The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall

Title: The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall

Author: Jaime Jo Wright

Source: own

My Review:

I love reading Jaime Jo Wright's books. They are well-written and engaging.

Darkness encased Traeger Hall like a shroud. The darkness never lifted either.

I love how clear Wright's descriptions are. I am not a person who can typically read a book and see it, but Wright's descriptions are so vivid that I could for this book. This is a blessing and a curse for this particular book.  

Uncle's gray sideburns twitched along with his jaw. His mustache covered his upper lip and hung down on either side of his mouth like inverted antlers.

The line above is a great example of what I am talking about; it made me chuckle. But this particular story is very heavy and dark. Both main characters in both timelines have/had abusive fathers, which adds to the heaviness. There are several violent murders, and the descriptions were hard not to see. I was skimming those particular scenes because it was too much for me.

There were several plot twists that I did not see coming. While the mysteries were unraveled slowly, I felt the romances were too quick. Wright typically doesn't include romance in her stories, and it's not the main focus, but I didn't feel it added much to the story.

Overall, I liked the story, but it was not a favorite of mine.

Synopsis (Goodreads):  

In 1890, the ominous tolling of the bell announces that death has come to Traeger Hall, leaving orphaned Waverly Pembrooke to piece together the puzzle behind her uncle's and aunt's murders. Bound by the terms of her uncle's eccentric will, Waverly finds herself alone in a manor shrouded by death and questioning her uncle's paranoid motivations. A madness hovers over Traeger Hall, and Waverly--as well as the people of nearby Newton Creek--are ill-prepared for the woe that has descended on the property.
 
In present day Newton Creek, the whispers of a curse still cling to the century-old time capsule of Traeger Hall. When Jennie Phillips takes possession of the estate after the death of her parents, she is intent on solving the century-old mystery of the Traeger murders. Yet a modern cold case suggests that untimely deaths and mysterious occurrences still form the cornerstone of the manor. And as thorny truths surface, Jennie realizes the dark legacy threatens not only the town and the Traeger descendants . . . but also, chillingly, Jennie herself.

Lauded by Library Journal as being "in a class by herself," Jaime Jo Wright presents an atmospheric thriller of legends, twisted tales, and a legacy that crosses centuries.