Jaime Jo Wright

Another brilliant, chilling read from the queen of gothic Christian mysteries! I always look forward to Jaime Jo Wright’s books. I know I’ll be in for a spooky, enjoyable ride with a touch of romance, unpredictable suspense, & a beautiful faith message captured in a dual timeline thread. Specters in the Glass House has to be a new favorite!

In 1921, Marian Arnold, heiress to her deceased parents’ brewing empire, struggles with knowing what’s read & what isn’t. After Prohibition show more gutted her family’s business, she’s relegated to living in her family’s Wisconsin summer home & seeks comfort in the glass butterfly house. With disturbing visions, nightmares, & a deadly serial killer leaving dead butterflies as the calling card, Marian fights to stay alive & decipher the truth along with her dear childhood friend newly returned wounded from WWI.

In the present, Remy Shaw is a researcher who’s been hired to help an elderly eccentric writer with his book about Marian & the infamous Butterfly Butcher, who was never caught. With the help of Marian’s great-great-grandson Tate, an ex-marine with a story to tell, they begin unravelling the mystery in the very place where it happened. But, when dead butterflies & murders start to occur all over again, they wonder if the killer’s legacy has come back to haunt them.

This book had me on pins & needles the whole time. I loved the way the author created such a vivid, frightening atmosphere where it was so hard to tell what was real. Though butterflies are beautiful, there’s also something a little macabre about them when they’re dead & this effect was present in full force. I also loved the symbolism of rebirth they represent. Both timelines were so captivating & I loved all the main characters. I had so much sympathy for the struggles each one went through.

Mental illness is often portrayed in a negative light in mysteries. I loved how the author tackled the struggles in a compassionate way that lended new insights. The romance in both time periods was so well done. I thoroughly enjoyed how supportive Felix & Remy were. Though they have their own problems, they really saw the person behind the illness in their respective timelines. As always, I appreciated the hopeful faith messages beautifully & naturally woven into the story.

Highly recommend to dual time period, gothic mystery fans! I received an advanced complimentary copy from the author & publisher. All opinions are my own & voluntarily provided. show less

4 1/2 stars! Cornfields, creepy basements, old nursery rhymes, & possibly ghosts! Jaime Jo Wright has done it again, creating a romantic, edge of your seat, suspenseful, spooky read that’s unputdownable! Interwoven with the gothic mystery & suspense are second chance and enemies to lovers romances along with messages of healing & faith. Set in the small farming community of Kilbourn, Michigan, residents are terrorized in two different time periods by a vicious killer.

1910 - Perliett Van show more Hilton has always wanted to be a doctor. She’s studied all the homemade remedies she can, yet the local doctor, George Wasziac doesn’t appreciate her meddling. When two women are brutally murdered, the town turns to Perliett’s mother for answers. She claims to be able to contact the dead, but is it real? When the creepy Cornfield Ripper targets Perliett, will she escape?

Molly & Trent Wasziac are looking for a second chance in their marriage. When they bought their small town farmhouse, they had no idea it was known as a murder house. Suffering from depression and grief after several miscarriages, Molly begins seeing and hearing things, but is what she’s seeing real? When her husband discovers a murdered woman near their property, she digs into the past to try to find a modern day killer.

This book is definitely one to read with the lights on! I’ve always found nursery rhymes creepy, and the way this one is used in this story is particularly morbid. There are definitely scenes that play on our worst fears. However, Jaime Jo Wright knows how to balance the terror with two heartfelt romances and messages of faith. I loved the way she used George and his rival as symbols for faith and superstition. It was a brilliant way to showcase the real choice between putting one’s trust in God and truth versus the occult. I also loved the way she handled the painful reality of miscarriage and depression. The second chance romance was beautifully written.

Highly recommend this amazing book especially to Christian suspense & romance readers! And if you’re worried about it being too spooky, don’t be. The romance and inspirational message far outweigh the fear factor. I received advanced complimentary copies from the author and publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to provide a positive review. show less

Buried Wilderness Secrets by Jaime Jo Wright pulls you into the shadows of Montana’s rugged parklands, where danger can hide as easily as beauty. One discovery — a serial killer’s burial ground — shatters any sense of safety and sets off a chain of treachery that tests both courage and faith. Wade Marlowe’s inner reminder — “He’d learned long ago that it was wise to start conversations with prayer. Maybe not out loud and formal, but at least ask God for the words before show more beginning. Had he even done that tonight?” — lingers as a challenge to our own hearts.

Every page tightens the grip of the wilderness — in the shadowed trails where danger waits and in the uncharted terrain of Aaliyah’s past. The threat runs deeper than a killer’s pursuit; it’s the ache of unanswered questions, the weight of buried truths, and the risk of trusting someone who could either break her or stand between her and death. It’s about identity, truth, and the kind of faith that clings when the night is long — prayer as a lifeline, courage as a weapon, and God’s presence as the light that refuses to go out.

Perfect for readers who crave romantic suspense where danger breathes through the wilderness, every shadow hides a question, and God’s presence cuts through even the blackest night.

I received a digital version of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review nor paid to do so. This is my honest and unbiased review. My thoughts and opinions expressed in this book review are my own. My review focuses on writing and story’s content, ensuring transparency and reliability. show less

I first discovered Jaime Jo Wright last year when my book club read The House on Foster Hill — a unanimous thumbs up from the group. After reading her sophomore offering, The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond, it became apparent that Wright would become a must-read author. The Curse of Misty Wayfair, another dual-time line suspense with some serious creepiness, has confirmed it! If you like suspense, mystery, a bit of romance, and some really weird goings-on, you will love this book. Another show more 5-star read from this talented writer.

The legend of Misty Wayfair has been circulating in the town of Pleasant Valley for over 150 years. Each successive generation in the Northwoods of Wisconsin has added to the myths, while speculating on who she was and how she was murdered. Her haunting of a local family has led to even more gossip and innuendo — just what were the Coyle’s sins? And while the details are lost in the murkiness of time, Misty never forgets!

Two women strive to uncover just who Misty Wayfair is, and why she is tied to each of them. Both Thea Reed, who in the early 1900s has the very interesting (and creepy) job of photographing the dead, and Heidi Lane, a modern-day woman with anxiety issues, are tied to the dead woman, though neither knows how. Like Misty, they feel identity-less, one an orphan, another a misfit in her family. In fact, identity — what it means and who (or Who) establishes is it — is the underlying theme of the novel. Wright beautifully expresses the concept of a Creator who gives each of us a unique identity because of who He is, not who we are or what we do. As Thea and Heidi search for answers to the mystery of Misty Wayfair, they come to understand more about themselves and their relationship to a God who loves, cares, and provides. There’s another message in the novel concerning the identity we assign to others. A number of labels are given to past and present characters — melancholic and crazy just two. While many of the characters suffer from "maladies of the mind", I found myself thinking that while convenient labels may explain what a person is going through, they do not define who that person is. Wright gave me a lot to think about. As one character states — Beautifully and wonderfully made. No exceptions.By The way, secondary characters shine in this novel. The Curse of Misty Wayfair can be described as atmospheric, but I think I prefer just plain creepy (there’s that word again), but creepy in a good way. There are no graphic scenes involving knives in a shower, but the chills continued to run up and down my back. I puzzled and puzzled, and was pretty much wrong about many of my suppositions. That’s a big plus! I love to be surprised by twists and turns, and this book did just that.

My book club will be discussing The Curse of Misty Wayfair later this year. I cannot wait! I anticipate some really good conversations. I also CAN. NOT. WAIT. for another book by Wright.

Very Highly Recommended

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to Bethany House for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.) show less