Because there are so many books to read, I have made a pact with myself to always read at least 50 pages of a book but that after the 50 pages I do not have to read further if I cannot get into the book. With "The House on Foster Hill," I could not continue after about 60 pages because both main characters seem so whiny to me. I think the author overdid it when she kept writing (over and over and over) what was bothering the two main characters. Better character development is needed at the beginning of a story in order to make me care about the characters so that I will keep reading. Good points: the story had an interesting premise, and I am happy to see books with Christian characters.

I enjoyed the format of this book with two strong heroines in different time periods. The storylines were equally engaging and the murder mystery was creepy but not overly graphic or terrorizing. I look forward to more books by Jaime Jo Wright.

Excellently done! Loved the unique mysterious feel to this new-to-me author's novel! I was wholly captivated and transported to the heart of the story. I can't wait for another awesome novel!

I keep seeing this book everywhere on various sites and have gone back and forth on whether or not to read it.i finally decided to go for it and I'm glad I did! It's one of those back and forth in time novels, centering around a single house. Full of suspense, both story lines intertwine to create one clever plot. Atmospheric and Gothic, this novel will please historical fiction fans.

Today, we are going to look at my latest read- The House on Foster Hill by Jamie Joe Wright. This is a dual perspective book. One perspective is from the current era from Kaine Prescott who is dealing with the lost of her husband Danny. Kaine believes her husband was killed, but the police had considered it accidental. Kaine moves to a town Wisconsin where her great-great grandmother, Ivy Thrope lived. Kaine moves into the Foster Hill House to run from the home and the silent stalker behind in San Diego. Kaine soon finds some new friends that help her resolve and help her find the answers she needs and give her protection and she is soon attacked in the Foster Hill House. However, Foster Hill holds some secrets in itself.

Ivy Thrope, (Kaine’s great-great grandmother), is still grieving the lost of her brother Andrew 12 year prior. Everyone states that Ivy has some connection to the deceased and want nothing to do with her, because she works with her father, an medical examiner. When Ivy’s father becomes involved in an investigation of a murdered teenage girl near the Foster Hill House, things become very interesting for Ivy. Her former best friend, Detective Joel Cunningham, shows up suddenly after 12 years to help the sheriff and , Ivy is not happy and is uneased. It was when she is attacked at Foster Hill, when searching for clues, that is when Ivy and Joel try to mend things together.

Will both of these women find and clues they need to bring the innocent some peace in their eternal sleep? Will God help the two women to the clues they need to solve the crimes being committed. You will have to grab this great read. I can’t put it down myself. 🙂 You won’t be disappointed.

The writing style is seamless. You read something that Kaine finds in clues to her life and then you find Ivy is looking and finding clues to her own life mysteries. This is an awesome book.

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. Here are a few extras that I included in my review today: Q&A and Book Announcement/Synopsis from the author.

Lastly,I thank the Bethany House Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read such a great book for a complimentary eBook copy.

Enjoy and happy reading!!! Keep warm, too!!

Kaine Prescott has traveled to the ends of the earth (also known as rural Wisconsin) to try to put the suspicious death of her husband behind her. Unable to convince anyone--including the police--that his death was anything other than a tragic accident, Kaine throws her energy into rehabbing the ancient and rundown Foster Hill house, long abandoned and rumored to be haunted. Meanwhile, in 1906, a young woman named Ivy finds the body of a young woman hidden in the hollow tree at Foster Hill. Obsessed with uncovering the girl's identity, Ivy finds herself in greater and greater danger the more she learns.

This book sounded like such fun. I don't mind a dual narrative when done well, and I settled myself in for an entertaining haunted house read. Unfortunately, the book fiys more closely into the Christian romance category than anything resembling horror or suspense. I enjoyed the historical half of the narrative for the most part, but I found modern-day Kaine hard to like or care about (aside from her dog).

In the end, this book just wasn't for me. I'm not a fan of romance most of the time, and I just ... don't really enjoy majorly religious protagonists. I wish the book had billed itself less along haunted house lines and had a blurb that more closely described the plot.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting read. From the get-go, it reminded me of the Kate Morton novels I've read, weaving the past with the present and how to resolve both. There were a few things that didn't quite mesh with me, sometimes the story jumping around too much and little details not quite carried over/tied up/matched up between the past and present, but nothing major. I did also see the connection between Kaine and Ivy/Hallie/Gabriella coming much sooner than the author revealed it, so it wasn't a huge wow to me. I did want more background and detailed tie-ins, though, once that was revealed, as, to me, it still seemed just speculation and no definitive evidence on the blood relationship. There were lots of connections between the time periods of the novels used as journals, the Beethoven music, etc., that were woven very well throughout both aspects of the story. There was also romance developing for both Ivy and Kaine, Ivy trying to resolve past issues and assumptions and Kaine trying to deal with her own haunted past. However, I still really enjoyed the characters from both time periods and the story line and how everything was developed. The pace of the story moved along fairly quickly and kept me intrigued and wanting to know what happens, with cliff-hangers of course as the time periods switched back and forth between Ivy's in 1906 to Kaine's in the present day. It was very interesting to me and I was surprised to learn that sex trafficking was a problem very early on in our country's history, such a sad and tragic horror. I look forward to more from this author and really hope she continues with the historical/present mystery tie-in genre.

could not put this book down! I think I practically inhaled it. The author did an outstanding job weaving past and present mysteries together in a way that will leave you on the edge of your seat to the very last page. I highly recommend this one!

The House on Foster Hill, Jaime Jo Wright’s debut novel, is a riveting twist on the gothic novel, and it’s deliciously intense! The dual timelines add to the intensity, and the writing is vivid and multi-dimensional. The layers in both eras, centered around the abandoned house and an old book, are skillfully drawn and powerfully connected.

What I loved most of all is how Ivy’s story connects with Kaine’s. Not just as it relates to their mutual connection to each other & to Foster Hill House but in the way they both inadvertently are affected by – and end up championing – the same cause. It’s something very close to my own heart, and I really appreciated that the author chose this underlying theme. Yes, it’s gritty and raw and emotional sometimes, but it doesn’t hang so heavy over the plot that you feel suffocated by it. It’s presented with lots of grace, not to take the edge off the pain so as to minimize the heartbreak… but to remind us Whose holy heart breaks over it too. And despite the horrors connected to the house, despite the horrors that Kaine herself has witnessed, a voice from the past gently speaks hope into the darkness:

“I choose to believe… I know God’s presence here. Even in darkness, He is here… Someday I will see His face and all of this will wash away… I choose hope.”

And we can’t forget the main character of this novel – the house itself. Wright does such a phenomenal job of setting the scene with delicious descriptors like, “Cavernous windows opened in a silent scream on the face of the Gothic house tilted on the crest of Foster Hill. Its gables towered as if to mock her, and balconies curved in permanent, evil grins.” You will want to devour this in one sitting, if possible, because once this house – and Wright’s effective mood-setting – gets a hold of you, you won’t be able to put it down.

Bottom Line: The House on Foster Hill is a stunning debut from Jaime Jo Wright! Its gothic feel and intriguing characters wrap around the reader like an old quilt, begging them to read this novel while curled up near a warm fire. The dual timelines are handled with skill, seamlessly connected and yet distinct. Both Ivy and Kaine are relatable and compelling heroines, while Joel and Grant nicely complement their respective female counterparts. (Joel grew on me faster than Grant but I ended up really liking both of them.) Grace and hope permeate these pages, even in the middle of the intense suspense and the darkness that has cloaked Foster Hill for too long. If you’re a fan of Carrie Stuart Parks, Sandra Byrd, or Mike Nappa, you need to read The House on Foster Hill.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

3.4 - this rating would be much higher but for the "Christian" content, which seemed to be an afterthought and incredibly disjointed with the story; otherwise, the writing and the story were great!

This was a pretty interesting read. A mystery within a mystery.



Kaine is running. From the fear of what happened at home and to the uncertainty of ancestors long since passed. Purchasing a house in another state sight unseen. The only connection to it was the man who raised her, her grandfather.



She is then entranced and somewhat disconcerted with the history and happenings of Foster Hill House. Wanting to discover what Ivy was up to all those years ago. Wanting to find the truth behind the murder that took place and the young woman who ended up dead on the property.



A wonderful and flowing mystery.

I just couldn't get into this story. I wasn't gripped from the start - a bit 'mushy' for me and I'm not really into Christian lit. I don't think I am this book's target audience

DNF 35%. Not sure why I can't get into this. The story is interesting, especially the historical story line, and the characters are engaging. For some reason I just can't engage and after two weeks I am giving it up.

Ivy Thorpe is a historian of sorts. The townspeople think that she is crazy, but she herself feels that she is merely respecting the dead- giving dignity and memory as a last gift to those who have passed on. Ivy's father is the town doctor. Often Ivy is called to help him perform autopsies. For each of these people, Ivy writes a record in her memory book.

When a young woman woman's body is found in the hollow of a tree, Ivy sets out to solve the mystery of her death. An old former friend is called back into town to help, but due to their shared history, Ivy is not interested in working with him. She will need to trust someone, however. Her own time is running out.

One hundred years later, Kaine Prescott buys the old house where the mystery originated. Kaine is trying to escape the trauma of her husband's death, but the sight of her new home may be enough to bring it all back. When nasty clues start to surface, Kaine will need to discover if her husband's murderer has followed her- or if the house's mysterious past lives on.

The House on Foster Hill was a well-written thriller. The issues dealt with are very relevant today as well. Spoiler warning: Kaine's relationship with her new acquaintance moves very quickly into romance, especially given her traumatic history.

Ms. Jo Wright did a good job weaving spiritual themes through the book, although they came out more strongly at the end.

Overall I would rate this story a 4 out of 5 stars. I received a complimentary copy from Bethany House in order to write an unbiased review.

I enjoyed the split time, multiple mystery nature of The House on Foster Hill. Ivy and Kaine and their cast of characters were relatable and enjoyable. I was first drawn in by the cover, and Ms. Wright delivered on what I expected based on the eerie nature of the artwork.

I passed over The House on Foster Hill three times before the staircase and it's intriguing back cover copy convinced me I had to read it! A haunted house type story is really not my cup of tea but curiosity got the better of me. How was Jaime Jo Wright going to work God into this kind of story?

I doubted my choice upon reading the opening line: "Death had a way of creeping up on a soul, and Ivy Thorpe was determined that when it visited her, she would not be surprised." and at the house description I just about put the book down: "Cavernous windows opened in a silent scream on the face of the Gothic house that tilted on the crest of Foster Hill. Its gables towered as if to mock her, and balconies curved in permanent, evil grins. The front door gaped open with a black shadow, evidence that somewhere, at some time, it had been opened and never closed. Abandoned." The writing is compelling though, snuggled under my duvet and my large German Shepherd near to hand, I flipped the electronic pages swiftly!

The hook that ensured I wouldn't stop until the last page wove the past, Ivy's story, and the present, Kaine's story, together just before Chapter Ten. To share it would break the weaving of an intricate mystery, but, it is a wonderful line that just kept me reading...late into the night! God is throughout the book, whilst a difficult storyline full of fear and pain, the overarching sense is hope and love prevailing. The twists are surprising but well-thought out - it's a five out of five for me and I can't wait to see more from Jaime Jo Wright.

This writer shows promise but perhaps needs more writing experience in terms of characterization, plot, and dialog. There is a good story in there, but there are too many distractions as is. I don't want to be critical - she is clearly a talented writer! It's just that the characters in the past seemed so much more compelling and more detailed than those in the present-day story, who seemed too much to be imitations of their "predecessors." I did enjoy 1906's main character Ivy, whose story might better have been told without the inclusion of Kaine's modern-day parallel. Also, minor characters were sometimes given too much attention while main characters were sometimes given too little - this made it hard to understand actions and motivations at times. And finally, one thing that really just bothered me was having such a strong evangelical Christian message that was not quite properly framed within the story. I sometimes felt that the author was using character dialog to preach directly to the reader and that the evangelical talk was there as a matter of principal rather than as a natural part of the characters' conversations. It was constantly forced into the dialog and the characters' conversations often suffered as a result. This was distracting as a reader, because it was far less subtle and far less relevant to the story than it should have been; but arguably with better character development, this would have been a more integral element of the story.

Jamie Jo Wright's The House on Foster Hill is a stunning novel! Before I read it for myself, I saw rave reviews on line from readers who had loved it. Often times, the novel does not live up to the hype. This time, there was no trace of disappointment as I devoured it! If I had not read that this was her debut novel, I would have wondered why I never came across her novels before now.

Wright's writing style easily pulls the reader in. The premise of the plot, a young woman purchasing an historic home out of state that has some connection to her ancestors, is interesting enough. But as you finish each chapter, the plot expands. Wright expertly shifts point of view from one woman (generations earlier) to the modern woman with the dream of fixing up the historic, yet neglected, house.

The protagonist from the present has many unresolved issues from her past. As she researches to learn about her own family tree, she encounters many of those issues plaguing the women in her family line who lived a century before her. Through learning about her family, she finally faces what she has spent her life avoiding, and escaping.

Wright had plenty of plot twists. As soon as I thought I had figured it all out, another twist would come, and I would be reading furiously until my next guess. This made the story more exciting, but the thread of hope, and God's presence, was constant until the very end. It reminds us that, as one character says, "God's promise is fulfilled in spite of our circumstances, not instead of our circumstances."

In the midst of unraveling the mystery, and cheering for Kaine as she embraces courage and healing, we also learn about an injustice that exists today, and even existed in the previous century. Though that is a subplot, she brings to the surface an issue that remains a problem today.

This novel was a thrill to read -- I read it in only two evenings. I rarely finish a book that quickly; my life as a full-time high school teacher, and a wife, and a mom to three boys don't leave me with much time or energy at night. But I could not put this one down. I am sure my family is happy I finally finished and they will have my attention once again.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. These are my own opinions and thoughts.

I have heard nothing but positive things about this book. That always makes me a bit nervous because I wonder if I will enjoy the book as much as other did.

I did.

This book will pull you in from the first page and won’t let you go until the last. You will be dropped into the dark and mysterious world of Foster House and it’s secrets. I had to keep reading to find out who was the girl who died, what happened to her?

But even more I wanted to find out what happen to Ivy and Joel, did things work out for them or did something keep them apart?

If you like books with a creepy side to them then I have no doubt you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley.com. All opinions are my own.

I got a Darcy Coates vibe at the start of this book. I liked that beyond the old house with the history story that we also got the story about Kaine's husband. I don't feel that the the POV of Ivy was necessary throughout the book where it could've been contained to the prologue and possibly even an epilogue.