Book Review: The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright

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What is this book about?

1928

The Bonaventure Circus is a refuge for many, but Pippa Ripley was rejected from its inner circle as a baby. When she receives mysterious messages from someone called the “Watchman,” she is determined to find him and the connection to her birth. As Pippa’s search leads her to a man seeking justice for his murdered sister and evidence that a serial killer has been haunting the circus train, she must decide if uncovering her roots is worth putting herself directly in the path of the killer.

Present Day

The old circus train depot will either be torn down or preserved for historical importance, and its future rests on real estate project manager Chandler Faulk’s shoulders. As she dives deep into the depot’s history, she’s also balancing a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease and the pressures of single motherhood. When she discovers clues to the unsolved murders of the past, Chandler is pulled into a story far darker and more haunting than even an abandoned train depot could portend.

My review:

Wow.

Just wow.

Okay, I know I need to say more than that, but I’m still wrapping my mind around all the twists and turns of this beautifully crafted story. And that was after losing sleep because I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it.

There are so many layers to this story that I could talk about it all day long but I think the best thing that sums it up is what I felt the theme was—you are seen.

For anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t matter, like they were not important, like they were invisible…this story reminds us in a very suspenseful but powerful way that those are lies we buy into. God sees us. We matter very much to Him. And sometimes it is hard to look past our emotions to see that there are others out there that see us as well.

I think that Pippa was my favorite character in this story. Her innocence really drew me in as well as her interactions with the circus particularly with the baby elephant. While Chandler wasn’t my favorite character, I absolutely related to her struggles as a single mother and found my heart in my throat when the worst thing ever happened to her. :0 That’s all I will say about it—you have to read this book.

There is romance in the form of Jake (past) and Hank (present). I found both men to be very rough around the edges which went well with the softness of both women.

The suspense was just wonderful. Deliciously slow and simmering at first but toward the end… Man, I couldn’t turn those pages fast enough.

What I enjoyed most about this book:

The theme resonated through the story. Wonderfully so.

What I didn’t like about this book:

The only thing I didn’t care for was a minor amount of slang from the present time. It fit the character but wasn’t my cup of tea as far as dialogue is concerned.

Would I recommend this book to others? Absolutely. This writer is a go-to suspense author for me. You will not be disappointed in the plot lines and the way that the present and past are woven together in expert tapestry. This is a standalone book.

Note: I received this book complimentary as a member of the author’s launch team. I was not required to give a positive review. All of the opinions I have expressed here are honest and my own.

Where can I learn more about this author and their books?

Jaime Jo Wright, author website

-Loraine Nunley

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