Mesmerized (The Mad Morelands) - Candace Camp

Written by Candace Camp
Read by Anne Hancock
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

The Mad Morelands Series, Book 1
Length: 10 hours, 38 minutes
Recorded from: MIRA Books
For: NLS/CNIB 2006

The only way to fight a powerful darkness is with a powerful love

It’s 1876 and Olivia Moreland prides herself on discrediting charlatans, particularly the false mediums that flock to London. But when Lord Stephen St. Leger requests her help in investigating an alleged psychic’s claims, she can’t deny the ominous feeling she has within the walls of his ancient estate—or the intimately familiar connection she has with Stephen himself.

The last time he’d called Blackhope Hall home, Stephen had watched as his elder brother claimed both the family title and the woman he loved. Now, in the wake of his brother’s murder, Stephen has reluctantly returned to find his family ensconced in scandal. Who is responsible for his brother’s untimely death? And what is it about investigator Olivia Moreland that so thoroughly draws him in, re-igniting a passion he hasn’t felt in years?

Readers looking for a good 19th-century ghost story need look no further than this latest charmer from prolific Camp. Lord Stephen St. Leger is at his wit’s end over his mother’s obsession with Madame Valenskaya, a medium with more tricks up her sleeve than the Artful Dodger. In an attempt to expose the medium as the fraud he knows she is, he employs the services of Miss Olivia Q. Moreland, Investigator of Psychic Phenomena.

Olivia joins Stephen and his family at Blackhope, Stephen’s medieval country estate outside London, where Madame Valenskaya is setting up séances to supposedly communicate with Stephen’s deceased brother. Upon her arrival, Olivia senses she’s been to Blackhope before. Through a series of dreams, she and Stephen discover that they share a psychic connection with 12th-century lovers Lady Alys and Sir John, who may have died a horrific death at the hands of Lady Alys’s evil husband.

To put the 700-year-old spirits to rest, they must learn the truth about the couple’s fate. Hidden rooms, a secret treasure, murder, demonic possession and treachery are just a few of the ingredients that make up this lively tale. Add a fine romance with likeable characters, and you have a truly enjoyable read.

This is not her usual type of book; a critic theorized she got in on the newest book craze to get her name out there. I found this recording several years ago, Sound was good for a tape recording but Anne needed slowing. I took her down 5%.