A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner
Reviewed by Lori Twichell, Radiant Lit
Genre:
Publisher: Random House
Date: October 4, 2011

Adelaide lives in a house that everyone thinks is haunted. Even though professed psychics, neighbors, and even family members believe that the house has a spirit walking around, Adelaide doesn’t believe it and no amount of talk will change her mind. When her grandson-in-law remarries and brings his new wife into the house to live with Adelaide and his children, it opens up a whole new set of issues. The least of these is how to blend a family together.

Marielle is from another state and more often than not, it feels like she’s from a whole other universe. Her new husband is used to living with the civil war all around them and people speaking like it just happened yesterday, but coming from Arizona, Marielle isn’t used to anything like this. Throw into the mix that she’s moved across the country, must deal with his dead wife’s memory and learn how to be a stepmother – a haunted house just seems to be a bit over the top doesn’t it? But when strange things start happening around the house and neighbors begin to warn her of danger at every turn, what can Marielle do?

And then there’s Susannah. Though her story ended long before Adelaide and Marielle met, she is still very much a vital character in this tale. You see, it’s supposedly Susannah’s ghost that is still hanging around the mansion. According to rumors, she’s trying to work her way through some choices she made in her life. Susannah’s reputation has lasted centuries as a Civil War spy for the North. This would make Susannah a traitor to everything she’s ever known in her southern roots. What’s the true story behind Susannah’s Civil War adventures and if the truth is discovered, will the house finally be free from the rumors of ghosts and haunting?