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Wow!!! Paulette Kennedy, the Author of “The Devil and Mrs. Davenport” has written an intense, captivating and intriguing novel that contrasts the Protagonist dealing with the living and the dead. The Genres for this well-written and Gothic-like feel story are Paranormal, Suspense, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Ghosts, Historical Fiction and Adult Fiction. The author vividly describes the scenery, plot, and the dramatic characters. One detail that stays with me is that the house seems to get cracks, when the protagonist is agitated. It almost reminds me of “The House” in “Encanto”.
Loretta Davenport is first realizing that she has the special ability to see and hear ghosts, especially those of dead people. There are several unsolved murders, and Loretta is getting signs and warnings from dead ghosts. Loretta is also manipulated and kept under the control of her husband Pete, who is a college professor at a Bible college. They have two children. Loretta wants to learn more about these powers and seeks out a prominent Parapsychologist, Dr. Curtis Hansen. Pete has strictly forbidden Loretta to speak to the Parapsychologist.
Pete is convinced that what is happening to Loretta is coming from the Devil, as Loretta is getting stronger powers. Loretta realizes that she has to somehow save herself.
I read this in one sitting, and loved everyone word in this story. There are twists, turns, betrayals, secrets, and murders. I appreciate that the author discusses important topics such as abortion, alcoholism, verbal and physical abuse, mental health, institutionalization, and lack of women’s rights. When the story takes place, women can’t open a checking account or bank account without a spouse, or brother being there. I highly recommend this memorable story.
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BUYING LINKS: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org
SYNOPSIS: The first day of autumn brought the fever, and with the fever came the voices.
Missouri, 1955. Loretta Davenport has led an isolated life as a young mother and a wife to Pete, an ambitious assistant professor at a Bible college. They’re the picture of domestic tranquility until a local girl is murdered and Loretta begins receiving messages from beyond. Pete dismisses them as delusions of a fevered female imagination. Loretta knows they’re real―and frightening.
Defying Pete’s demands, Loretta finds an encouraging supporter in parapsychologist Dr. Curtis Hansen. He sees a woman with a rare gift, more blessing than curse. With Dr. Hansen’s help, Loretta’s life opens up to an empowering new purpose. But for Pete, the God-fearing image he’s worked so hard to cultivate is under threat. No longer in control of his dutiful wife, he sees the Devil at work.
As Loretta’s powers grow stronger and the pleading spirits beckon, Pete is determined to deliver his wife from evil. To solve the mysteries of the dead, Loretta must first save herself.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paulette Kennedy is the bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain and Parting the Veil, which received the prestigious HNS Review Editor’s Choice Award. She has had a lifelong obsession with the gothic. As a young girl, she spent her summers among the gravestones in her neighborhood cemetery, imagining all sorts of romantic stories for the people buried there. After her mother introduced her to the Brontës as a teenager, her affinity for fog-covered landscapes and haunted heroines only grew, inspiring her to become a writer. Originally from the Missouri Ozarks, she now lives with her family and a menagerie of rescue pets in sunny Southern California, where sometimes, on the very best days, the mountains are wreathed in fog. As a history lover, she can get lost for days in her research—learning everything she can about the places in her novels and what her characters might have experienced in the past. Learn more about Paulette Kennedy at: https://paulettekennedy.com/.
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