The Lady in Residence
-
-
4.6 • 9 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
Can a Legacy of Sadness be Broken at the Menger Hotel?
Visit historic American landmarks through the Doors to the Past series. History and today collide in stories full of mystery, intrigue, faith, and romance.
Young widow Hedda Krause checks into the Menger Hotel in 1915 with a trunk full of dresses, a case full of jewels, and enough cash to pay for a two-month stay, which she hopes will be long enough to meet, charm, and attach herself to a new, rich husband. Her plans are derailed when a ghostly apparition lures her into a long, dark hallway, and Hedda returns to her room to find her precious jewelry has been stolen. She falls immediately under a cloud of suspicion with her haunting tale, but true ghost enthusiasts bring her expensive pieces of jewelry in an attempt to lure the ghost to appear again.
In 2017, Dini Blackstone is a fifth-generation magician, who performs at private parties, but she also gives ghost walk tours, narrating the more tragic historical events of San Antonio with familial affection. Above all, her favorite is the tale of Hedda Krause who, in Dini’s estimation, succeeded in perpetrating the world’s longest con, dying old and wealthy from her ghost story. But then Dini meets Quinn Carmichael, great-great-grandson of the detective who originally investigated Hedda’s case, who’s come to the Alamo City with a box full of clues that might lead to Hedda’s exoneration. Can Dini see another side of the story that is worthy of God’s grace?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pittman (Loving Luther) introduces in this excellent time-swapping inspirational three women who are in some way connected to San Antonio's Menger Hotel. In 1915, Hedda Krause checks into the Menger when her stepsons evict her from her home after the death of her husband. She quickly begins looking for a new benefactor and sizing up single guests, but it's the ghost of Sallie White, a murdered Menger housekeeper, who seeks out Hedda. When Hedda's room is ransacked and robbed, she fails to convince flirtatious detective Irvin Carmichael that the culprit was the ghost of Sallie. In the contemporary story line, magician Dini Blackstone leads ghost tours of San Antonio, part of which includes Hedda's and Sallie's stories. Quin Carmichael, the great-great-grandson of Irvin, arrives in San Antonio hoping to make sense of a shoebox full of memorabilia his ancestor sequestered away. After taking Dini's ghost tour, Quin becomes convinced Dini can help him find the answers to his questions. Quin and Dini separate fact from myth and enjoy a blossoming relationship as the mystery of how Hedda became the Menger's Lady in Residence, as well as the truth about Sallie's ghost, are revealed. Though faith elements are light, readers who enjoy Tracie Peterson will love this.
Customer Reviews
We live in an equation of His design - Quin
In truth is beauty and beauty is truth. That is all ye need to know - Yeats
But what is the truth? 1915 finds Hedda Krause, a new widow, moving into the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. Her stay there, originally to be a short one, becomes absolutely fascinating - what of this is true and what is an illusion?
2017 finds Dini Blackstone, a tour guide taking visitors from all over the world on ghost walks or thrilling folks with ‘magic’ at parties. Growing up in a magicians world she has a special affinity to stories of great intrigue, like the Memoir of Hedda Krause. Quin Carmichael is the great-great-grandson of Detective Irvin Carmichael, an important part of the story of Hedda Krause. The detective's old shoebox holds important clues to this mystery.
What follows is a time-slip novel of discovery into the cold case of the missing jewelry and the possible clearing of Hedda’s name. This is a fabulous story that will keep you wondering right up till the end.
An ARC was received through Barbour Publishing and NetGalley. The comments and impressions are my own and were in no way solicited.
Allison Pittman’s The Lady in Residence
An amazing, arresting and gripping storyline
filled with period details, multifaceted
characters, intrigue plus class conflicts.
A story with well defined characters that jump
off the pages into your heart. I was able to feel
their pain, understanding their circumstances
as the descriptive writing pulled me right into
the mix of the story.
It is 1915 in San Antonio when an independent
widow arrives at the Menger Hotel with a
trunk full of dresses, jewels and accessories.
Hedda Krauss plans to find a suitable husband
to replace the one she lost. But instead she
meets a ghost. A ghost who terrorizes then
robs her of all her jewelry.
Forward ahead in time to 2017 where Dini
Blackstone is a tour guide and a fifth-generation
magician. Her favorite tale is the one of Hedda
Krauss who she believes to be a con woman
who made her living from her ghost story.
Then Quinn Carmichael arrives. Quinn is the
great-great-grandson of the famed Detective
Carmichael who investigated the Hedda Krauss
robbery. He has come with a box full of items
regarding Hedda’s time at the Menger Hotel.
I was throughly engrossed in this story. I loved
the secrets of the past mixing with the present.
The concept of this book made it an entertaining
read.
A Highly Recommended Read.
I volunteered to read The Lady in Residence.
Thanks to Barbour Publishing via NetGallery for
the opportunity. My opinion is voluntary and my own.