Name: Legacy
ISBN: 9781635554908

Charlotte Greene

When five women hike to a remote cabin deep inside a national park, unsettling events suggest that they should have stayed home.

Legacy

Jude Silberfeld

This is not my usual kind of book. Then again, while I read mostly romance with a growing side of sci-fi and crime novels, I’m always open to new genres, and the reviews I’d read for Legacy made me want to give it a try. So maybe I shouldn’t have begun reading it at 5 a.m. in an empty house, I’m not used to spooky, but it was an interesting experience! I’ll try my best not to spoil since part of the fun is not knowing what to expect.

Jo and Carter Lemke are cousins but they look like twins (and not like anyone else in the Lemke family, as far as they know). They were born on the same day, a few hours apart, and raised together from the time they were thirteen, when Jo’s parents took Carter in after she came out, much to her own parents’ dismay. Their family owns a secluded cabin in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado which was built by their great-great-great-grandmother Aurora (aka Rory) and has been neglected for the last couple of years, after a family dispute. The story begins when Jo arrives at the cabin. She and Carter plan to spend the next two weeks restoring it to its glory, with the help of their best friend Meg and her new girlfriend Rachel. Carter’s wife, Daniela, is supposed to join them the next day. Weird things happen almost from the start, one of these being two flat tires on Carter’s car as they’re driving to get Daniela (who’s really mad at Jo for reasons unknown at first), which leads to them meeting Andy, the hottest ranger around. The whole cast of characters is really well-written and layered, and I especially loved how Rachel’s Korean family was mentionned as if it wasn’t a big deal, and also how Daniela being deaf is just part of who she is.

Greene does a great job of establishing a creepy atmosphere by setting a rather slow (but not overly so) pace, taking the necessary time to describe the woods, the uncared-for cabin, the ominous well from the cover, the sounds, the smells, the weather and temperatures… The story revolves around family, the relationships we inherit and the ones we create. The unexpected connection between Jo (and Carter, to a lesser extent) and Aurora, the history with Sarah and Henry, Andy’s past, Daniela’s anger, it all comes back to what family is, should or should not be, and how to right past wrongs.

In addition to the paranormal aspect of the novel (which I’m also adding to the Mystery category), I really enjoyed the romance between Jo and Andy. They have great chemistry from the moment they meet by the side of the road, Andy described as some sort of Amazon while Jo’s all sweaty and parched. They’re sweet and totally deserve their happy ever after, if only because their flirting and blushing allowed me to breathe between scary moments.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Megan Cooper

4.25
Hot on the heels of Gnarled Hollow (well, I read them pretty close together at least) Greene has published another strong paranormal romance. Once again, the focus of the book is more on the paranormal and suspense; although, there is a bit of romance thrown in for good measure with the arrival of a hot Park Ranger who’s just the ticket to save some damsels in paranormal distress.

Five women arrive at an isolated family cabin located in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The property has been in Jo and Carter’s family for years but due to internal squabbling, no one has been up there for two years and its in need of a fair bit of work. The cousins are finally able to go back and try to restore the property and cabin. Joining them are Carter’s wife, Daniella, and their friends Meg and Rachel. As the odd woman out in the group of five, Jo seems to be the one that experiences most of the odd happenings. At first things can be explained away – noises from an animal in the brush, misplaced books or tools; but, as the odd events start to add up, coincidence and imagination are less likely explanations. Slowly the others start to experience similar things and the reactions range from “something’s out there” to “it’s all explainable”. From a character standpoint, Jo and the others are more consistent and relatable than those in Gnarled Hollows and the romance build between Jo and Andy provides a nice counter-point to the ominous happenings at the cabin.

Greene likes to take her time to work up the suspense, starting with smaller and seemingly inconsequential things that build up an suitably creepy atmosphere. Placing the characters in an isolated setting ratchets things up. This isn’t a gore-fest nor is it relying on jump-scares to set the atmosphere – instead it’s a well paced ghost story with strongly developed characters and I liked the backstory that unfolds in the latter half of the book (almost to the point that I wouldn’t mind reading about that as a book in itself). Legacy didn’t scare me, but it definitely created a compelling level of suspense that kept me glued to the pages.

This book has definitely not sold me on camping or living in the rough – life without a shower or flush toilet have lost their luster (if they ever had it) long ago. Camping in an isolated location where you have to trek in or out, there’s nightly sound of footsteps in the woods, nearby is an old family graveyard and things seem to move on their in in the cabin? Yeah … I’ll be at the Hilton, eating room service and booking a massage at the spa.

Legacy

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