4.5 stars for this latest multi-timeline gothic romantic suspense from Jaime Jo Wright! The Queen of Macabre has drafted another luscious tale. This one was actually a triple timeline, starting with the young girl in 1801 shortly after the castle was built, Daisy in 1870 and Cleo in current day. All 3 of the heroines are dealing with some element of brokenness - both Daisy and Cleo are running from their pasts and find a haven in the castle where the young girl grew up in the shadow of a terrifying specter. And there is mystery and terror within still. As they both seek to understand the mysterious happenings at Castle Moreau and the women who have been rumored to vanish in the vicinity of the castle, the intensity and fear increase. Of course, there are dashing heroes in the mix, though they were not fleshed out quite as much as the heroines. As is her norm, in the midst of the suspense and creepiness, Ms. Wright shines a light in the darkness. She tends to cover some pretty serious topics and this one is no different as she shines the light on the topic of abuse and offers hope.

I enjoyed both of the main story lines and the throwback to the young girl. The authoress in the 1870 timeline felt a bit like Ms. Wright was creating an exaggerated form of herself. I thoroughly enjoyed reading a gothic horror novelist's take on a gothic horror authoress. Both Daisy and Cleo were likable and relatable, both in their brokenness and their means of seeking a way out of it. I also appreciated that though there was romance included in both timelines, it was relatively minimal. I enjoyed the lore and mystery surrounding the castle as well. It almost made the castle seem like another character in the book. And I do always appreciate when authors include pets in their novels. Cleo has a cat named Murphy, who adds a bit to the dynamic of the book. My only complaint about this one is that there was 1 conversation that could have been had in both timelines before things escalated that would have significantly reduced the trauma that the heroines underwent to solve the mystery. However, if that conversation was had, there would not have been a story, I suppose. All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read and it's one I would recommend to fans of romantic suspense, dual timeline novels, gothic horror novels and fans of Jaime Jo Wright in general since she's in a class all her own.

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of this novel. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I could not put this book down! The mystery that surrounded Castle Moreau captured my attention from the beginning. I enjoyed the parallel storylines of the female protagonists. The revealing at the end was very satisfying. I would defiinely recommend this book!

A haunting legend. An ominous curse. A search for a secret buried deep within the castle walls.

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau
by Jaime Jo Wright
Pub Date: 04 Apr 2023


In 1870, orphaned Daisy François takes a position as housemaid at a Wisconsin castle to escape the horrors of her past life. There she finds a reclusive and eccentric Gothic authoress who hides tales more harrowing than the ones in her novels. As women disappear from the area and the eerie circumstances seem to parallel a local legend, Daisy is thrust into a web that could ultimately steal her sanity, if not her life.

In the present day, Cleo Clemmons is hired by the grandson of an American aristocratic family to help his grandmother face her hoarding in the dilapidated Castle Moreau. But when Cleo uncovers more than just the woman's stash of collectibles, a century-old mystery and the dust of the old castle's curse threaten to rise again . . . this time to leave no one alive to tell the sordid tale.

Award-winning author Jaime Jo Wright seamlessly weaves a dual-time tale of two women who must do all they can to seek the light amid the darkness shrouding Castle Moreau.

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau is suspenseful, delightful, engrossing, mysterious, and intriguing with a HUGE heap of insanely good storytelling. I'm expecting Jaime Jo to win some big awards for this one. LOVED the themes of self-sacrifice redemption and unconditional love. She's a master of her craft.

“Women have been known to visit Castle Moreau…They do not return.”

“Beauty is found in walls of stone, beauty where love begins.”

“She was going to die. Here in Castle Moreau. And then she, too, would vanish.”

One of these days, I might read a Jaime Jo Wright book that disappoints…but today is not that day. The Vanishing at Castle Moreau is a gothic tale at its best. The atmosphere, the mystery, the creepiness: all done very well with great pacing. This book was part Jane Eyre, part Poe, part Netflix’s version of the Haunting of Hill House, and part A&E’s Hoarders. Strange combination? Yes! But it works.

As always, Wright does a fantastic job of complex characters that are flawed and realistic. And of course, there is her patented time slip of past and present that she weaves together perfectly. And oh yeah, and there is a creepy ghostly woman with a crooked hand wandering around a Midwest Castle 😱! There is some romance but not too much and never cringey. This one has a great mystery aspect that you will only figure out once you reach the final chapters. Very satisfying. Some moments might be a little far fetched, but I still loved every moment of it.

I received this book free from publisher Bethany House and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow!!!! My head is spinning!! That may be one of the most original twists I’ve ever read!!! I never saw that coming! It never even crossed my mind!!! And what an ending it was!!! All the points for that!

Jaime never fails to provide beautiful, complex, deeply flawed characters with plenty of growth and development and the characters in this one are no exception! Cleo’s journey is just so complex and so good!! (It is however fairly intense and heavy, so be warned. If you want any further info about that, feel free to DM.) And the suspense thread will keep you turning pages until the end! As usual, I was thinking there’s no way she can explain this well!! But in typical Jaime style, she brings in a solution from complete left field, that is not only surprising, but also completely explains everything so well!!!!

Impressive as always. Don’t miss it when it comes out in early April!!

Thanks Bethany House Fiction and NetGalley for the ARC. I was only requested to provide an honest review in return, and honestly, this is absolute must read!!

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau
by Jaime Jo Wright
Pub Date: April 4, 2023
Bethany
Thanks to the author, Publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
I have found this author to be one of my favorites.
A haunting legend. An ominous curse. A search for a secret buried deep within the castle walls.
The atmosphere of this book and dual timeline are such a treat!
I always read at night and I was on the edge of my seat!! I scare easily so this was a great read for me.
Beautiful story!~ Green has done it again!
5 stars

Wow! I don't really know how to describe how I feel about this book. This is the first book I have read by this author. If her other books are like this I can see how she won a Daphne DU Maurier award. I will be looking for more by her.

This is a multi time novel, with multi points of view, all surrounding a castle in a small town in Wisconsin. The characters are well defined, and you feel their emotions. You can feel their pain, their hopes, and, honestly, their terror.

I don't want to give to much away, there are so many layers here. If you enjoy any type of gothic mystery, any type of multi time stories, or a good, clean read, you will enjoy this. It may keep you up at night, but in the end, it is worth it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via netgalley.com for an honest review.

Wow! What a creepy book!! And the ending was not exactly what I expected... Don't be surprised if you have some nightmares or crazy dreams while reading this! :) I may or may not have had some myself! Daisy is probably my favorite character, although I like Cleo too.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance e-copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The Vanishing of Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright is a thrilling, gothic style novel. I love spooky stories. With deeply atmospheric characters who were fully developed, Wright crafts characters that dug deep into a readers physic. From the first chapter, Wright dives right into the challenging setting and allows her readers to get lost in the mystery surrounding the castle. I love old castles. History. Especially when horrible things have happened there. Wright does a wonderful job at inviting readers into the cold, chilly setting of the castle. Her descriptions were wonderfully written. Readers will visualize the dark castle as readers follow Cleo and Daisy through the hollowed and dark hallways. I flipped through the pages of the story at a fast pace and finished the novel in one day. If readers enjoy historical houses with secret passages and abnormal characters, then this is the story for you. I have loved all of Wright's stories, and I hope she keeps writing for a long time. Great for a historical and suspense lover like me.

I received a complimentary copy of The Vanishing of Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

I am a long-time fan of Jaime Jo Wright and her ability to craft spooky stories. She's an enigma in Christian fiction. I mean, who would pair ghost stories and Christianity? Jaime Jo always has an answer for the 'ghosts', although The Vanishing at Castle Moreau might have you questioning that truth throughout the story.

I do feel it best to start this review with a disclaimer. This book contains multiple 'triggers' and I don't want to spoil anything that happens, but I am going to list the those in the content section below. I have included that in here because I know there are readers who will want to understand better if they are a good fit for this book or not.

I'm going to share what I liked vs. what I didn't enjoy as that will best fit my reading experience.

What I Liked:
- Really loved Cleo and her timeline. I would actually get disappointed when we left her timeline because I was so invested in it!
- There are topics discussed here that I don't see often in CF. This was both a great thing (more exposure to real life) and a not so good thing for me personally (but more on that below).
- This was such an absorbing read! I started reading it could not put it down! I think it took me about 2 hours overall from start to finish.
- It's not as grisly as some of her other books.
- This has all the hallmark touches of JJW's unique writing style.

What I Didn't Enjoy:
- This is the first JJW book I've read where I didn't like the past timeline. I just got so disturbed and would skim through those parts.
- As I said, this book touches on topics I don't see very much in CF. That's a good thing! But it also really disturbed me (I keep saying that, but that's how I felt...)
- I'm speaking vaguely here but I didn't understand what one of the male characters saw in the female love interest.

Overall Thoughts:
I thought the story itself was very well done, and would be between a 4 - 4.5. My personal rating is 3 because I was quite disturbed. I've never read Jane Eyre but this book references it several times and it does give off the vibes of Jane Eyre (from my limited knowledge). I'm sad because this is the first JJW that I didn't enjoy, but I have half a book shelf full of hers that I do love so this isn't the author or anything; I just didn't love this particular book. I do think longtime fans of JJW will love this book!

*I received a copy of The Vanishing at Castle Moreau from the publisher via Netgalley. A positive opinion was not required. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.

Content Notes:
- triggers: domestic/familial abuse, child abuse, alcoholism/recovering alcoholic
- one character gets drunk
- some medical stuff that could unnerve those who are more squeamish

This is my first Jamie Jo Wright and I am pleased to have a new author to stalk for new releases. I’m convinced she is the gothic atmosphere QUEEN! The story telling and how each dual timeline chapter layered with the next was just seamless. I was on the edge of my seat or more like my bed haha I read my kindle at night only so I really had myself freaked out… also I scare very easily… just when I thought I had everything worked out the mystery would twist and turn and have me on a new path I wasn’t even suspecting. Beautiful writing, unforgettable story as well as characters! Looking forward to more books by this amazing author!

1870 Wisconsin

Fleeing her past, Daisy François accepts a position as housemaid at an isolated castle. As she comes to know the eccentric owner and the haunting legend surrounding the place, Daisy finds she may have traded one set of horrors for another.

Present day

Hired by the grandson of a wealthy family, Cleo Clemmons arrives at Castle Moreau tasked with sorting through everything the aging matriarch has hoarded. Amongst the boxes and stacks of dusty knick-knacks and all-but-forgotten history, Cleo uncovers a terrifying mystery. For a century, women have vanished from the castle, and she might be next.

With haunted corridors, mysterious sounds, and ghostly figures, The Vanishing at Castle Moreau possesses everything one would hope for from a gothic tale. Jaime Jo Wright continues to show why she is the queen of this genre.

This book is different than Wright’s previous ones. I won’t say more than that due to spoilers, but I will say it ensured that I hunted for ghosts in all the wrong corners and was happily outsmarted.

Out of all Wright’s heroines, Daisy and Cleo are the most paralleled to date. I did mix them up and get confused a couple times in the beginning, but once I realized this fact and got to know their characters, I quickly sorted out their threads.

Although a gothic and atmospheric read through-and-through, The Vanishing at Castle Moreau isn’t quite as creepy as some of the author’s previous works. This would probably be a good place to start for readers who have wanted to try one of Wright’s titles but have been hesitant till now. But whether new or returning, mystery fans are in for a treat of castle proportions.

Can't go wrong on a Jaime Jo Wright book!
I loved every minute of this book.I will tell you that this a dual-timeline book.
I loved how she puts pieces of the story together to make a great read!
Your imagination will run rampant for sure and certain!
Lots of mystery, twists and turns that will keep u wanting to turn the pages to see what happens next.
Just a little creepy but not much just enough.
I couldn't put the book down! Daisy had a story to tell and hers was my favorite.
This novel will leave you thinking about these characters long after the story is finished.
5 stars for some brilliant writing and for drawing me in from the beginning.
I highly recommend.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This might actually be my favorite JJW book to date! I loved the story and that it was mysterious without being creepy and super weird or other worldly (in a bad way). I was proud of myself for actually figuring out what was going on in the latter quarter of the book, and that just added to the interest. Although there were three point of views written in this book, the earliest one was always pretty short so that made it easy to keep up with the book. I think if the chapters of that voice were longer it would have bogged down the book and made it harder to read. Can't wait for her next book and to see if it surpasses this one!