Review of Hattie Vavaseur
Posted: 23 Mar 2023, 21:19
[Following is a volunteer review of "Hattie Vavaseur" by M. Rebecca Wildsmith.]
The proud, wealthy, and well respected Hattie Vavaseur is getting quite old and her memory is not serving her right anymore, finding herself confused and upset as to where the chauffeur is taking her after the funeral. She does not recall when she agreed to her stay in that abandoned looking mansion and her pride will not allow her to ask. The inside of the manor, on the other hand, was better taken care of and even close to her taste if not for that absolutely appalling pink room her rude host had insisted her to stay at.
Trying to make sense of it, Hattie is taken to see the occultist in town, Vamelda Anstruthers, a very eccentric persona. Even though Hattie does not believe in seances and clairvoyants, she thinks that the medium might be of some help, especially when her interest is captured by the visions through the crystal ball which seem to hold a much deeper meaning and possibly the answer as to why she is there, so of course, she takes a run with it inside her bag. A not too decorous act, but a necessary one in her eyes.
After her escape with the prize she is followed by Mr Carrington, an American with a good sense of humor but terrible clothing taste who wants to use the crystal too. Mr Carrington seems to be a nice escape from her worries as to why she is there. The mansion and the master of the house somehow seem to be connected to her past and she is determined to figure out why.
Hattie Vavaseur has many positive things. It is a well constructed and intelligently written supernatural mystery book. All the characters have very defined intricate personalities that evolve and change with you throughout the story. It gives you details of the characters' past, a great psychological background to understand where they come from, and why they are and act the way they do. It was easy to connect with the characters and a pleasure to meet them. M. Rebecca Wildsmith will have you laughing with Hattie’s wit and snobbishness; with Vamelda’s singular and bubbly personality. It will warm your heart with Teddy’s kindness and the friendly devotion of Harold and Bertram. It will keep you second guessing what happens next with the story twists, and worrying for your new found friends in the moments of uncertainty and danger. It is made clear how in times of uncertainty and distress we stick to anything we can claim as familiar while we steady our spirits and ground our feet, and still, only chaos leads to growth if we have the courage to face it, and that really resonated with me.
The negative aspect about the book is that I will miss its characters. I couldn’t say anything bad. The outline is well structured with no loose ends. The author has a wide vocabulary and I was able to learn some unusual words that perfectly described a situation, which is always a pleasure, however it was still a very fluid read. You are not stuck on one page for hours looking up the big words.
I rate this book with five out of five stars. I recommend it to anyone who either believes or is compelled by stories of the spiritual life of the departed, and to any mystery book lover. It is not a horror book, but it does have a supernatural turn. It has classic romance that slowly and strongly develops in a beautiful way.
******
Hattie Vavaseur
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
The proud, wealthy, and well respected Hattie Vavaseur is getting quite old and her memory is not serving her right anymore, finding herself confused and upset as to where the chauffeur is taking her after the funeral. She does not recall when she agreed to her stay in that abandoned looking mansion and her pride will not allow her to ask. The inside of the manor, on the other hand, was better taken care of and even close to her taste if not for that absolutely appalling pink room her rude host had insisted her to stay at.
Trying to make sense of it, Hattie is taken to see the occultist in town, Vamelda Anstruthers, a very eccentric persona. Even though Hattie does not believe in seances and clairvoyants, she thinks that the medium might be of some help, especially when her interest is captured by the visions through the crystal ball which seem to hold a much deeper meaning and possibly the answer as to why she is there, so of course, she takes a run with it inside her bag. A not too decorous act, but a necessary one in her eyes.
After her escape with the prize she is followed by Mr Carrington, an American with a good sense of humor but terrible clothing taste who wants to use the crystal too. Mr Carrington seems to be a nice escape from her worries as to why she is there. The mansion and the master of the house somehow seem to be connected to her past and she is determined to figure out why.
Hattie Vavaseur has many positive things. It is a well constructed and intelligently written supernatural mystery book. All the characters have very defined intricate personalities that evolve and change with you throughout the story. It gives you details of the characters' past, a great psychological background to understand where they come from, and why they are and act the way they do. It was easy to connect with the characters and a pleasure to meet them. M. Rebecca Wildsmith will have you laughing with Hattie’s wit and snobbishness; with Vamelda’s singular and bubbly personality. It will warm your heart with Teddy’s kindness and the friendly devotion of Harold and Bertram. It will keep you second guessing what happens next with the story twists, and worrying for your new found friends in the moments of uncertainty and danger. It is made clear how in times of uncertainty and distress we stick to anything we can claim as familiar while we steady our spirits and ground our feet, and still, only chaos leads to growth if we have the courage to face it, and that really resonated with me.
The negative aspect about the book is that I will miss its characters. I couldn’t say anything bad. The outline is well structured with no loose ends. The author has a wide vocabulary and I was able to learn some unusual words that perfectly described a situation, which is always a pleasure, however it was still a very fluid read. You are not stuck on one page for hours looking up the big words.
I rate this book with five out of five stars. I recommend it to anyone who either believes or is compelled by stories of the spiritual life of the departed, and to any mystery book lover. It is not a horror book, but it does have a supernatural turn. It has classic romance that slowly and strongly develops in a beautiful way.
******
Hattie Vavaseur
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes