Title: Stonebridge
Author: Linda Griffin
Genre: Ghost Story/Romance
Book Blurb:
After the death of her mother, Rynna Dalton comes to live with her imperious great-grandmother and her bookish, disabled cousin Ted at Stonebridge Manor. Almost immediately she is aware of a mysterious presence, which she believes is the spirit of her mother’s murdered cousin, Rosalind. Rynna is charmed by Rosalind’s lawyer son Jason Wyatt, who courts her, and she agrees to marry him. Meanwhile Ted and Rynna become good friends. But Stonebridge holds secrets that will profoundly affect her future. Why is Ted so opposed to the match? Why does Rosalind seem to warn Rynna against it? And how far will Jason go to possess Stonebridge—and the woman he professes to love?
My Review:
Rynna Dalton arrives at Stonebridge Manor following the death of her mother to live with her great-grandmother and disabled cousin Ted. The year is 1958, but the moment she crosses the threshold, she swears she’s stepped into an earlier era complete with servants—and ghosts.
Rynna is certain the spirit of her mother’s cousin, Rosalind, is lingering in the manor and communicating with her through the piano in the music room. Rosaland died violently at the hands of her husband.
Enter Jason Wyatt, Rosalind’s son, who woos Rynna and asks her to marry him. Cousin Ted, though, is passionately against the marriage. She accepts Jason’s proposal and soon realizes her mistake. His insane jealousy and abuse are more than Rynna can handle.
Can she escape or will history repeat itself?
Linda Griffin crafts a tale of a young woman, still mourning the loss of her mother, who’s flung into a world unlike anything she has ever known. All the emotions are presented, from fear to confusion, to despair.
The author paints the atmosphere of this new world, starting with the manor itself. The moment Rynna entered the home, I felt the weight of family history bearing down on its residents.
I loved cousin Ted from the first time I met him and eventually grew to love Rynna’s great-grandmother, who insisted on being called Grandmother. Griffin reveals the family dynamics slowly as seen through Rynna’s eyes. We learn more about the members right along with her.
Griffin layered Jason’s personality perfectly and paced the changes he went through with precision, resulting in a slow mounting tension which kept me glued to the pages.
But the ending…I so want to tell you, but you’ll have to discover this twist for yourself.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Stonebridge.
My Rating: 5 stars
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Author Biography:
Linda Griffin knew she wanted to be a “book maker” as soon as she learned to read, and she wrote her first story, “Judy and the Fairies,” at the age of six. She retired as fiction librarian for the San Diego Public Library to spend more time on her writing. She has had stories of every length from short shorts to novellas published in numerous literary journals, and Stonebridge is her eighth book from the Wild Rose Press.
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Reviewed by: Terry