Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 6/27/2025 + 1275 more book reviews

This was another enjoyable gothic ghost story by St. James set in 1919, just after the end of WWI. The protagonist is Kitty Weekes who is trying to run away from her past, especially from her brutal father who was prone to beating Kitty along with her mother as she grew up. Kitty finds a chance to get away by obtaining a nursing position at a home turned hospital used to nurse shell-shocked soldiers. Because the hospital is short staffed, she is able to gain the position by falsifying her background. The hospital was the once magnificent Portis House located on a remote island off the English coast. But there is more going on at Portis House--the once beautiful mansion is crumbling, there are strange noises heard in the pipes and walls along with a very odoriferous smell in the men's room, and some specters seem to haunt the hallways and stairways giving off very cold drafts of air. So what is happening here and how is this related to what happened at Portis House during the war? And what happened to the former owners of the mansion who seemed to have disappeared?

I did enjoy this one with its historical setting and events including a flu outbreak. But compared to the other St. James novels I have read, I would place this one a little below what I feel are her best, The Broken Girls and The Sun Down Motel. This novel was also somewhat of a romance story with Kitty falling for one of the soldiers under care at the house who was also considered a National war hero. Romance novels are not really my favorite genre so only a mild recommendation overall.

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