“I am simply waiting for that which I have lost to be found and to make its way home where its partner is buried beneath a new foundation.” – Mrs.Krause
There is something sad and chilling about this quote. When Hedda Krause says it, I felt a deep sadness for the woman who never left The Menger Hotel. She moved in, hoping to find a new husband right away, but things happened that left her in fear of walking out the doors. The haunting is rather chilling and the author put me right in Hedda’s mind so I could experience the fear first hand.
Dini (think Houdini) idolized Hedda’s story but only because she identified with the woman’s life…in some way. Dini is a dog with a stick when it comes to solving the mystery of the lady. Maybe feels that the answers to her life rest in Hedda’s? Who knows but Quinn definitely gives Dini some perspective, and a little more to daydream about. (Yum)
The jump between past and present is effortless as the author plants the reader right in the middle of the time period she wants you in, without loosing the reader. I did want more in the romance department, but I know that isn’t the goal of this book. It’s a story of two women, looking for their place in the world and that was beautifully accomplished.
I was given an ARC from the publisher. A REVIEW WAS NOT REQUIRED but freely given.
About the book
Can a Legacy of Sadness be Broken at the Menger Hotel?
Visit historic American landmarks through the Doors to the Past series. History and today collide in stories full of mystery, intrigue, faith, and romance.
Young widow Hedda Krause checks into the Menger Hotel in 1915 with a trunk full of dresses, a case full of jewels, and enough cash to pay for a two-month stay, which she hopes will be long enough to meet, charm, and attach herself to a new, rich husband. Her plans are derailed when a ghostly apparition lures her into a long, dark hallway, and Hedda returns to her room to find her precious jewelry has been stolen. She falls immediately under a cloud of suspicion with her haunting tale, but true ghost enthusiasts bring her expensive pieces of jewelry in an attempt to lure the ghost to appear again.
In 2017, Dini Blackstone is a fifth-generation magician, who performs at private parties, but she also gives ghost walk tours, narrating the more tragic historical events of San Antonio with familial affection. Above all, her favorite is the tale of Hedda Krause who, in Dini’s estimation, succeeded in perpetrating the world’s longest con, dying old and wealthy from her ghost story. But then Dini meets Quinn Carmichael, great-great-grandson of the detective who originally investigated Hedda’s case, who’s come to the Alamo City with a box full of clues that might lead to Hedda’s exoneration. Can Dini see another side of the story that is worthy of God’s grace?