Ghosts, shadows, haunted dolls, mystery happening, old houses…. Sounds like a wonderful story and it is.

While this is a series, this is the first book I have read in the Tradd Street series by Karen White. Maybe I should have read the first 4 but I really did not feel like I was missing anything. There were some relationships that I would have liked to know more about yet I enjoyed this book from the beginning to the end.

Melanie… oh what an OCD character. Her spreadsheets drove me crazy. The need to micro-manage everyone and everything was insane. But I liked her. I liked that the reasons behind the spreadsheets was so she could keep involved in her twins lives while she was working. I don’t think they were from lack of trust of Jayne, the nanny. Melanie was a character that knew what she wanted, trusted her instincts (even when she was wrong), and loved with her whole heart.

The mystery part of the story was pretty easy to figure out. It didn’t take me long to figure out who Jayne was and why she was left Button’s house bringing her into Melanie and Jack’s lives. I was okay with that because it didn’t make the ending any less enjoyable.

The story ended with all the I’s dotted and T's crossed. There is no cliffhanger or wonder what will happen next. I’ll be looking for the next book in this series.

Oh, how I love Karen White. The writing and her ability to weave together an utterly engrossing story are top-notch. I have visited Tradd Street a few times and cannot wait to go back again. It just keeps getting better.

The Guests on South Battery is the fifth book in Karen White's Tradd Street series, one of the few series that I believe continues to get better and better as the main characters evolve and new characters enter their lives. Centered on psychic Realtor Melanie Middleton, now married to Jack Trenholm with 10-month-old twins, the novel begins as Melanie prepares to go back to work for the first time since the babies were born.

As she laments losing some clients in her specialty area of historic homes, she meets Jayne Smith, who recently inherited a home belonging to a childhood friend of Melanie's mother. Jayne is a shy, skittish young woman, and she wants nothing more than to sell the home as fast as possible. Having grown up in the foster care system, no one is quite sure why the home was left to her in the first place, but knowing from personal experience the troubles that accompany historic homes, Melanie has no qualms about helping Jayne sell. However, she wants her to see the home before making any snap decisions, and on the first tour of the property, Melanie knows something isn't quite right. Her "gift" of seeing spirits is slowly coming back to her after having the twins, and she senses an evil spirit in the house.

Being new to Charleston, the whole process of renovating and selling a historic home is a bit overwhelming, and Jayne has no job or home. This, coupled with her experience with children and glowing references, works out perfectly for Melanie, who is in desperate need of a nanny, especially since Jack is trying to work on a new book, dealing with the fallout from a previous failed book deal, and playing stay-at-home dad all at the same time. In Jayne, Melanie finds a lifesaver, but Jayne's youth and beauty, coupled with Melanie's insecurities about her post-pregnancy body, make Melanie concerned about her marriage. Meanwhile, Melanie also must deal with a cistern discovered in the backyard of her Tradd Street home, weird phone calls in the night, and her mother's desire to use their psychic abilities to help solve a cold case, as well as navigate her mother's difficult past and what it means for her own future.

There was a lot going on in The Guests on South Battery, but none of it is confusing or overwhelming. White paces the novel perfectly, and Melanie's first person narrative is always entertaining. It was nice to see Melanie coming into her own as a wife and a mother, juggling the various tasks that those roles and a full-time job entail, and realizing that she can no longer control and schedule literally every aspect or detail of her children's lives. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and recognize that you can't do it all, and perfectly at that.

As always, White does a great job making the ghostly aspects of the story seem believable and adding a bit of creepiness to balance out Melanie's humorous antics. It also was nice to see more of Melanie's best friend, Sophie, an historic homes expert who is in charge of the South Battery renovation, and Jayne was an interesting character to try to figure out. Despite piecing together the big twist before it was revealed, I loved the story.

Four stars: A creepy, ghostly mystery set in historic Charleston.

Melanie Trenholm wakes at 4:10 am to a startling phone call. When she picks up, she hears nothing, causing shivers to go down her spine. Mellie fears the caller may be a ghost. Melanie is no stranger to ghosts. She has been seeing spirits her whole life, expect for the last few months while she was pregnant. Now Melanie is set to get back to work after a lengthy maternity leave. Her first day doesn’t go as planned thanks to the early morning phone call and clothes that seem to have shrunk. When she gets to her realty office, Melanie is greeted by a Jayne Smith. Jayne recently inherited a historical old home from someone who was a complete stranger. Jayne has no idea why the house came to her, and she wants nothing to do with it. Jayne has an abhorrence to old homes. Melanie asks her to at least see the home as she knows from first hand experience the joy an old home can bring. Yet when Melanie and Jayne visit the grand old house, it appears that it may be haunted. Can Melanie figure out who is haunting the house?
What I Liked:
*Confession, going into this book, I had no idea it was the fifth book in the series. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that even though this was book five, I had absolutely no problem jumping in. I was never lost or disoriented as I think the author did a great job of incorporating enough back story information throughout the book to keep a new reader informed without weighing down the story. It is a sign of a good author and series when a writer can hook a new reader into an established series.
*I loved the setting of Charleston, especially when it came to all the historic homes. I was fascinated by the old houses, their history and how they are restored and maintained. I thought the author did an excellent job with the setting.
*I enjoyed the ghost part of the story. There were plenty of creepy moments, especially when it came to the haunted doll. Yikes! This book is packed full of spirits and the mysteries that surround them.
*I liked the relationship between Jack and Melanie. Again, I am a new comer to the series, so I didn’t see the romance unfold. In book five, Jack and Melanie are married and the parents of twins. It was evident that Jack had a lot of patience and that he truly loved Melanie. He accepted her flaws and all, put up with her insecurities and supported her always, even when it came to her ghost seeing abilities. Jack is an outstanding guy.
*The mystery and suspense in this one is solid. I enjoyed learning the history and the secrets of the old house. There were some startling and troubling truths uncovered. Some of it was downright creepy!
*The ending was good. The book ends with plenty of secrets revealed, and everything seems to, for the most part, conclude in a good spot. No big unanswered questions or cliffhanger, but there is definitely plenty to follow up on in the next book. Now to find time to go back and read the previous four.
And The Not So Much:
*I struggled a lot with Melanie. Perhaps I would have more of an affinity for her if I had read the other four books. I am not certain. Melanie is a tough sell. She is not your average character. She struggles with being uptight, insecure and she is obsessive when it comes to organization. I was like many of the characters in the book who rolled their eyes at her when it came to her spread sheet charts and labeling of things. She is a bit much. I also didn’t like how she was always quick to come to the worst conclusions, especially when it involved Jack. I hope I will like her more if I continue to read the series.
*This book touches upon a mental illness that I am not going to mention here as I would give away too much. I will say that I was not a fan at all of how the author tried to justify the reason why the character behaved the way she did. It was abhorrent what she did.
There was a secondary story line involving an old cistern that was uncovered in Melanie’s back yard. *I was disappointed that this story line seemed so important early on, only to be forgotten. In the latter half of the book, that subplot is forgotten and nothing happens with it. The final paragraphs indicated that it would be followed up on in the next book. I am not sure then why it was such a big focus in this one.
*After all was said and done, I still had questions about Button and her motives. I wish that this part of the story had gone into more depth.

The Guests on South Battery was a suspenseful and creepy good read. I was thrilled that I was able to dive in with book five of this series and that I never felt lost. I enjoyed the historical setting, the haunted house and the mystery. I was impressed with this book, and I am hoping to read more of the series, even if I did struggle a bit with the main character. There was lots to like about this one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

Melanie Trenholm is back to work from maternity leave as a real estate agent in Charleston. Her life seems very normal but her past is very unique due to her ability to communicate with ghosts. This past year her life has been ”spirit free” while spending time bonding with her twins. Her steady life starts to change when she begins to feel unsettled on her way to work. Her sleep was disturbed by a phone call that felt like a ghost. What is the significance of this new connection?

Her first day back at work went better than expected when she lands a client who wants to sell a home that she recently inherited. The client is not from the area and is not interested in owning a historical home. When the pair arrives to inspect the property, Melanie can sense an overwhelming amount of spirits. Through this connection, she convinces the new owner to renovated before selling. The mystery behind the unsettled spirits begins to unfold during the construction as Melanie encounters strange occurrences.

This book is the fifth in the series and can be read as a stand-alone. The Guests On South Battery is a very enjoyable read with elements of paranormal and mystery. I expect a further continuation of this series from Karen White.

Title: The Guests On South Battery
Author: Karen White
Publisher: Berkley
On the Shelves: Aug. 28, 2018
Format: Trade paperback, Hardcover Jan. 2017
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Price: $16.00
Pages: 337 plus reader's guide
Setting: Charleston

With the birth of her twins behind her, life seemed to be getting back to normal for Melanie Trenholm. She's ready to resume her job at the real estate office. Hubby, Jack, is busy carrying for the twins until a nanny is found. When they're sleeping, he's able to work on his next writing project.

There are two obstacles standing in the way of Melanie being able to focus on her job. One is the big hole in her backyard where a cistern was found and her friend, Sophie and her students are excavating the area. The second is a prospective client and nanny for her children has inherited a historic home in need of desperate repair. The former owner that their new nanny, Jayne Smith, inherited the home from was Button Pickney. Button had no heirs. She left her crumbling haunted house, which she adored, to Jayne, who is alone in the world. One thing not yet mentioned is that Jayne seems to leave a trail of disturbances. Make a mental note of that. Though, the disturbances were not described by former employers. Oh, and Melanie is a psychic, as well as her mother, Ginette. That alone is a recipe for possible encounters with the long departed and those still present. One can't help to think that the newly dug hole in Melanie and Jack's backyard will lead to a discovery. So, you can clearly see who the guests are in both houses.

Jayne seems highly capable to handle the demanding twins. The problem is Melanie tries to push aside her thoughts that Jack is attracted to Jayne and that's a threat to their marriage. Add on the renovation of Jayne's house so she can sell it, Sophie finding interesting things in Jayne's haunted house, Melanie's cousin appearing to be a piece of work rubbing in Jack and Melanie's face that her husband's book will be successful and there's a pretty good chance one of Melanie's twins is a psychic, as well.

What did I love about The Guests on South Battery? That it truly captured the essence of those that could not move on. Read this book at night to deepen that haunting setting that will have you trying to understand the confused, possessive and heavy-hearted emotions of the spirit unwilling to go toward judgment and release a more innocent spirit. Gaze into every mirror, watch your step on the stairway, stay out of the bathroom and please be nice to the poor cat.

Four and a snow globes out of five
Denise Fleischer
Gottawritenetwork.wordpress.com
September 6, 2018

Karen White is known for her creepy stories that will keep you up at night but I must say she outdid herself in her latest release.

White knows how to write an atmospheric story rich in Charleston history, with ghosts, both benign and malevolent around every spooky dark corner that will constantly keep you both engrossed in the storyline and on edge constantly jumping at small sounds and looking over your shoulder making sure no one is there.

Even though I haven't read the other books in the series, it took me no time at all to sink into the story comfortably without feeling like I was missing huge gaps on background or character development and I love that I was able to do that with such ease.

This story truly was done so well with mysteries unraveling as quickly as the ghosts were appearing. One that had me stopping every now and then simply because I had to turn on more lights and reassure myself that no one was breathing over my shoulder watching me.

A creepy delight that had me turning the pages and left me wanting more from Melanie and her friends and family.

This is a paranormal book that follows the life of the main character Melanie. She is about to return to work at a realty office as a realtor after being off work on an extended maternity leave. She has been getting phone calls, that when she picks up the phone there appears to be no one on the other end, and she fears that the ghostly apparitions that have remained silent for a year have returned.

She is tasked with selling a home for a woman named Jayne, who has inherited the house and wants to sell it. The house appears to be haunted by ghosts and spirits inside. Why is the house haunted?

This was the first book I have read by Karen White and although this book is part of a series, none of which I have read previously, it was not hard to keep up with what was going on in the storyline. After reading this book I am definitely interested in reading the other books in this series.

I enjoyed the storyline in this book and I loved the haunted, paranormal feel of the book. The book was written in a way to keep the reader interested from beginning to end. I found myself wanting to know what would happen next as I continued reading along and quite enjoyed reading about the various characters you meet in the book.

Why do there appear to be spirits nearby? What do they want?

You’ll have to read this book to find out.

I featured this as a spotlight on my blog, as part of a blog tour with Berkley. I have not read the previous books, and I do not want to spoil the series. But it sounds amazing.

What I Loved:
Pretty much the whole plot. I loved the old houses. I loved figuring out why Jayne was left this old house. I loved the archeology style dig in the backyard and seriously anytime anyone mentions secret passages I'm all in and ready to pull out my Nancy Drew notebook and magnifying glass.

The setting! Charleston was so well developed it was a character in it's own right. I really want to go back for a visit and gawk at all the gorgeous old houses.

The pacing. I felt like this was a pretty fast read and it was never one I had any difficulty getting into. I'd pick it up just planning to read a page or two and put it down three or four chapters later.

What Didn't Work For Me:
The characters and how they interacted with each other. This was the main thing that dropped this from a 4 star really liked to a 3 star liked it mostly rating. Where do I even start - So Melanie is over the top with the tracking the twins every move which would have been a little eye rolly but what really bothered me was how she and her husband Jack treated the whole parenting thing. Everyone has a different style of doing things but it annoyed me that Jack mocked all her charts and spreadsheets and just didn't do them but at the same time she set up this whole complex system and expected him to abide by them especially since it did seem like they were sharing caregiving. As well everyone's attitude over Melanie's weight was just plain weird. I was okay with her stepdaughter wanting her to eat healthier but all the comments from everyone around her as well as her favorite bakery refusing to sell her donuts was just weird. As well her complete denial that the reason that her clothes and shoes didn't fit wasn't because they had shrunk but because her body had changed. The twins have been around for months. What was she wearing during her maternity leave? The denial felt so complete that it was a bit bizarre. *deep breath* End Rant.

There were a few plot points that felt unresolved or just disappeared that felt a little strange. I know this is a continuing series so maybe that has something to do with it but I found it a little jarring.

Overall:
Why I do feel a little ranty about what didn't work for me I did enjoy the reading experience of the book. I loved the ghosts the discoveries, and the overall feel of the series. I wonder if the characters would have annoyed me so much if I had been a long time reader of the series. This is probably one of those series that is probably best started from the beginning but it can be enjoyed if starting here. If you love ghosts and old houses and don't mind characters that sometimes need a good shaking I think you'll enjoy this series.

"New York Times bestselling author Karen White invites you to explore the brick-walked streets of Charleston, where historic mansions house the memories of years gone by, and restless spirits refuse to fade away...

With her extended maternity leave at its end, Melanie Trenholm is less than thrilled to leave her new husband and beautiful twins to return to work, especially when she’s awoken by a phone call with no voice on the other end—and the uneasy feeling that the ghostly apparitions that have stayed silent for more than a year are about to invade her life once more.

But her return to the realty office goes better than she could have hoped, with a new client eager to sell the home she recently inherited on South Battery. Most would treasure living in one of the grandest old homes in the famous historic district of Charleston, but Jayne Smith would rather sell hers as soon as possible, guaranteeing Melanie a quick commission.

Despite her stroke of luck, Melanie can’t deny that spirits—both malevolent and benign—have started to show themselves to her again. One is shrouded from sight, but appears whenever Jayne is near. Another arrives when an old cistern is discovered in Melanie’s backyard on Tradd Street.

Melanie knows nothing good can come from unearthing the past. But some secrets refuse to stay buried...."

I really need to delve into Karen White after reading The Forgotten Room!

Thank you to Net Galley and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Another enjoyable book the Tradd Street series. Karen White writes another compelling mystery set admist the backdrop of main character Melaine's return to work after her maternity leave. Melanie is distracted dealing with her twins, trying to get her career back up and running, as well as dealing with all her insecurities surrounding her marriage after having twins.
Spirits are starting to return to Melaine as she uncovers the secrets surrounding a neighboring home that her new client and nanny has inherited. At the same time an old cistern has been unearthed in her backyard and she is roped into helping her mother solve a cold case of a young woman's death. Just a typical situation for Melaine and her family, and Karen White keeps the story moving at a fast and interesting pace.
Can't wait to see what's in store for Melaine and Jack next.

I've enjoyed this series and the mystery and even the paranormal aspect but Melanie and the drama she sometimes has can work a nerve let her deal with those issues please.

I don't usually read stories about ghosts, but I like Karen White, so I thought I would give it a try. It took me forever to get into this book. It's the fifth in a series, and I wish I hadn't read it out of order. The story did get interesting about halfway through, though, and I got into it. Overall, it was a pretty good read, and I think I might go back and read the other books in the series.

Loved this book
Didn't want it to end
Highly recommended

Miss Bates has followed the fortunes of Karen White’s heroine, Melanie Middleton, her on-again, off-again fraught relationship with writer Jack Trenholm, and her ghostly encounters, malevolent and benign, through four books. Though written in first-person narration and with a maddeningly slow-moving romance, MissB enjoyed every one, especially when they culminated in pleasing romantic conclusions. How could she pass up an opportunity to learn of Jack and Mellie’s further adventures? And how not to revisit beautiful Charleston and the vintage homes that feature in each mystery? Be warned, readers, if you haven’t read the first four books, MissB’s review of #5, The Guests On South Battery, contains spoilers. It’s inevitable when each book, while resolving the ghostly mystery at its heart, only moves Mellie and Jack’s relationship one smidgen forward. But there’s epilogue-satisfaction to The Guests On South Battery. When it opens, wife and husband, Mellie and Jack, their ten-month-old twins, JJ and Sarah, and Nola, Jack’s daughter from an earlier marriage, and now Melanie’s step-daughter, are living a good life.

In previous books, Mellie reconciled with her mother and father and yes, there is a good story there. Nevertheless, the past is a difficult country and the present South Battery volume sees Melanie Middleton-Trenholm experience new revelations about her family, even while she navigates her still-young marriage, motherhood, tendency to hide from difficult situations, still-smarting parental abandonment issues, and agonized ghosts inhabiting a house on South Battery that need putting to rest.

When the novel opens, Melanie is returning to her realtor’s practice, Jack is working on a new book, her babies are happy, healthy, and delightfully precocious, and Nola, her teen-age step-daughter, is thriving in school and establishing good friendships. Melanie’s vintage Tradd Street home continues to be a money-pit; because of its endless need for vintage repair, we are reintroduced to her Charleston-archaeology prof best friend, Sophie and Birkenstock-shod baby, Blue Skye. Sophie and her tiny family, with husband Chad, are a wonderful and fun contrast to Melanie, Jack, and brood. Melanie’s psychic mother, Ginette Prioleau, gardener father, James, as well as housekeeper, Mrs. Houlihan, and the adorbs dogs, General Lee, and puppies, Porgy and Bess, make appearances.

Into this serene picture enters one Mary Poppins-nanny, Jayne Smith. Jayne is at the centre of the novel’s mystery. She arrives in Charleston without a past. Jayne was an orphan who spent her childhood and adolescence in foster care. Though a model child, none of her foster families ever adopted her, citing “something off” about events when she was present. She has inherited a Charleston house from Button Pinckney, Ginette’s recently deceased childhood friend. True to White’s Tradd street mood, the house is beset by a ghost-child, malevolent ghost-woman, mercurial black cat, and a mystery bound up with the beautiful, loving nanny. As Melanie, Jack, Ginette, et. al. delve into the house’s history, the novel’s tension and darkness swell.

One of the reasons Miss Bates returns to White’s series is her ability to draw sympathetic secondary characters and build a world. Though hiding-under-the-covers spooky at times, White’s mysteries always conclude with a resetting of familial, communal, and historical order. Injustices in the form of lingering malevolent or benign presences, spirits, and/or ghosts are reminiscent of Simone St. James and Susanna Kearsley, two of Miss Bates’s favourite writers. Like St. James and Kearsley, White is an atmospheric adept. In a nutshell, the ghosts were really scary and yet their motivations, in the end, were believably all too-fragilely human.

Unlike White’s first four Tradd Street mysteries, South Battery started and ended strong, but had a saggy, draggy middle. Moreover, Melanie’s relentless pursuit of donuts, obsession with her weight, insecurity regarding her husband, and tendency to hide when emotional work needed to be done, inspired Miss Bates’s spinsterish peevishness. Nevertheless, it was salvaged by a crackerjack last quarter. Miss Bates will return to the series, though she resented White’s ghostly-presence sequel-bait with the novel’s HEA-conclusion at the twins’ first birthday party. Not the best of the series, but still satisfying to the reader who’s followed Mel, Jack, and company’s adventures. With Miss Austen, Miss Bates says The Guests On South Battery offers “real comfort,” Emma.

Karen White’s The Guests On South Battery was published by Berkley. It was released on January 3rd, 2017, and may be found at your preferred vendors. Miss Bates received an e-ARC from Berkley, via Netgalley.

Great installment in the Tradd Street Series! This is my favorite one so far! I really enjoyed the characters in this one and thought it had a great storyline. I loved where it took the series, especially regarding Melanie and Jack. It was great to have Nola and the twins in the spotlight too! This one revealed some secrets and kept me engrossed!

Okay, no secret that I'm a huge Karen White fan. On Folly Beach and The Forgotten Room are two of my favorites - but the Tradd Street series routinely scares the crap out of me. So why do I keep reading them? I have no idea, but I keep going back for more.

I like the characters, I like the scenery, and I like the stories. But I hate the ghosts! And this one was even worse because it's a creepy doll, and a young girl ghost and her mom. I'm getting the creeps just thinking about it again.

Melanie has a mysterious stranger show up in her office when she returns to work after a year home with her twins. It seems meant to be since she is a nanny and Melanie is looking for a nanny. Jayne moves into the house on Tradd Street with Melanie and her family.

Suddenly everyone is experiencing creative block, including Melanie who can no longer use her ghost sensing abilities, she continues to feel like a curtain has been dropped over her third eye. But Melanie isn't making the connection to Jayne, she is more worried about the relationship she feels is developing between her husband and the nanny - honestly, at times her jealousy seems pathological.

As the ghosts become more restless, the effects on Jayne and Melanie's life become increasingly difficult to maneuver. Melanie has no choice but to solve the mystery before it destroys her family.

And seriously, why do I torture myself with books that make it difficult to sleep? Every time, I say I'm never reading one of her ghost stories again, then I just fall for it all over again.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

The Guests on South Battery, the fifth book in the Tradd Street series, is predictable at best.

I have not had the opportunity to read any of the Tradd Street series until now, and though The Guests on South Battery can be read as a standalone book, I think I did myself a disservice by not reading the other installments first. The story has all of the things that I gravitate towards when choosing a book to read – a wonderful setting, a paranormal element, a little bit of romance, and a mystery to be solved. White did an adequate job of catching the reader up on the highlights of the characters that I would have learned by reading the other books, but I felt like I was missing something throughout, and thus the characters were a little flat for me. This book centers around real estate agent Melanie who is a newlywed and new mother, and she also happens to see ghosts. Back to work from maternity leave she thinks she has an easy commission coming when Jayne Smith darkens her office door. Jayne has inherited one of the most historical houses in Charleston but wants nothing to do with it. The mystery comes into play when Melanie tries to figure out why orphan Jayne inherited the house, and she senses ghosts for the first time in more than a year in the house on South Battery. But something was blocking her senses (it was far too easy to figure out what was going on). With the help of her writer husband Jack and her mother, all of the secrets were revealed.

I so wanted to enjoy The Guests on South Battery, but an annoying main character and a grossly predictable plot quickly dampened my enthusiasm. Melanie has some serious control and insecurity issues, and I think she was supposed to come across as quirky, but I found her so unlikable. Uptight is the understatement of the year. Everyone around her pretended to placate her whims and then do whatever they wanted behind her back. Though I agreed with their thinking, I found the whole situation disrespectful to Melanie and not funny. I think Jack was a good guy, but the way he handled Melanie’s supposition about a quasi-love triangle was insensitive and could have been handled so much better. Jayne’s character was appealingly mysterious in the beginning, but she, too, grew tedious.

The “mystery” was the most disappointing aspect of the book. It took too long for the ghosts in the South Battery house to really come into play, and, despite this, I figured out their identities and their story way too early in the book. I could also see Jayne’s true identity and circumstances coming from a mile away. It was all too soap opera-ish and unsatisfying. There were some secondary threads, including the cistern discovered in Melanie’s backyard and a cold case involving a classmate’s murdered sister, that were left completely open ended. Perhaps they are to be explored in a future book, but these threads were seemingly forgotten by the end of the book.

I think that The Guests on South Battery will appeal to current fans of the Tradd Street series. I do think I will go back and start at the beginning of the series and see if my opinion of Melanie and crew change.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

The Guests on South Battery continues Jack and Melanie's story as they continue to restore their house in the famous historic district of Charleston. One of the things I do recommend however, is that you read the other books in the series, even if the mysteries themselves are stand alones, to understand the dynamic between Jack and Melanie and the other characters in the series.

First of all, I love Melanie as a main character even if I want to hug her and then strangle her, all within the space of minutes. Melanie can see spirits and communicate with them and the fact she has decided to keep the historic home she has inherited is a continuing surprise to her, especially after having encountered the ghosts in her home and having vanquished the more malevolent ones. The continuing dialogue she has with her best friend, who is also restoring her home, is quite funny and I enjoy both the verbal and mental dialogue that goes with the explanations. Melanie borders on severe OCD and I don't know how Jack can deal with her at times as I found myself rolling my eyes quite often as she was dealing with her twins. Anyone who has children knows that children do not go to the bathroom on schedule, and will, in fact, be the cause of more than one delayed outing due to a messy diaper. Been there more than once! Watching Melanie relax throughout the novel because of the entry of a more relaxed nanny was a great pleasure. And I loved how Melanie's friends dealt with her obsessiveness, not quite confronting it, but not ignoring it either and coming up other ways of dealing with the problem. It created some quite funny scenes that any woman could relate to and appreciate. However, that being said, these same friends could sometimes be a bit controlling and kind of ran roughshod over Melanie a few times; now that she is married and a mother she can no longer make her own decisions and control her own life? While Melanie could be annoying at times, I did appreciate it as a way of taking back control over her own situation, although I would have liked to have seen the old, strong Melanie back again. And what is it with the scenes with Jack just kissing her and she forgets anything she was discussing and just accepts things as they are? Really? Do we have to go down that road? I'm sure there are other ways of showing how attracted Melanie is to Jack without showing that she has no brain cells left in her head?

What I especially liked in this novel was the focus on family and dealing with issues rather than on the paranormal. Oh, the paranormal was there, but it played more of a secondary role and I kind of liked that as so many of the issues in this one were not paranormal based. There was a mystery, but it was sad and easy to figure out if you paid attention. I was much more interested in the relationships, and that was easy to figure out too, it just took me a little while to figure out how and why. But everything connected. And if none of this makes sense, read the book because I would be spoiling it if I mentioned everything that was going on. I definitely liked how the author handled the ghost situation as it was a bit tragic and sad and opened up a just a little can on mental health issues. The entire mystery was a bit predictable and not up to the usual standards, but I still liked it, even if I'm not sure of the reasons behind it.

The Guests on South Battery is a good entry into the series, but it is not my favourite one. Although I love Melanie as a main character, I did find her to be somewhat annoying and obsessive in this one, not as strong as usual, controlled by those around her. And even if I didn't quite agree with her decisions towards the end, I was glad to see her take control of her life again, to be the woman she was before she married and had kids. I enjoyed the writing in this novel as always, but I did feel the mystery was a bit weak and predictable. I did love how the next book in this series was kind of interwoven into this book, and I am looking forward to the next entry.