Audiobook

The Christmas Presence The Mystery House Series Book 14

Who's there? Through Sue's blog, a young woman begs Ellen and her friends for help with a log cabin she recently inherited. Situated deep in the San Juan mountains and in pristine condition, the Colorado cabin looks like a paradise, especially in winter when it's surrounded by snow-covered fir and cypress trees. But there's an unwanted presence that has turned the cabin into a living hell for the young woman and her family. Ellen, Sue, and Tanya agree to "clean house" only to find themselves lured into a hell they didn't know existed. How will Ellen and her friends get out of this one? The books in this series can be read in any order.

Reviews

C. J. Daley @cjdscurrentread

Nov 26, 2024

This is book 14 in The Mystery House series, of which I have read one before (book 8) and I don’t recall seeing anything on NetGalley signifying the fact that it was part of a series, but that may be on the site.

While I may just be spoiled by reading two of the A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery series at the right time and them giving me the exact feel I was going for—which is mostly why I requested this one, this lacked any holiday cheer, and other than the last five minutes featuring Christmas, it could have been really any month as there’s snow…but they’re in Colorado. So the name is quite the mislead.

And while I will say that I also have written a ghost hunting story myself and did some research, as well as countless hours watching the shows, that doesn’t make me any kind of expert. However, the characters here use a Ouija board and dowsing rods to communicate with the dead more than once, and aren’t those two of what’s considered to be the least reliable or “scientific” ghost hunting items? You’d think by book fourteen they’d be more professional? Oh and not that I am a believer, but with seemingly zero qualifications they attempt an exorcism?

I don’t know if the content in this book is historically accurate, but this is read much more like of a history lesson than a paranormal mystery. With its older cast and jokes, there’s probably a market for this with older readers or even those consistent with the cozy genres. Just not for me.