While researching her next book, historian and author Hayley Hunter rents a lighthouse in Southeastern North Carolina. The modern lighthouse and vacation home replaced an original wood structure that only functioned during the Revolutionary War. The old lighthouse may be long gone, but the lightkeeper’s ghost remains. Hayley becomes increasingly obsessed with finding why the spirit of Jonathan Corbyn lingers between realms. Her search will take her into a world of spies, double agents, and espionage at the dawn of American democracy.
My Review:
This is such a good story. History, mystery, and ghosts. What could be more exciting? p.m.terrell knows how to weave an engaging and engrossing story.
Hayley Hunter arrives in North Carolina, more specifically at a lighthouse, to research her latest book. This particular place is isolated but gaming with history. However, What she knows and has read about the place might not be the truth. The inhabitant ghost sure seems to want Haley to understand that something else happened there. Unsure whether she can trust this apparition, she starts to dig deeper into the past of that old landmark. The original inhabitant, who might also be her ghost, has left behind a detailed journal. Hayley immediately digs into it but there is some information missing. What she soon discovers is that someone or something will go to any lengths to stop her uncovering the truth about what really happened there.
This is a story that pulls you in and keeps you reading. It is also one of those stories that keeps you thinking about it when you are away from it. It has been a few weeks since I finished this novel, but I still think about Hayley, the history of that place, and the truth that she uncovered. I highly recommend this book. I loved it. It’s a very good read.
Excerpt from The Misremembered Lighthouse
When I looked into his eyes, I saw deep concern etching his brow. “There’s a part of me that feels uneasy,” I conceded. “But,” I added quickly, “there’s another part that feels like he’s okay with us being here. I mean, Harry lived here for decades.”
“How did Harry die?”
“You don’t think—?”
“I don’t know what I think. But I’ll tell you this, I’d be finding out as quickly as possible. Perhaps as we’re driving away.”
“No,” I said a bit shakily. “I don’t think Harry… I mean, his niece would have told me. Don’t you think?”
“Would she now? She inherits a strange structure in the middle of the beyond, and she does not know what to do with it. She’s given a chance to lease it, buying her a full year to determine its long-term fate. Wouldn’t you have taken advantage of an eager renter?”
I felt a wave of sadness envelop me. But as I lay there in his arms, my head coming to rest against his chest, I realized the sadness wasn’t inside me. It was just beyond. I straightened. “I want to watch the video from our séance.”
Shay sighed. “First thing in the morning, I suppose.”
“No. Now.” I leaned forward and grasped the phone from the nightstand.
“You have got to be joking me.”
“No. I just have this feeling.” I turned on the nightstand lamp to bathe the room in amber light before settling back into his arms. The lantern room appeared brighter on video than it had felt when we had begun our séance yesterday, and I wondered how much had been my imagination. But when the meter started lighting up in response to Shay’s questioning, it was unmistakable that we had indeed been communicating with an unseen force—and a highly intelligent one.
“You see,” Shay said, tapping the video to pause it, “Jonathan said he was not the only one here.”
“He didn’t respond when you asked if he was alone,” I said quietly.
“Which was a negative, meaning, he is not alone. And then three bars when we asked if the others were friendly. Don’t you see, Hayley? Even if Jon means you no harm, there are others here. We have no idea how many there are, and I can’t protect you from them. You have to leave when I do. Maybe you can stay with your mother until you find another place.”
“I don’t know,” I said, but my voice did not sound convincing, even to me. I pressed the button to continue watching. As we neared the end, I watched as Shay asked, “Do you need our help?”
“The parlor tricks are over. You have a guest.”
The windows closed one by one, slamming and locking. Shay and I stared at the video. Seconds later, the screen rotated and then went blank as we rushed from the room amid distant banging.
Other novels by this author that I have reviewed:
April in the Back of Beyond
Exit 22
Vicki’s Key
Secrets of a Dangerous Woman
Dylan’s Song
The Pendulum Files
About the Author
My full name is Patricia McClelland Terrell, and I have been writing under the pen name p.m.terrell ever since a publisher presented me with my first fiction book cover. The graphic designer had also entered my name in lower-case letters; my editor hated it, and I loved it. It’s been p.m.terrell ever since.
I began writing when I was nine years old, inspired by a schoolteacher and elementary school principal. Scott-Foresman published my first book, a computer instructional for universities, in 1984. Scott-Foresman, Dow-Jones (Richard D. Irwin branch), Palari Publishing, Paralee Press, and Drake Valley Press have published 26 books to date.
Before embarking on a full-time writing career, I founded McClelland Enterprises, Inc. in the Washington, D.C. area in 1984, specializing in computer instruction for employees in the workplace. I opened another business, Continental Software Development Corporation, in 1994, which focused on custom application development, programming, website design and development, and computer crime.
I was honored to be the first female President of the Chesterfield County/Colonial Heights Crime Solvers. I also served as the Treasurer for the Virginia Crime Stoppers Association. Since moving to North Carolina, I served on the Robeson County Friends of the Library and Robeson County Arts Council.
I launched The Book ‘Em Foundation with Waynesboro, Virginia Police Officer Mark Kearney, and assisted in Virginia, New Hampshire, and South Carolina events before establishing the Annual Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, chairing it for several years before turning it over to Robeson Community College in Lumberton, NC.
