The Curse of Misty Wayfair
By Jaime Jo Wright
Bethany House, Jan 2018

Book Description

Left at an orphanage as a child, Thea Reed vowed to find her mother someday. Now grown, her search takes her to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, in 1908. When clues lead her to a mental asylum, Thea uses her experience as a post-mortem photographer to gain access and assist groundskeeper Simeon Coyle in photographing the patients and uncovering the secrets within. However, she never expected her personal quest would reawaken the legend of Misty Wayfair, a murdered woman who allegedly haunts the area and whose appearance portends death.

A century later, Heidi Lane receives a troubling letter from her mother–who is battling dementia–compelling her to travel to Pleasant Valley for answers to her own questions of identity. When she catches sight of a ghostly woman who haunts the asylum ruins in the woods, the long-standing story of Misty Wayfair returns–and with it, Heidi’s fear for her own life.

As two women across time seek answers about their identities and heritage, can they overcome the threat of the mysterious curse that has them inextricably intertwined?

My Review:

~Jaime Jo Wright’s most powerful work yet~~

The Curse of Misty Wayfair is another incredible timeslip novel jumping between the stories of Thea, a postmortem photographer in 1908, and Heidi, the family black sheep coming to visit her mother who’s in the last stages of dementia. As the two attempt to settle in to life in Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, they both begin seeing the specter of a woman who haunts the asylum at the edge of the woods, and learn the story of Misty Wayfair.

In with the thrilling ghost story and the rest of the plot, Jaime Jo Wright takes on the massive enigma of the history behind asylums, mental health and insanity, tackling superstitions and stigmas. Characters with autism, anxiety, and other mental illnesses play key roles in the story in an empowering and respectful manner.

Highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery/thriller, but also to readers looking for a little more depth than your typical Christian fiction read. Jaime Jo Wright’s writing stands out on its own level of greatness.

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