Declan Fitzgerald had always been the family maverick, but even he couldn't understand his impulse to buy a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans. All he knew was that ever since he saw Manet Hall, he'd been enchanted - and obsessed - with it. So when the opportunity to buy the house comes up Declan jumps at the chance to live out a dream.
Determined to restore Manet Hall to its former splendor, Declan begins the daunting renovation room by room, relying on his own labor and skills. But the days spent in total isolation in the empty house take a toll. He is seeing visions of days from a century past, and experiencing sensations of terror and nearly unbearable grief - sensations not his own, but those of a stranger. Local legend has it that the house is haunted, and with every passing day Declan's belief in the ghostly presence grows.
Only the companionship of the alluring Angelina Simone can distract him from the mysterious happenings in the house, but Angelina too has her own surprising connection to Manet Hall - a connection that will help Declan uncover a secret that's been buried for a hundred years.
Declan Fitzgerald has been drawn to Manet Hall since he and a college friend broke into the abandoned mansion during a long-ago semester break. Now the Boston lawyer has forsaken his career to buy the run-down wreck and restore it to its potential beauty. Who cares if a few resident ghosts have other ideas? James Daniels performs most of the book, offering a reasonable rendition of Cajun French dialect and wisely refraining from an attempt at old New England. His female characters come across as seductive rather than simpering, which suits them all. Sandra Burr makes cameo appearances to narrate flashbacks about the life of resident spirit Abigail Rousse Manet, whose violent death led to the house being abandoned in the first place. Burr's performance offers a sweet and haunting grace note to the production. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
About the Author
Nora Roberts is truly a publishing phenomenon. Today, she is one of America's leading novelists, with many #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels to her credit. Her books are published around the world, made into films, excerpted in national magazines and translated in over twenty-five different languages.
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