Raven Rock [Hardcover]

Mignon Franklin Ballard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

Searching for the mother who had abandoned her as an infant, Henrietta Meredith is drawn to Raven Rock, a small town in the mountains of North Carolina, and to the long-neglected Honeysuckle House where her mother once lived. Why did terrified Maggie Grey leave her baby with the kindly middle-aged Merediths promising to return, only to disappear forever? And what is the link between the faded snapshot of a group of young women and the dark period in the town's past?

In her efforts to uncover the truth, Henrietta awakens a dormant evil, endangering her own life and the lives of those around her, the friendly people who had made a place for her in the community. Can one of them be hiding a dreadful secret?

Here is the engrossing story of a young woman whose quest leads her down a dangerous, twisting path to a confrontation with unthinkable evil.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On a quest to find the mother who abandoned her in infancy, young Henrietta Meredith arrives in the small town of Raven Rock, N.C. Settling down in a ramshackle, sinister old house, Henrietta stumbles upon a decades-old crime that is somehow linked with her mother's disappearance. More than 20 years earlier, several young women were killed by a maniac branded The Chuckler. A man was caught and convicted of the murders, but now Henrietta finds herself being stalked by someone using The Chuckler's trademark. As Henrietta slowly warms toward the townspeople who once knew her mother, horrifying suspicions begin to assail her: Is The Chuckler still at large? Did he murder her motherand is she next? This first novel is uneven in spots but tells its tale credibly.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

" ...enough ghostliness to attract middle-grade sleuths, and the mystery is attention-holding. -- Booklist -- November 1978

"An old Southern house, a ghost, a mystery. Mignon Ballard has happily mixed these ingredients with believable, loveable characters," -- The Charlotte Observer (Bill Hart)

"This is a thoroughly enjoyable mystery with the various strands tied up into a satisfying whole." -- The Atlanta Constitution (Kemie Nix)

An appealing update on the damsel-in-distress theme." -- ALA Booklist

Good characterizations and a feel for locale make this a first-rate story, highlighting the change in moral standards -- The Pasadena Star News

Mignon Ballard's first novel is indeed an exciting one. The dialogue is entertaining, the imagery appropriate and convincing -- The Armchair Detective

The story sucks the reader in and holds her to the very last moment...if you're looking for a good story, you'll like RAVEN ROCK." -- The Charlotte Observer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 226 pages
• Publisher: Overmountain Press; 1st edition (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157072119X
• ISBN-13: 978-1570721199
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,997,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Raven Rock Really Rocks, September 1, 2011

By 

Terri Merritts (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Raven Rock (Hardcover)

I read this mystery back when it was first published and it still satisfies me upon rereading it.

Henrietta Meredith's mother is on her deathbed but before dying, she tells her beloved daughter that she is not her birth mom. Maggie Grey, a young woman who had stayed with the Merediths was terrified when she left her baby daughter Henrietta with the middle-aged couple and promised to return to get her. Unfortunately, she never returned and the only clue to who she was is a faded snapshot of a group of young women and her foster mother's remembrance that Maggie had come from a town in the mountains of North Carolina with a lake so clear you could see the fish at the bottom.

This isn't much to go on but with the death of her foster mother (the foster father had died previously), Henrietta sets out to North Carolina to search records and try to find what happened to her mother. She hits paydirt in Raven Rock where she finds that her mother had been registered to vote years earlier . She even manages to get a job and rent the very cottage next to the rooming house where the photo was taken.

Though Henrietta does not tell anyone who she is, even when they are speaking about the mother she never got to know, someone has recognized the baby now grown up who looks like the missing Maggie Grey. Someone who feels very threatened by her presence in the town and is willing to do anything to keep her from unraveling the secret of what happened to Maggie and the other young women who were attacked so long ago. Someone so threatened, he or she would kill to protect that secret.

This book is a real treat. I am delighted to get a fresh copy of it after losing my original one in a fire years ago.

5.0 out of 5 stars great read and wonderful author, February 27, 2009

By 

denelle m. manick "MARIE" (TRAVERSE CITY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Raven Rock: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

Mignon F. Ballard is the queen of mystery and suspense. She keeps you on the edge of your seat until the last word on the last page.