ARC BOOK REVIEW: The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright

 

Publication Date: September 1, 2020
Publisher: Bethany House 
Format: ebook
Pages:  393 pages 
Genre: Christian Suspense
Buy: Kindle 

Synopsis:

1928
The Bonaventure Circus is a refuge for many, but Pippa Ripley was rejected from its inner circle as a baby. When she receives mysterious messages from someone called the "Watchman," she is determined to find him and the connection to her birth. As Pippa's search leads her to a man seeking justice for his murdered sister and evidence that a serial killer has been haunting the circus train, she must decide if uncovering her roots is worth putting herself directly in the path of the killer.

Present Day
The old circus train depot will either be torn down or preserved for historical importance, and its future rests on real estate project manager Chandler Faulk's shoulders. As she dives deep into the depot's history, she's also balancing a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease and the pressures of single motherhood. When she discovers clues to the unsolved murders of the past, Chandler is pulled into a story far darker and more haunting than even an abandoned train depot could portend.

Review: 

I had no idea that this was a Christian book when I read the description and decided to read it and I'm not terribly upset that I didn't know it because I may have skipped it.  I really enjoyed the mystery and the back and forth of the writing.  Half the time you follow Pippa who was born with a twisted leg to a circus family and was left on the doorstep of the owner of the circus who adopts Pippa and raises her their own. Despite having everything Pippa always feels a pull toward the circus and figuring out her roots.

The other half of the book focuses on Chandler, recently diagnosed with Chronic Lyme disease she is trying to hold onto her job as her Uncles right hand person, evaluate the abandoned train depot as a renovation project and raise her son on her own.  She feels very alone and is overwhelmed by all the strange things happening around her and her new condition. 

This was a well written mystery and very interesting I didn't realize it was a Christian book until more than halfway through when the whole God and faith thing really took a strong hold however I was able to push through and found that this was actually a very good read about people who feel outside the norm and are just trying to find connection as everyone does.  

DISCLAIMER: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review

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