I've been a busy little reader, and not so busy on the blogging front. My last read of recent times is The Ghost Orchid, by Carol Goodman. I am a HUGE fan of Goodman. I accidentally found one of her previous books a few years back and had to read them all. She took a break from writing for a few years, and it was totally worth it. She generally sets her novels in New York State, and does a phenomonal job of describing the region. Her prose is awesome, and I get incredibly vivid images in my head. After my trip to the Hudson River Valley last fall, I recognize that she writes it like it is, using far better words than I ever could. I would classify her novels as fiction, although there is a certain amount of suspense or mystery that the heroine must solve in order to move on with her life.
The Ghost Orchid is set at a Victorian Mansion somewhere upstate, Bosco. The mansion has exhotic gardens and has become an 'artists' haven - a residence program for writers and artists. The main character, Ellis, has been accepted at Bosco to turn a short story based on historical happenings at Bosco into a full novel. Goodman seamlessly weaves Ellis's story into that of her character, Corinth. Corinth is a medium who was called to Bosco to connect the Mistress of the house with her dead children, allowing their spirits to move onward. The Ghost ORchid, a white orchid with a vanilla smell found in bogs features prominently as a fixture which connects the two stories. I was able to guess the relationship between Corinth and Ellis pretty quickly, however the rest of the book was fabulous.
I cannot say enough about Goodwin - if you are looking for a good book, I highly reccomend picking one of hers up. This novel went slightly into questional territory with the medium. I might reccomend one of the others first. I see that last years publication should be heading into paperback soon. You can look forward to my review.
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