Book Review: A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner

This is the first book I've read by Susan Meissner and I must say that I enjoyed the unique way she wove together historical events and characters with a present-day story. This book started with people living in current-day Fredericksburg, Virginia. Having visited there, I found Meissner's descriptions to be charmingly accurate. As the story evolves, we find that the family living in Holly Oaks, a home with a Civil War past are haunted by events the family experiences in the distant past as well as their own more recent experiences and decisions.

Marielle has arrived at Holly Oaks, filling the figurative shoes of her deceased granddaughter. Adelaide's grand-son-in-law and his two children continued to live at Holly Oaks after the death of Adelaide's granddaughter some years before. So, you see, the story is quite involved and encompasses a myriad of engaging characters.




I have lived in a Civil War home myself and have been annoyed by constant questions about whether we had ghosts. I don't believe in them, and was disturbed (for a while) about where this book was going in talking about Civil War activist Susannah Page, who was an ancestor of Adelaide, the current matriarch living at Holly Oaks. Adelaide lives under a dark cloud of oppression which she believes is some sort of curse which all the women of her family end up under. But as the story continues, we find out the true depth of the issues involved in Susannah's supposed treachery during the Civil War. Adelaide also needs to come to terms with her own issues and how they are affecting the family. She eventually finds that the ghosts she must deal with are far different than what she assumed.

I will be looking for more books by Susan Meissner for her unique "Christian redemption meets historical romance" blend.

I received a complementary copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers in return for an honest review.