Cecily is left and orphan at a very young after witnessing her mothers tragic death which coincided with the appearance of a horrific wraith. Cecily is plagued by these events for years and then receives news that a relative in France desires to meet with her. Enroute to France the dreadful wraith appears to Cecily again and she barely escapes the incident alive. The story continues with the history of the wraith coming to light. I enjoyed the audiobook immensely, my only complaint is being left wondering why the wraith was unsatisfied after everything.

40% in - I think I am going to DNF. I really tried, but I've been trying for days to make myself pick it up again, and I just don't care. There’s nothing about the story that makes me want to read more. Maybe it gets better as the book goes on, but I’d rather be reading something I enjoy more.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC of Wraith by Mark Wheaton in exchange for an honest review.

This should be listed as a fantasy, not horror. It was not frightening at all. Perhaps if I had read, rather than listened, it would have been a different experience. Thank you to NetGalley and Southbound for an ALC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The beginning of this book is slow and I thought I might not make it through. but the story starts to pick up as the main character begins her search and I was pulled in. The ending was a bit oblique leaving the reader to decide what they really think. The narration was good and was able to carry the tension in the story.

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.
This book is for anyone who is a fan of supernatural horror/thrillers! I was immediately drawn to this book from the moment I read the synopsis, I’m a sucker for any spooky books where an unknown dying relative has some cryptic need to see the main character immediately. I enjoyed this book very much from the setting, to the characters, and especially watching Cecily fight against time to stop her families terrifying long curse before it gets her! This book was easy to listen to, the narrator did a great job of keeping me interested and the authors writing consistently keep the plot building with the impending doom that haunted Cecily and the characters around her. I was fully invested in learning about the LeClercq family history right along with the main character and found the added bits about France’s history to be a great addition by the author. I was slightly underwhelmed by the ending but not enough to lower my rating. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others! Thank you again NetGalley and Southbound for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

A legendary family plagued by a curse. What led to it, and can it be ended? Cecily LeClercq grows up in the remote Carolina wetlands after witnessing her mother’s death at a young age. However, when a Parisian stranger arrives saying a distant, elderly relative is desperate to see her before she dies, she travels back to an old chateau deep in the French woods. There she discovers an ancient curse that has consumed generations of her ancestors, personified by a vicious, ghostly wraith who emerges from the forest when a LeClercq’s death is imminent.

Tracing her family tree and following the family of endangered wild oaks, she discovers the dark secrets of LeClercqs, including the identity of the true Countess LeClercq.

3.5 stars

Ooooookay, well. Some parts of this one thoroughly creeped me out; if I’d been able to read it a bit sooner (leading up to Halloween), it would’ve been quite fitting. Some of the descriptive imagery really got me, so, well done to the writer. The story itself was kind of fun. There were some twists and turns, and the ending was interesting, if a bit implausible/over the top. I was left with a few questions, but that’s fine. For the most part, I enjoyed this creepy, suspenseful read.

I really enjoyed listening to this one. It is fast paced with a lot of twists and a decent ending.

Cecily LeClercq is living a very satisfying life as a photographer of plant life in South Carolina. She was made an orphan when she was young after a traumatic event took her mother. A long lost family member has called on her to visit her in France and she decides to go, but before getting to meet her she also dies in a tragic event. This leads Cecily on the path to discover what is connecting her family to these awful events and if she is also cursed.

The narrator of the audiobook Annalee Scott did a great job working with all of the French accents of the characters it felt casual and pleasant to listen to.

My favorite parts of the story was the constant movement of the storyline and twists in the plot that made me question where it was going to end up. I have always wanted to visit the catacombs in France and enjoyed that they found a place within this story, although I wanted more!

It turns out the family is cursed. But why? You’ll have to find out for yourself. The descriptions of the death scenes and wraith herself were very visual and I was impressed with the vocabulary used to describe things. I haven’t had to look up words while reading in awhile and learned a few new ones that for some reason made it feel more interactive for me.

I give it a three (and a half) stars, looking forward to reading other books by this author.

Audiobook provided by Southbound and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I loved how descriptive the author throughout the story and I really feel like this helped create the "horror" of the story. Cecily was to inherit family land/money upon the dying wish of a relative she doesn’t know. She arrives in France to solve the long family mystery of why a Wraith is killing off her family and how she can stop it from killing her. Along the way it felt like I learned all this unnecessary history that may not be true. I am not even sure if it added value to why the wraith was haunting her family even after all her efforts to bring peace. This might be first “horror” and I can say that was there in the book and so was the thrill. However I feel like the story bounced around alot. This definitely felt longer that the 9 hr audio production. I do not feel like the story needed to drag out as long as it did. I also felt like the ending didn’t solve anything for me. I felt like this is National Treasure mixed with some paranormal concepts.

This is not a book for me. The mc feels like most sad thriller characters with the same tragic backstory. It was slow and the scare was not there. I also feel like I've seen the inheritance of a house or money from some family member that the mc has never heard of one too many times. Overall I do not see myself picking up reads from this author again. But if someone ever asks me for a book rec like this then at least I know what to recommend to them.

Enjoyed this story. It was a first from this author. Perfect mix of gothic horror and a little thrill. Not too creepy but good for a fall spooky read.

The writing gave me the scene that I was actually there. Especially in the woods. 😳 Such a creepy but interesting setting. I would love to see all the plants and trees that were mentioned!

This was a decent book. It was written pretty well, but I was not able to get into the narration as much as I needed to be immersed in the story. I wasn't able to gel with most of the characters either. There were bright moments for me. The wraith gathering people to act in her behalf, the little mysteries, things like that. But there were other times that I felt the story got muddied and I was not able to flesh out where it wanted to take me. Hard to explain, but essential the life of the story seemed to be undecided in the intent and direction. Anyway, like I said, it wasn't a bad story. There were just a few things that kept me from giving it a 4*.

Spook factor 10! This book was creepy! It was exciting! It was fun! I was thrilled to catch an audio version just in time to start listening on Halloween! Let's just say I listened to the entire story in a day and a half (we did have to find time to trick or treat afterall)! The cover caught my attention first! Love it! The reviews were mixed, but I was ready to give it a fair shot and I am so glad I did! The narrator did a fantastic job and she was easy to listen to. I loved all the French words, accents and atmospheres. I could literally see the book playing out in my head like a movie. I enjoyed the characters, Renee, the Frenchman, may have been my favorite! The plot unfolded with enough of the scare factor (specifically in scenes of the wraith showing themselves), and a sense of mystery as Cecily had to try to find answers before she was consumed by the family curse. I would love to recommend this book audio or not- to anyone looking for a good horror/thrill read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a free copy in exchange for my honest review!

Wraith is a great Halloween selection for all those who love a ghostly, zombiesque, things go bump in the night read. Our poor MC, Cecily, doesn't like crowds or people much since witnessing the death of her mother as a child. She prefers her botanicals. But when a distant relative located in Paris beckons her to come to Paris, she reluctantly agrees. Without giving it all away, Cecily learns the hard way her family is cursed and the apparitions begin to haunt and kill in earnest. It is up to her to break the curse, or die trying.
Good narration that allowed me to visualize the Wraiths and feel the panic of Cecily. I also loved that the story didn't back away from the supernatural all the way to the ending.

Thank you to publisher and Netgalley for access to my copy. All opinions are mine.

I enjoyed this book. I didn't think I would at the beginning but as everything began unraveling and falling into place it made it hard to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was the perfect creepy read on Halloween. I loved the spooky wraith and the role she played. This book was gripping and scary. This was a fun read.

This started off in such a way that I could not stop reading to see what this Wraith was all about. But the deeper I got into the story I began to get lost, not in a good way. The story began to bounce all over the place, from paranormal to ordinary back to paranormal. I still don't know if the curse of the Wraith was real of Cecily's overactive omagimation or mental illness. Worth a read if you have nothing else to do.
The audiobook version was well read and helped with the unfamilar french words.
Thanks to @netgalley for the oppertunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

The main character, Cecily, was a little rough in the beginning but I really enjoyed watching her growth from a near recluse to a much braver woman running around Paris trying to solve a mystery. The secondary characters were a lot of fun and added a lot to the story. The wraith itself wasn't terribly frightening, but the story kept me enthralled waiting to see who she would strike next. I listened to the audiobook and I really liked the narrator. I will definitely be looking for more from this author and this narrator in the future!

Wraith by Mark Wheaton is a gothic ghost thriller read by Annalee Scott. Set between the Carolina wetlands and the French Woods near Paris. Cecily has a familial curse that spans generations. As a young girl she watches her mother die in a that is suicide. But was it really suicide or was the apparition hunting them to blame?

I like how the plot is setup with the generational tidbits that piece together a history as dark and decrepit as the wraith stalking the LeClercqs. I enjoyed the narration by Annalee, especially when she brings to life Rene. The horror scenes played out like a movie in my head. I do feel this fits more a thriller with touches of haunting dispersed throughout.

Some scenes were slow, or out of place but overall I enjoyed this edition to my Spooktober TBR.

2.5 stars
Witnessing the murder of your mother is a terrible fate. For Cecily LeClercq, who was an event that would shape her life. Cecily decides to hide herself away until she receives a missive from a stranger telling her a relative was dying and wants to see her.

She decides to travel to France but even before that she sees an apparition that seemed to bring menace. Little does Cecily know but this apparition, this wraith, was tasked to bring death and destruction to the LeClerq family. Why though was this the case?

While the narrator did a fine job with the story, the story itself had uneven times, some being promising and others being dull. Certainly, not what I was expecting from a story that I so wanted to set me in the Halloween mood.

Perhaps this story might make a decent movie, but for me it unfortunately did not work to well.

Thank you to Mark Wheaton, Annalee Scott (narrator) and NetGalley for the audio version of this story due out December 3, 2022