The Ghost Orchid

Carol Goodman always has an unparalleled way of transforming a location in a book into a beautifully haunted atmosphere. Her descriptions jump from the page, and every time she sets her novel in a new location I know it’s going to be lush, gothic, decrepit, and wonderful.

Her location in The Ghost Orchid is no different. Set at the upstate New York sprawling aged and crumbling Bosco Estate, Goodman unites an intriguing cast of characters amid the ivy-covered statues and dry fountains. Novelist Ellis Brooks has hoped her acceptance into Bosco’s notorious writing program would allow her the freedom to pursue her novel in peace. But the past pursues her instead, and she soon finds that the residents of Bosco were not brought together by show more chance.

At times a romantic mystery, at times a suspenseful thriller, Goodman deftly weaves between an ages old missing child case, and the present day sleuthing Ellis is forced to undertake into the people and places around her. Always intriguing, I never want to finish a Goodman novel. Though the writing in this, her fourth novel, occasions into the trite and predictable, I was still engrossed by the scene set before me.

I had one issue with the end of the novel and a short side-tracked path that Goodman decided to briefly explore, but it was not the focus of the novel so I can set it aside as author-folly. Overall, I still love her novels and find them to be uniquely mysterious and haunting. I haven’t read many other authors that can successfully pull off a mystery while still making it literary. In this day of mass-market quick-publications, I delight in the fact that there are authors like Goodman who take suspense to another level. show less

This is the parallel telling of two intertwined stories separated in time by more than a century. Both tales take place at a reclusive mansion in upstate New York. Italian fountains and Native American lore along the Hudson River set the backdrop for the lives of a broken mother in the 1800s, her surviving daughter, and the ripple effect their story has on a group of artists who inhabit the same mansion many years later.

Mediums, magicians, love affairs and mythology all have huge roles in this novel that is half mystery and half ghost story. If you've read others of Goodman's books, the same allusions to greater works are there, as are rich descriptions of the setting. This tale takes more of a supernatural spin than some of her other show more novels. The same touches of conflict and romance are present, but do not overwhelm the narrative.

The resolution of this story is not clear until the very end, which should leave mystery lovers satisfied, even if they are a bit put off by the supernatural turn of events.

4 stars show less

It's surprisingly hard to find a well-written ghost story, but Carol Goodman's 'The Ghost Orchid' makes the cut.

Goodman's usual smooth plotting and sure story-teller's voice are well in place as she tells the story of a haunted writers' retreat. The story is much less important than the atmosphere - and here she is a master at that.

This is a good book to curl up with on a quiet weekend - it's not too scary but enthralling nevertheless.

But enough with the water imagery. I'm reading Goodman's works in order and enough is enough.

Ah yes, I love a ghost story. I love a mystery. This book is similar to "The 13th Tale" but not as thick. It's more light reading, but I really enjoyed it. It was a good follow up to the sweetness of "Standing in the Rainbow".

The story centers around a first time author, Ellis, and the book that she is writing at an artists' retreat. The book she's writing is about the events that took place in the late 1800s at the retreat which is a former home and gardens of a local rich family who had a horrible tragedy happen to them.

I liked what Carol Goodman did with the writing. One chapter would be what is happening to Ellis and the next chapter would be the book she's writing, or the events that she's writing about. You're never really sure, show more but that's the fun part. At first I thought it was the book Ellis is writing but then I found that in the following chapter, Ellis would just discover what happened in the previous chapter.

If you like ghost stories and you liked The 13th Tale, but don't want something quite as heavy at 13th, maybe a quick read, definitely pick this book up. I think you'll enjoy it. show less

A first-time novelist Ellis Brooks gets an invite to a prestigious writers' colony in upstate New York, she's surrounded by geniuses and a beautiful Italian style garden full of sculptures and fountains. One would think this might be inducive to writing, but life has other plans.

Ellis is soon discovering clues, real or imagined, that prompt her to discover what happened on this venerable estate more than a hundred years ago. Other writers/poets in residence find themselves ensnared as well, together, they try to unearth the horrors that have taken place in an estate full of hidden tunnels and secret passageways.

Goodman skillfully weaves together narratives from the past and present like an intricate quilt, revealing the mystery piece show more by piece. I was glad to have tried a literary mystery; the abundant poems and myths didn't bore me, instead, they made this page-turner lyrical. The book is pretty heavy on metaphors, which sometimes slowed down the story-telling, still, I kept reading to know more of the sensational story. show less

This book was enchanting. Mysterious, otherworldy and compulsively read-able.

Up until now I have absolutely LOVED Carol Goodman's books -- The Lake of Dead Languages and The Seduction of Water were absolutely fine mysteries. She takes a different turn here and I'm not so sure I liked it -- the ending had a somewhat contrived feel to it, as if she wasn't sure where to go with it or how to finish the story. Not only that, but I figured out 2 parts of the storyline early on because it was somewhat transparent if you read carefully. However, to be fair, on the flip side, I didn't put this book down until I finished it (4 hours of straight, non-stop read time) because the plot sucked me in immediately. And, once again, I'm at odds with the folks at Amazon -- maybe it's because I don't like books that feel "chicky" or show more "lovestory-ish." Try it for yourself, and I can recommend this author highly.

basic plot:
As the story opens, it is during the quiet hours at Bosco, an artists' colony, where among others, writer Ellis Brooks is hiding out in seclusion so that she can work on her novel. She is writing about a tragedy collectively known as the Blackwell affair, so named because of a young medium named Corinth Blackwell who was summoned to Bosco (in New York) in 1893 by one Aurora Latham, the original owner of the property. Latham had given over her property later to artists as a place where they could come and work in peace, so that they would produce work that might lend comfort to those in grief. Latham had asked her husband Milo to bring Corinth to her so that she could know that her children, who died in a diphtheria epidemic, were at peace. But, as the story goes, when Corinth Blackwell left Bosco, Latham's daughter Alice was kidnapped and spirited away by Corinth and her lover, Tom Quinn. Ellis hopes to capture that time in an historical novel, but bizarre events at Bosco lead her down a path she could never have predicted.

The story is told both in the present and through Ellis's novel, but in a way, the parallel timelines sort of coincide at points. I like this kind of structure in a novel, personally, so that's a plus. But this one was a bit over the top for me and I feel like the author just sort of copped out at the end. But as I said, I can recommend the novels of Carol Goodman most highly, so read it for yourself. show less