With a heavy heart Alexandra Chandler journeys to Belle Haven Plantation. Owned for generations of the Steele family, she has come to honor her step-sister Charlotte’s last wish—that she care for her young son, Rory. Beginning with her arrival and an overturned carriage, Alexandra finds herself welcomed to her step-sister’s family yet at the same time, something just does not feel right. Strange noises in the night, nocturnal visits by unknown beings to Charlotte’s grave, a snake venturing out of a closet that it could not have possibly entered are but a few incidents that perplex Alexandra. Yet despite each incident, she finds herself drawn more and more to Matthew Steele—the husband of her late step-sister. At times Matthew seems to hold her in deep affection, yet at others an anger seems to seethe beneath the surface. As Alexandra comes closer and closer to revealing the Steeles’ secret she finds herself more and more torn in her love for Matthew. Troubling questions circle in her mind: did he steal money from Charlotte, is he plotting to harm her? What is his part in the nocturnal mystery surrounding Charlotte’s grave? 

Irene Pascoe’s Curse of Belle Haven invites the reader to a charming plantation of the old south. One can smell the magnolia blossoms, feel the electricity of a summer thunder story and hear the sounds of stone scraping against stone in the old family cemetery. The total and complete engagement of each sense is one of the hallmarks of Ms. Pascoe’s writing. Belle Haven comes to life on the pages and the reader will find he or she knows each step and hallway of the plantation. As an aficionado of old cemeteries herself, this reviewer enjoyed reading the scenes that take place in the Steele family graveyard. They are not macabre, but add an element of true gothic spookiness to a story that is already an enjoyable read. 

There is a sense of connection between Matthew and Alexandra, but not as much as this reviewer felt in other couples Ms. Pascoe has joined together in her books. There is a good sense of mystery around the cemetery, but a few more sounds in the house, perhaps another woman crying would have enhanced the build up to the surprising ending. Admittedly, more than once, this reviewer wondered if Charlotte was really dead…and what did those tears have to do with her.  

This is a perfect story to read by candle light on a dark and stormy night. As with each of Ms. Pascoe’s stories, the reader moves through time to another era, another city and feels an intricate part of each unfolding tale.

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