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"A horror novelist inherits a haunted house"
Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted September 23, 2003

Horror novelist Kelly Masters needs to leave her apartment in the city and the memories that linger there. The apartment no longer feels like home after her husband was murdered just outside their front door months ago. When Kelly learns that she and her two sisters have inherited a house in rural Ohio, Kelly packs Read more...

"Well-crafted, suspenseful ghost story with Gothic overtones"
Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted January 11, 2005

The surprise inheritance of a half interest Cottonwood Hill, an old house in rural Ohio, seems like a godsend to horror writer Kelly Masters: a nice safe haven for her and her six-year-old daughter Jenna. New York City holds too many memories, including the murder of her husband by teenagers Read more...

Summary

Kelly Masters, horror writer, is moving to Oak Grove, Ohio. Nine months ago, her husband Brian was murdered outside the door of their New York apartment. When Kelly received a phone call informing her that she and her two sisters had inherited the Cottonwood Hill Estate from a great aunt that they knew nothing about, Kelly thought it was a God-send. This was the perfect chance for her to get her six-year-old daughter Jenna away from the tragic memories surrounding their apartment.

Little does Kelly know that Cottonwood Hill holds its own mystery. When she arrives in Oak Grove with Jenna, she meets the handsome Deputy Sheriff Glen Westfall. Sparks fly as they joust with words while Kelly struggles to control her conflicting emotions concerning her attraction to Glen and her aversion to police uniforms that she acquired while dealing with Brian's murder.

When Kelly's sisters, Sera and Nikki, arrive at the estate to help her settle in, the mystery of Cottonwood Hill rears its head. Ghostly visions, bats in the attic and bones buried in the backyard are just a hint of what is to come. Local legend has it that Cottonwood Hill is haunted by a little boy who disappeared there years ago and the ghost of his father who is still searching for him.

Kelly takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of the lost boy and his ghostly father so that their spirits can be put to rest. She can't raise Jenna in a haunted house and she refuses to uproot her daughter again. Kelly and Glen are thrust together as strange things happen that require the assistance of the local Deputy. Working together, Kelly and Glen dig up the long buried secrets of Cottonwood Hill as their attraction to each other builds, starting as a tiny spark that soon bursts into a raging fire.