The House of Memory
The House of Memory
Pluto’s Snitch Book 2
By Carolyn Haines
Thomas & Mercer
General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 27 June 2017
Review
I’ve long enjoyed the Sarah Boothe Delaney books, so it was with great anticipation that I picked up The House of Memory. It was a well done historical thriller with a believable dose of spiritualism (Spiritualism was quite popular before and during the jazz age). Pluto’s Snitch is an investigative agency that tackles cases of a supernatural bent. Raissa can see spirits and Reginald not only has a keen insight into human nature, he has the ability to charm even recalcitrant witnesses.
In The House of Memory they are hired by Zelda Fitzgerald (yes wife of F Scott Fitzgerald, flapper and innovator) to aid a close friend. Camilla is in a mental institution after attacking her fiance. Camilla fears she is going mad, but Zelda suspects a supernatural cause. If the cause of Camilla’s sudden violent outbursts cannot be found by Pluto’s Snitch, Camilla will be lobotomized - a fate worse than death. At the same time, pretty young women are disappearing and their spirits are coming to Raissa. Something connects the women, Camilla and Bryce Hospital and Raissa is determined to figure out the truth.
The House of Memory is an excellent historical/paranormal cozy mystery that has an authentic feel and few flaws. If you like Carolyn Haines other mysteries you definitely won’t be disappointed by this jazz age read.
5 / 5
I received a copy of The House of Memory from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
--Crittermom
Description
Raissa James not only sees the dead but she’s caught the ears of the living—especially now that she’s solved her first case. Word of Pluto’s Snitch, her private-investigation agency specializing in the occult, has spread far and wide. It’s even come to the notice of Zelda Fitzgerald, the nation’s most celebrated flapper. And Zelda’s in need of its services.
Along with Reginald Proctor, her partner in detection, Raissa travels to Montgomery, Alabama, where Zelda’s friend Camilla has suddenly become prone to violent fits and delusions. Has Camilla gone mad…or has she been possessed?
Raissa and Reginald soon discover that Camilla’s not the only young lady in the area to fall victim to something unnatural. Now it’s up to the Snitches to follow the clues and save Camilla, locked away behind the walls of the formidable Bryce Hospital asylum. But the key to her rescue might not lie among the living at all. Because Raissa knows that the dead have their secrets, too.
