The House on Tradd Street Mass Market Paperback – December 31, 2018

This book is rife with so many issues and themes that it could have easily become a tangled, unreadable mess. The fact that Karen White was able to deftly handle each and every plot is a testament to her talent as a writer. She was able to tackle everything from ghosts (both of the benevolent and evil varieties) to treasure, betrayals, love, abandonment, and even how one goes about restoring an old house to its former splendor.Through all of that, White managed to create characters that are deeply flawed, yet also realistic, and the reader winds up truly caring about them as they navigate through traumas and obstacles that not only creep up on them in present day, but also those that befell them in the past.Even as they deal with pain and loss, their likability shines through, which leads to quite a bit of humor throughout the book. Case in point - the story's protagonist is, on the surface, all about strict organization and efficiency, and the reader quickly finds out that this is part of the defense mechanism that she's relied upon since her incredibly troubled childhood. A less talented writer would have made it pretty difficult to care about Melanie, but White imbues her with so much snark, humor, and quirks - i.e. her love of spreadsheets is second only to her utter devotion to sugar in all of its various forms - that the reader quickly becomes invested in her and her relationships as she deals with (amongst other things) a multitude of ghosts and her desire to solve the mystery of a family's tumultuous, tragic past.Then, too, Jack is an excellent foil for Melanie. Rather than merely being an exceptionally attractive playboy writer, his charm and humor endear him to readers as he interacts with Melanie, and tries to solve a mystery or two of his own, while he's still reeling from an event that caused him a great deal of emotional pain.This book was very good on any number of levels - it's both funny and sad at times; the multiple mysteries are all interesting and suspenseful; and the ghosts run the gamut from being heartwarming to exceedingly creepy and dangerous. It is truly a great book, and the only downside to it is that, according to the pages at the book's end, we have to wait quite awhile until the next installment of Melanie and Jack's adventures is released.

I purchased this mystery/ghost story in large part due to the good price, and I enjoyed it. The very beginning was a bit overly descriptive (meaning every noun had at least one or two very "moody" adjectives describing the location) - don't get me wrong, I like to "see" the setting, but I don't need so many dramatic descriptions in just a few paragraphs. This seems to be a common occurrence in novels that take place in the South (I suppose because so much about the South invites exaggerated prose). That said, once the actual story got going, it was fun. This is not Agatha Christie, and you know pretty much from the beginning who the ghosts are at work in the story, but the characters are easy to hang out with and understand. The fact that the main character hates her ability to see ghosts and downplays it as much as possible keeps the story from degenerating into just another "Ghost Whisperer" kind of tale. Her parental issues help round her out (as a person). I would be interested in reading the subsequent books in this series, but I'll likely try to get them at my local library.

Loved the descriptions of antiques and old houses and the ghosts!Having explored this fascinating town, it was so engaging. A good escape book from my usual choices,nothing to dislike.

I loved the many components of this book. There is the personal aspect of the similarities between Melanie and Nevin. Both of their mothers disappeared from their lives at a young age.Of course the ghostly appearances, the mystery of the missing diamonds and the romantic possibilities between two men really made this book hard to put down!

Interesting, easy reading enjoyed.

As others have noted, it's hard to categorize this book. Set in the present time, it's a mystery dealing with lost diamonds from Civil War days and also with the disappearance of a young mother in the 1930's. It's a romance involving Melanie Middleton, who inherited the house on Tradd Street in Charleston, and her two suitors, Jack and Marc, who have different reasons for wanting to find the missing diamonds. It's a ghost story with spirits, mostly friendly, who inhabit Melanie's new house and garden and want to communicate with her. It's also a story of family relationships--of different generations and different times, of people living and people dead--and of the restoration of a historic home in a location rich with reminders of past eras and people who once lived there. Add to that the fact that the story is told in a compelling narrative, and you've got a good book. Yes, some of the romantic developments are a bit exasperating, and one aspect of the mystery is rather obvious, but I still had a lot of fun reading this book and I intend to look into the sequels. I would definitely recommend it.

I'm reading it right now and love it....I can't wait to finish it and get another book from this series

This whole series is Awesome. I loved the descriptions of Charleston and the beautiful homes, I felt like I was there and the ghost presence added so much to it. Well worth reading the whole series. I even took a trip to Charleston.

I really enjoyed this book. It held my attention all through which is rare these days. I loved the story line and that although there was a conclusion it did carry on to the next book.

I usually love haunted houses and had read anotther book by Karen White I liked, so I decided to give it a go.The plot is flimsy and repetitive and the denouement is so conventional and expected, all the more so as you have been waiting for some kind of subtletiy, novelty, and depth for some 200 pagesThe heroine is given a house she does not like and will end up liking through some kind of link with her childhood, she will have to make up her mind between a "bad" man and a "good" man, this is not enough to make a story. The description of the "haunted" apparitions, one good, one bad, are always the same.The writing is sloppy, I do not count the number of times the heroine "shrugged" or "rolled her eyes" within the dialogue narrative, or the number of times we are given details about her suit or the color of her pumps, or the brand of both.Please, ghost stories are supposed to be subtle. Read Edith Wharton instead.

This was a very enjoyable book. The only problem that I had with it was that there were so many characters I sometimes had to struggle with who was who!Having said that I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.