Night Falls on Predicament Avenue

Title: Night Falls on Predicament Avenue

Author: Jaime Jo Wright

Publisher: Bethany House

Genre: Christian Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction

Source: Bethany House & Own (won a copy around the same time!)

My Review:

I am a huge Jaime Jo Wright fan. I know if I want a story that will keep me guessing until the very end to read her books. I don't know another author who keeps me invested in both timelines like she does! Night Falls on Predicament Avenue checked every box. 

In the present timeline, Norah has taken over her deceased twin sister's dream of running the bed-and-breakfast on Predicament Avenue. She is still struggling with the grief of her loss when podcaster Sebastian Blaine comes to town and starts stirring everything up.

In the past, Effie and her sister Polly are being childish when Polly witnesses a murder. The events that happen after that give a shocking glimpse of how crimes were handled in the early 1900s. There is so much to the story!

As I mentioned earlier, I was equally invested in both timelines and couldn't get enough of either story. I was SHOCKED by one revelation and suspicious in the other timeline. Usually, when I finish a book, I move on pretty quickly but having finished this one over 24 hours ago, it is still with me. I woke up in the middle of the night and I was still mulling it over.

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue is one of my favorites by Wright. While this book has themes of fear and grief, it is not too heavy, it is exceptionally well-written. Other words I would use to describe the book: captivating, haunting, chilling, meaningful, and addictive. Even those descriptors don't completely capture the essence of the story.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

★★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads): 

In 1910, Effie James is living a dream for two. Her younger sister is harboring a secret that has left timid Effie determined to fulfill her daring sister's grand plan of seeking out adventure in their small Iowa town. When a British gentleman arrives, disrupting their peace with efforts to find the wife many claim lived her final days at the now abandoned house at 322 Predicament Avenue, Effie is thrust into intrigue she couldn't have prepared for. But what she finds inside will forever link her to the scandal staining the house's walls and to a woman whose secrets promise a curse.

A century later, Norah Richman is living out her late-twin's dream of running their great aunt's bed-and-breakfast on Predicament Avenue--a place Norah believes nothing good can come out of after her sister's abduction and murder thirteen years ago. Her first guest is a crime historian and podcaster, and Norah resolves to stay far away from the charming and enigmatic man--until another guest is found dead. As they dig deeper, something sinister unfurls that will reveal an ominous unknown far greater than the possibility of death itself.