The Girl on Legare Street

This book grabbed me from the first page. Ghosts? A mother that deserted you for 30 years? And, an on again, off again boyfriend. Well worth the late hours I spent reading.

This is the 2nd book in the series. Melanie is continuing to work on the renovations to her house and work as a realtor. When her estranged mother returns to town and asks her to help buy their old family home, Melanie resists. But there is a dark presence within the house and only by working with her mother, Ginette, with their combined psychic energy, do they have a chance of standing against it. When a boat with a connection to the family is found with human remains in a chest, they begin searching the records of the past to find out the truth. While Jack is back in her life, a former girlfriend, now a reporter, is becoming a thorn in Melanie’s side and may have her own motives for writing about Melanie’s family. This was an excellent addition to the series and I look forward to the next book.

Karen White is a truly gifted writer. Her turn of a sentence, the use of unexpected words, the antidotal comments bring these characters and their situations to life in the most entertaining way. I especially appreciate her sense of humor and imagination. I'm so thankful for good writing that makes you feel as if you are an unmentioned character in the story living right along with them. I have read all five books and loved the entire series and am sorry there isn't somewhere to go after this that is just as much fun to read. I really miss these characters and cannot seem to find another book that I enjoy as much, even other Karen White books! I agree that the character Melanie can grate on you, but the poor woman has been through a lot. She has grown up with boogiemen and women in her house where she should be able to feel safe, but she never feels safe. Her mother leaves her at a tender age when she is too young to make any sense of it, her father who could be a comfort is instead an alcoholic she must endure and take care of and worse, accuses her of making up her ability to see dead people and so she lives with fear and danger. There is no-one to turn to for comfort or protection since no one believes her. She is forced to hide her true self from her father and school children who taunt her. Her grandmother is murdered, she is taken from her home and raised in a foreign country when her father is sent to Japan. There is never anyone to confide in. Everyone she should have had to comfort her is unavailable either physically or emotionally. Trust was not a luxury she ever experienced. Her emotional growth was stunted at age 6 and she has not matured emotionally past it. I am able to forgive her for being so abrasive and her inability to understand how deeply she can hurt other's feelings because she feels she has never mattered enough to believe she can. If this were a real person and all these things really happened to her, it would be amazing that she functions at all. I do hope if there is a 6th book that she will make progress and be a truly loving wife and a loving example for her children. I believe she feels she is a failure at everything except her job and her spreadsheets so that is where she finds gratification and where she finds comfort and control. If she is ever healed of her past she will be able to live a much fuller and happier life. I hope the story will allow her to finally be truly happy and move forward so people aren't so put off by this character.

The House on Tradd Street was one of two Karen White books I picked up on a whim. Since then I've been reading them all. And frankly I found The Girl on Legare Street to be better than The House on Tradd Street. I am also very happy to know that they are both part of a series.Melanie is just starting to get her life back together after dealing with three ghosts in a house she inherited. But her mother coming back, with premonitions of a ghost ship rising, has her thrown in turmoil yet again. She does not want to work with, or deal with, her mother at all but winds up selling her their old family house on Legare Street, and also winds up moving in due to ongoing work at her own home.It turns out that there is a vengeful spirit residing at Legare Street, who has been there for well over a hundred years just biding her time and growing stronger. After the boat is raised she strays away from the back stairwell and follows Melanie wherever she can, even to Melanie's own house.As always I love Karen's character work. I think it really stands for an author's ability to write if I feel the main character is still a witch but will read through the book anyway. I was glad to see Jack back, and I just want him and Melanie to hurry up and get together already! I was also glad to see the return of Marc Longo, and the bickering between him and Jack as well.The character of Rebecca bothered me from the start. She has a good deal to do with the plot. She comes off as bubbly and cheerful, but to me she also comes off as sneaky and a user. Ginette, Melanie's mother, is a strong medium. Between the two of them they do manage to vanquish the evil presence in the house but it takes a lot. Ginette is the complete opposite of their daughter and while the two clash, they also eventually bond.I also loved Wilheim, the Hessian ghost who has protected the women of Melanie's family for generations. He starts off just as a scent and a slightly visible presence but throughout the book he grows and also adds a good deal to the plot. His leaving was a sad part of the book for me because I did grow to like him very much.The only things I was unhappy about was the romantic scenes between Wilheim and Melanie. I found them very unbelievable. I also hate the ending, a huge cliffhanger that will leaving me waiting until next year!

Love this series. Love all of Karen White books I’ve read so far…quickly became a top author for me. Southern, historical fiction with a paranormal twist.

The quirky characters from book one developed even more in book two,holding one’s interest.Architectural and Supernatural details seem authentic, plot moved quickly. Highly recommend, couldn’t put it down.

I enjoyed this book,but did not think it was as good as book 1. It took me a while to get into,but perhaps it was because I was reading it on the plane while going on holiday and there were too many other distractions.! All of the Tradd Street books are worth a read.

Karen White is great her books are a great escape and an easy read. Love these two characters - they make me smile. Very well written.

"The Girl on Legare Street" is the second in a projected series of novels about Melanie, a thirty-nine-year-old Southern realtor who sees ghosts. While the ghosts in "Legare Street" are just as improbable as they were in the previous novel, with a climax that really is over the top, Melanie's motivation is more clearly defined than before, and, as in "The House on Tradd Street," all the characters--even General Lee, her precocious little dog--are well-developed and realistic. The book is quite humorous at times, but the story, overall, is darker and more frightening than "Tradd," since it centers upon Melanie's own family secrets, both her mother's and those of long-dead relatives from the past.If you are willing to suspend disbelief, you will, very likely, enjoy the slow revelation of the mystery and White's gift for creating characters that feel like friends.

Muy entretenido

I read this book before but forgotten how the story goes. It is as good as the first time andwaiting for the new release in Jan, 2017. Service is great as always.