.

The house has a dark past because the last tenants were murdered there by their son who turned his gun on himself and committed suicide. Claire smells blood when she enters the abode and hears a voice whispering. She next sees something out of the corner of her eye. Claire is shook to her bone marrow, but Ben picks her to show the house because she will know how the other potential buyers will feel. Claire and Ben become romantically involved. She goes to the house and picks up vibes that a fifth person was there during the murder-suicide. In spite of her sudden paranormal skills, Claire understands she has no mundane proof that the real killer got away with mass murder.

HOUSE OF WHISPERS is a fascinating blending of romance, mystery and the paranormal. Every few chapters, the ghost talks to herself wishing she could communicate more directly with Claire so that the truth becomes known about her parents, her brother and her. Claire's reactions to what her senses find seem right as she goes from doubter to questioner to believer. Margaret Lucke provides an entertaining haunted house whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

Great Haunted House Mystery including a character with paranormal abilities. This book is a quick and pleasant read. The editing,however, is terrible. There are missing and misspelled words throughout. The story revolves around a house where a horrible crime took place, the people who died, and the people who survived. A fast paced "who-dun-it" that keeps you interested.

As Claire Scanlan begins a new life, death becomes the center of it. After managing to secure the agent of record position to sell a house that sits under the cloud of tragedy and scandal; a mass murder and suicide took place there, previously unknown psychic talents awaken, allowing her to smell blood and hear whispers. The spirit of the house needs her help to bring out the truth concerning what happened there, that the actual killer did not die but lives still. This is a fact that could well cost Claire her new life and fresh chance at love.

**** Like Barbara Michaels, Phyllis Whitney, and Victoria Holt, Ms. Lucke weaves a spell around her readers. Unlike modern urban fantasies, the pacing is very deliberate, taking time to build, rather than running at a perpetual motion machine, with constant action that never lets you take a breath. House of Whispers blends the old and new effectively, efficiently, and no pun intended, hauntingly. ****

Amanda Killgore for Huntress Reviews.

Claire Scanlan is starting her life over again. It is her first day on-the-job at Golden Gate Properties in the Bay Area and she is late for the team meeting. She arrives just as her boss, Tess McMillan, is handing Avery Collier the property that should have belonged to Claire (had she been on time). Since Claire arrives at the same time Tess gives it to Avery, the boss decides both ladies could meet Ben Grant, the seller, and let him decide which woman would get the listing.

Ben Grant's brother, the world-known architect Stefan LeGrande, not only built the house going up for sale, but it is also the one Stefan chose to live in with his family. People refer to the masterpiece as the LeGrande House. Problem is that Stefan and his family died in the house, a quadruple homicide. It is said that the son killed them before turning the gun upon himself. Only Eden, the stepdaughter, survived. Eden had spent the night next door with a friend. Eden is very young and refuses to go onto the street, much less enter the house again. As it is, no one wants to actually purchase and live in a home, no matter how grand and famous, with such a violent background. Two other real estate agencies had already failed to sell the house. Yet when Ben meets Claire and Avery, he knows immediately, by sheer instinct, that he is going to choose Claire. There is just something special about her.

The moment the door to LeGrande House opens, Claire smells blood. However, no one else does. No one else feels the sudden chills or hear the ghostly whispers either. But Claire refuses to decline the offer of listing the estate. The commission on the sale would be huge and selling something that so many others could not would boost her career. Of course, Avery is not happy with this at all and is determined to sell the house even though it is not her own listing. It is up to Claire to somehow explore her new senses and try to figure out exactly what the restless spirits are trying to tell her.

*** The story starts out slow, but gradually picks up speed. The character of Avery is the best. Everyone knows of an employee like her. She is the perfect back-stabber in business that looks so perfect and charming while stomping all over coworkers with her high heels. The author carefully dishes out parts of her past in such a way that I cannot help but feel sorry for her. I understand where Avery is coming from, why she is the way she is. Even so, I found myself hating her for her scruples and work ethic. However, all the characters are not as well developed. As for the romance blooming between Ben and Claire, they seemed to jump into bed way too fast to be believable. It seemed almost out-of-the-blue. Otherwise, their romance is great. I hope that Claire's untapped powers have some surprises in store for me in the next installment. ***

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Great read! I thoroughly enjoyed this supernatural mystery. Claire Scanlon is a likeable heroine who confronts life's challenges, both familiar and unfamiliar, with ingenuity and strength. Entertaining and fun to read! I am really looking forward to the next book in the series.