Hold My Hand
Serena Mackesy
Soho, Oct 2008, $25.00
ISBN: 1569475334
Knowing first hand how violent her former husband is and how undependable he can be even in terms of caring for their daughter Yasmin, Bridget Sweeny needs a job somewhere safe. Thus she thinks it is God sent when she is hired as the caretaker at the Hotel Rospetroc, a Cornish converted manor. Bridget and Yasmin waste no time in fleeing London and the abuser for the Cornish coast.
At Rospetroc, the Sweeny females receive a cold welcoming from the Blakemore family who own and reside at the hotel. Bridget and Yasmin meet sad nine year old Lily Rickett a ghost haunting the manor house. Lily tells the Londoners that she was evacuated from London during the WWII bombings only to be terrorized at Rospetroc by the mistress before vanishing; she owes the Blakemore brood and by employment extensions Bridget and Yasmin.
The atmosphere enhances a strong ghost story in which a little girl abused and discarded six plus decades ago, seeks vengeance from the descendents of her predator and those who work for that family. Lily makes the story line work because readers will believe in angry spirits haunting a manor house. Although the ending seems improbable (ironic to state that since this is a ghost tale), fans will relish Serena Mackesy’s terrific paranormal thriller as Bridget feels she jumped from the frying pan into the fire, but has no alternate leap to make.
Harriet Klausner
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