This is the first book I’ve read by Jennifer McMahon. The Invited is a wonderfully written story with great characters. It’s a great read!

I hadn't read any of Jennifer McMahon's works before this, but I am now convinced I'll have to read them all. The Invited immediately drew me in with its spooky summary and eye-catching cover, but it was so much more than the quick thriller I expected it to be. McMahon creates interesting, relatable characters of all ages, and the dual narration approach between Helen and Olive was both interesting and effective at creating a little bit of mystery and dramatic irony. This novel definitely isn't a typical thriller, and I didn't find myself truly worrying for anyone's safety or sanity as I read along. That being said, the combination of mystery and history (anything involving a historical society is a plus if you're an archivist!) was perfect for the Vermont setting and the ghost story that was passed along through the generations.

Helen has always wanted to leave the city and live in a place with history. As a previous middle school history teacher, when her father died and left her with enough money, she did just that. Helen's husband, Nate, and Helen quit their job to move to a new and much smaller town. They bought a large amount of land. Helen's wish for history came true in a more haunting way than imagine. The land they bought had a gruesome history. Hattie Breckenridge was pronouncing a witch and was hung on her own land, the same land that is now Helen and Nate.

As they live in a small trailer on the land while building their house, strange things start to happen around them. Nate started to see a white deer, in which the local said it's Hattie. There's a legend that said Hattie hides her treasure somewhere on the land. Enter, Olive, a teenager that is looking for the treasure to make her rich in order to bring back her mother. The rumor has it that her mom left with another man. In Olive's heart she knows that's not true.Mean while; Helen's has trace Hattie's family and also accumulating items that belong to Hattie's family to incorporate into her new home. It is said that ghosts are usually attached to items. As these items are put into the house, Hattie and her family members started to show themselves to Helen as well as asking for her help.

This is a chilling ghosts mystery that was captivating to read. This book was not as scary as Jennifer McMahon last book, but it was not any less interesting. At time the story is slow and predictable. I like there are open questions as I read the book. Those questions such as what did Hattie really want with Nate. She showed herself as a white deer and that question was never answered. It leaves me wanting to continue to read the story. The objects that Helen collected to build her house, does that mean that the Breckenridge family is now permanently there? This book leaving me wanting more.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this fabulous ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Helen and Nate are a very close married couple. She teaches history and he teaches science at a prestigious private school. They decide to pack it in and build their own house. They find property in Vermont. Then strange things begin to happen.

With her love of history, Helen must research the land they bought and learns that it belonged to a woman named Hattie Breckenridge who was murdered by townsfolk for being a witch. Her daughter survived.

Helen begins to collect things from around the property that will give their new home authenticity and to connect with Hattie. She contacts a new friend in town and together they begin to look into the history of the land. They find pictures on the internet of Hattie and her subsequent descendants. They all died bad deaths. Helen begins to keep a journal.

The more Helen gets into the story, the more entranced she becomes. Soon, she is seeing Hattie. This she does not tell Nate for some reason. She befriends a young girl named Olive (Ollie). Olive figures large in this story.

This is a very well written and plotted novel. I like Nate and Helen and especially their relationship as they go through this experience together. I would term this a horror story, or even very terrorizing. It is more of a paranormal story. I thought the story line was refreshing and the book was very enjoyable to read. This is my first Jennifer McMahon novel, and I immediately went to Amazon to look for others of her books. Well done, Ms. McMahon!

I want to thank NetGalley and Doubleday Books/Doubleday for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review.

A great little mystery. Liked the characters, and enjoyed Helen most of all. Definitely kept me sucked in till the end!

This is my first book by Jennifer McMahon and boy did I pick the right book to start with!

I picked up this book and was instantly drawn in as I read along I could pitcure everything and everyone in the book. I loved how I was on the edge of my seat the whole time dying to find out what happens next. If you like books with supense and with witches and ghosts then you HAVE to pick this book up!

Helen and Nate pick up and move to a land in Vermont to build thier dream home but little did they know that thier land has history and is rumored to be haunted by a witch set on revenge. Helen being a history teacher and loving all things history begins researching her land and is drawn in and as she uncovers the history of her land and the life of Hattie she is drawn to Hattie but will she survive Hattie afterall Hattie is rumored to be haunting her land seeking revenge from those who wronged her.

This book is my first title by Jennifer McMahon. I was really interested by the plot synopsis when I was scrolling through Netgalley. Helen inherits a large amount of money, so she and her husband, Nate, decide to buy some land in the countryside and build a house themselves. The land they purchase comes with a dark history and Helen begins to research the history of the infamous Hattie, a spirit said to haunt the land because she was hung as a witch.

This was a very average book. It is more of a mystery/thriller with a slight paranormal aspect. I was hoping for a scarier reading experience, but ultimately, the plot focuses on the couple building the home and the mysterious disappearance of a woman in town. There was a bit much going on by the end. I also found the ending to be very predictable.

If you like mysteries and don’t mind a ghost, then this is worth checking out. There is nothing new here, but I was interested enough to read most of it in one day.

I’m not much on ghost stories, but Jennifer McMahon’s new novel, The Invited, can definitely make you a believer. Helen and Nate decide to try for a simpler life by building a house in a small town in Vermont. It’s a town with a storied past and tales of a witch named Hattie Breckinridge. Hattie had been hanged a century ago and had lived on the property where Nate and Helen are building. Helen becomes a bit obsessed with Hattie’s tale and begins digging into her history. She also begins experiencing some powerful visions or memories that just make her want to dig further. She’s driven to add pieces of Hattie’s history into the new home they’re building, which stir up some “spirits.”

McMahon does a fantastic job of bringing this story to life with well-developed characters and atmospheric prose. I couldn’t wait to see where it would all lead, and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a terrific mix of mysticism and good old human greed. I highly recommend reading The Invited. Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for the digital ARC.

This is a mystery thriller for readers who enjoy a supernatural twist. I particularly enjoyed that this tale included ghosts, yet it wasn't overly gruesome. I found this to have a great combination of creepiness and suspenseful mystery.

This is a book that has depth and involves several connecting storylines. Things slowly build to the thrilling climax as details are revealed and uncovered. I thought the story dragged slightly at times, but I enjoyed how things came together at the conclusion. I enjoyed this book and I really liked the paranormal elements.

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon is the first ghost story I've read in a very long time. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The novel starts off with Hattie Breckenridge, who is hung for being a witch. We then cut to Nate and Helen, a young married couple who are moving to Vermont to start a new life. Nate & Helen get a great deal on a piece of land, and begin to build their dream house. The couple soon find out the history of the land-this is the land that belonged to Hattie Breckenridge, and is believed to be haunted by her ghost. Helen, a history teacher, begins a search to find out all she can about Hattie's family history, as well as ghosts.
Meanwhile, Olive is a young girl who's mother has disappeared, believed to have run off with a lover last year. Olive and her mother Lori had been searching for a treasure on the Breckenridge property. Olive is convinced that if she can find this treasure, she will lure her mother back home. Olive is none too pleased to learn that Nate and Helen have moved in, thus prohibiting her for finding this treasure.
Helen begins seeing Hattie's ghost and is convinced Hattie is trying to tell her something. She becomes consumed with trying to find pieces of Hattie's history to build into her house to summon Hattie to her again. This obsession strains her marriage to Nate, who does not believe in ghosts.
The Invited is a great story about the supernatural, greed, and betrayal. I highly recommend this novel to anyone.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting story that begins in 1925 with Hattie Breckenridge being hanged for being a witch. Next, we're introduced to Helen and Nate in 2015. They want to get away from their busy lives in the middle of the city and find somewhere they can live a quiet, simpler life and maybe raise a family. The property they found was where Hattie lived and died. Helen is intrigued by the history and the belief that Hattie haunts the area and starts to research for answers.

The writing is suggestive of Daphne du Maurier. It's eerie and you know there is more coming but it won't be enough to put the pieces together and really figure out who and what is behind the mystery. The characters are interesting and each chapter takes you closer to a surprising conclusion..

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from Doubleday Books for the purpose of review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#The Invited #NetGalley

This is a typical Jennifer McMahon book. I’m not saying that like it’s a bad thing. It’s actually a very good thing. Jennifer writes these easy, breezy books with a touch of the supernatural and I quickly dive into each and every one of them.
This one is a ghost story. Nate and Helen come to vermont to build their dream house...their haunted dream house as it turns out. There’s a history to the nearby bog involving a woman who had been accused of being a witch many, many years before and oh, the tales this old bog could tell.
It’s an easy read, but well worth it. Very entertaining.

I used to love mysteries/thrillers/suspense novels. And then for a long time I couldn’t read them because I couldn’t sleep at night. Now I’ve delved back into them, and I am finding some amazing books out there. The Invited is one of those. It borders on ghost story creepy, but with twists that are fun to encounter.

Nate & Helen are two young schoolteachers who yearn for the “simpler” life. They decide to buy a parcel of land in a very small town, give up their jobs, and spend a year building a home by themselves on said land. Sounds like a dream to me? But what if the land you choose is haunted? What if you encounter strange things like white does and raccoons chewing through your plumbing? Okay, the second not so bad, but the first?

Turns out that Nate & Helen’s land was the site of a witch hanging back in the 1920s. Hattie was a single mother who lived on this land. She built her house with her own hands and was raising her daughter Jane alone. The townspeople were okay with her witchy ways when they needed them, but they were angered by them when it didn’t suit them. When one of her premonitions leads to devastation in the community, the community fights back.

Nate and Helen buy the land on the cheap, because the seller just wants to get rid of it. Once they move into his old trailer on the land, strange things start happening. Things that lead them to believe someone doesn’t want them there. The question is, is that someone alive? Or dead?

I found the depth of this book rather appealing. It wasn’t just a story about ghosts, or stranger than average small towns, but a story about a young married couple trying to build a life together. All while trying to build a home in a strange little town with strange happenings. It is a book about tolerance for things that aren’t what we are used to, and acceptance that people may foster different beliefs. It is also a story of greed and trickery.

This book gets 4.5 stars from me, cause it was enjoyable, interesting, spooky and overall good. I loved reading it and would recommend it!

.Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC of The Invited by Jennifer McMahon. Other than Stephen King and an occasional book by Peter Straub, I rarely read books about the paranormal ort hauntings. The Invited was very suspenseful and I was anxious to find out what happened. When Helen inherits money upon her father's death, she and her husband decide to leave city life and find a piece of land where they can build their own home. Helen is a history teacher and she loves old houses from the turn of the 20th century. Her husband, Nate, and she begin building while staying on the property in a trailer. Unfortunately, it isn't until the house is being built that Helen and Nate find out the history of the land and the house that originally stood there. Hattie, who was suspected of being a witch, was hanged from a tree and her body dumped in the bog near the house. When unusual activities start taking place near the new house, Helen starts investigating the history of the property and Hattie. A local girl, Olive, who is fighting demons of her own since her mother disappeared, starts helping Helen and Nate with the building, after attempting to frighten them away by stealing items and leaving spooky clues that point to Hattie causing the events. Ms. McMahon manages to juggle several storylines successfully, while building suspense and weaving a haunting tale of mothers and daughters, marriage and the past. I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the suspense/thriller genre with a twist of the supernatural sprinkled in.

This was a hard to put down book! I wanted to read it slow and make it last but instead found myself rushing through it. I love ghost stories and this book was just perfect! Loved the story!!!

I stayed up WAY to late finishing this book but it was definitely worth it. As a fan of McMahon's previous book, The Winter People, I was eager to try another one of hers but nervous it wouldn't live up to my expectations. Spoiler alert, it did. McMahon is incredible at creating atmospheric settings that pull you in and make you feel like you're part of the story. The Invited was the perfect mix of spooky -- with ghosts and haunted houses -- and creepy. A cross between a thriller and a ghost story, this book is perfect for anyone who doesn't want to be too scared but still kept guessing.

A huge thank YOU to #Netgalley and #DoubledayBooks for the advanced readers copy, this story was ahhmazing!!

It started off as any other book but, by a quarter of the way in I was HOOKED!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

A ghost leading her granddaughter to a buried treasure while also trying to save her great granddaughters life. While not at the same time, it’s enough to draw me in but, do YOU dare?

Nate and Helen abandon their regular jobs to move to Vermont to build their dream home and take up a more quiet way of life but, that’s not what Hattie has in mind… she immediately puts both of them to work to solve the murder of her granddaughter..

Construction, building materials and a quirky old trailer aren’t all you’ll experience in this twisted ghost story.

I really enjoyed this book and give it 4 stars!

Professional Reader

10 Book Reviews

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon
The Invited
by Jennifer McMahon (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review Feb 16, 2019 · edit
really liked it

Infectious best describes this book ... once started I was unable to put it down until all was revealed in this convoluted ghost story. A complex tale of a land haunted with the associated history of three generations of the Breckenridge women.
Helen and Nate abandon suburbia and the secure life as teachers to pursue the simpler life in the rural woods of Vermont ... aspiring to self build their dream house from scratch. Upon arriving at their huge forty four acres of woodlands, Helen soon becomes entrenched and almost enchanted by the dark history of the previous owner ... Hattie Breckenridge.
Helen learns that Hattie was hung from an old pine tree that bordered on the adjacent bog and dragged to its center and weighted down - her remains likely lay at the bottom. Apparently Hattie had a gift of sometimes being able to glimpse into the future. Even though the neighbors came to her in times of sickness and trouble ... they still gossiped that she was a witch. The last draw occurs when the school house burns and several children are killed ... Hattie warned them of this possibility long before this day. Nonetheless a mob formed and stormed Hattie's place and hung her for being a witch. At the sound of the oncoming mob Hattie sent her daughter Jane to hide in the root cellar of her long destroyed ancestral home ...the presence unknown to anyone.
As Helen acquires building material for the house ... she inadvertently obtains wooden beams, a mantle and historical bricks that link to the tragic history of three generations of Breckenridge women. She opines: "What if objects hold memories and traces of the people who'd touched them ... and act as kind of a doorway .. a way back into out world" This sets up the premise and possibility of connecting with the spirits of the past.
The locals actually believe the spirit of Hattie haunts the bog ... and her ghost can be seen walking on the water and around the bog. Interwoven into the present day is the story of Olive and her missing mother... who mysteriously disappears one day with the resultant town gossip that she left with another man. Olive continues to search for the supposed buried treasure of Hattie with a metal detector ... only one day to come upon a necklace that she recognizes as her mother's ... which was her favorite and never took it off.
McMahon proves to be a great storyteller and the complex and convoluted narrative unfolds with an ever increasing possibility and presence of a supernatural element at the bog.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for providing an Uncorrected Proof of this delightful tale in exchange for an honest review.

The Invited tells the story of Helen and Nate, who quit their jobs and move out to the country to start a new life. They begin to learn why the land was so cheap and the owner practically gave it to them... it's said to be haunted. Helen is a history buff and can't help but want to know all there is to know about the land and the tragedy that took place there. Helen soon finds that it really is haunted by Hattie Breckenridge and she needs Helen's help.

This was a slower read for me. It does take time to unravel the history of the land and the Breckenridge family. Jennifer McMahon writes, in great detail, the backstory as Helen discovers each piece. She also intertwines the tension between Nate and Helen and the relationship Olive and her father. This was described as a ghost story with a twist and I think that sums it up perfectly. It's creepy and dark, but leads you to an ending you might not be expecting.

A good ghost story blends into a domestic drama in this Vermont-based suspense. I love stories that have a creepy vibe in a realistic setting, and this one did just that. I didn't find this to be a scary story. Instead, it was almost charming in a bumbling small-town sort of way. Multi-layered history and family genealogy play important roles in The Invited. That added a great element of mystery to the plot.

I really liked the characters in this book. Seeing the story from Helen's perspective, then through Olive's eyes, helped to fill in the missing pieces. Hattie's presence was almost a tangible character, too. Just as the characters were obsessed with Hattie's history, I'd love to learn more about her story. While Helen and Olive were interesting, I'm far more invested in Hattie's Sight and how she used it to divine the futures of the townsfolk. Fingers crossed for a spin-off, or maybe a prequel.