I read this book and will just add a couple of comments.
Spoilers Abound.

It is OK. I read it.
I don't know if the ghosts acted consistently. To me it seemed a little random.
I will not keep reading this series because I choose not to read books with historical content focused on enslavers and the history of the enslavers' war against the United States. If anybody was going to be haunting those beautiful old houses....
(and no I am not suggesting anything about the plot or the author, other than who are the characters and what is the story.)

I found it difficult to sympathize with the main character who somehow doesn't know her own beauty, and can't say No to a man who is pretty questionable. Maybe in her world decent honorable men call other men's ethics into question only out of jealousy but I think in the real world a rational person would have listened.

And...I don't know how long it will take to get over the sad experience of discovering that neither author nor editors were aware that the Mayo Clinic is in Rochester, Minnesota.

When Melanie Middleton inherits a historic Tradd Street home from a man she met only once, she has to solve the mystery of the man's mother's disappearance which eerily parallels her own abandonment by her mother. Melanie vehemently denies that she sees ghosts but that doesn't stop her from seeing them.

As she begins to restore the home, with the assistance of Jack Trenholm who is a writer in need of a book idea, her best friend Sophie who is a quirky college professor whose specialty is old Charleston homes, and Chad who is one of her clients looking for a house.

Trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Louisa Vanderhorst leads to another mystery. A Vanderhorst ancestor might have hidden some Confederate diamonds somewhere in the house. Melanie could use the diamonds to help restore the house but a descendant of the man Louisa was supposed to have run off with - Marc Longo - is also on the hunt for the diamonds.

Besides ghosts, this book has tangled family relationships. Melanie's father, who turned to alcohol when Melanie's mother left, has been named the trustee of the money left to Melanie to restore the home. Melanie has long since learned that he could not be depended on. Also Melanie's mother has been trying to contact her but Melanie has written her out of her life.

This was an excellent and spooky mystery with a great setting and intriguing characters. ( )

I got into the ghosts, which surprised me! The story is just suspenseful enough with enough clues so that I didn't get bamboozled by the ending. The House on Tradd Street ended up being an easy read for me and kept me going on walks as I listened to it. Nicely narrated, and I enjoyed listening to it a 1.25 speed. Giving it a 4, not sure why; and I do plan to give the second book in the series a try. ( )

My first Project LibraryThing Recommendations read and from the rating it would seem it’s not off to a great start, but that would be unfair. While I definitely had problems with the book, I enjoyed it enough to continue on with the series.

A couple of inaccuracies in the book description: chilling … not so much, and Melanie most certainly does not love historical homes. The book starts off with her having a passionate hatred for them that is simply childish, and while there are a lot of ghosts and haunted house action, I read this book at night, with the lights off, while alone in my temporary bed and not once did I feel chilled from anything other than the ridiculous weather we’ve been having. As an example of another ghost story author, Simone St. James’ books manage to put me at the edge of my seat at least once, whereas even the malevolent ghosts in Tradd Street failed to raise even a single goosebump.

I don’t really hold that against the book though. What I did have a problem with was Melanie’s emotional immaturity and stubborn refusal to grow up. I’m trying not to judge the book too harshly for this however, because she’s supposed to be emotionally stunted. Her mother abandoned her at the age of 8 and her father is a raging alcoholic, so she’s text book accurate. As someone blessed with a happy upbringing, I just found her text book behaviour tedious. I’d like to think I’d be more patient in RL with Real People.

Now, as to the story itself – it was pretty good! I enjoyed the plot involving Melanie inheriting an historic mansion and the funds to renovate it – I loved the mystery she was left with, determining what happened to the former mistress of the house, reputed to have run away with another man, and I loved, loved, loved the added search for historic treasure. The ghosts were fun, even if they failed to raise hair, and the story would have been a lot less interesting without them.

So, in spite of the problems – and anecdotal evidence from others’ reviews indicates that Melanie doesn’t grow up in a hurry – I’m looking forward to continuing with this 5 book series, and I’ve already added the first book in the spin off series to the future TBR list. ( )

I gave it 3 1/2 stars. I liked it. ( )