Publication Date: April 4, 2023
A haunting legend. An ominous curse. A search for a secret buried deep within the castle walls.
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.
“Wright (The Souls of Lost Lake) captivates with a thrilling tale of two women who get caught up in the secrets of a Wisconsin castle…The twisting, fast-moving plot is loaded with secrets, and the characters remain morally ambiguous until the end. Readers won’t want to put this down.”— Publisher’s Weekly
“Wright (The Premonition at Withers Farm) pens another delightfully creepy tale where nothing is quite as it seems and characters seek freedom from nightmares both real and imagined.”— Library Journal
“Jaime Jo Wright never disappoints, and The Vanishing at Castle Moreau is no exception. With real, flawed characters who grapple with real-life struggles, this gripping suspense novel will draw readers in from the very first page. Good luck putting it down. I couldn’t.”— Lynette Eason, bestselling author of the Extreme Measures series
The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright is a Gothic novel with a bit of romance. The storyline encompasses three parallel stories: one in the early 1800s, one about 1870, and one set in the present day. All three stories are set in a castle built in Wisconsin and involve different members of the Moreau-Tremblay family.
In the two main stories, a young woman comes to work at the castle and becomes embroiled in the family mysteries. The flow of the book is a little confusing as the chapters jump from one time period to another. However, the chapters are clearly identified, and the reader soon comes to grasp the relationship between the three entwined stories.
It has been a long time since I’ve read a true Gothic novel. This one totally fits the bill—heroine(s) without a family, mysterious hero(es), eccentric relative(s), a large creepy house, and maybe ghost(s).
The best thing about the story is that it continually propelled me forward to the very end. The mystery was complex and unusual. In true gothic style, the story was hair-raising but not horrifying. There was also a sympathetic message to the book that I didn’t expect.
The Vanishing at Castle Moreau has just the right touches of terror and mystery with both historical and modern elements.
Jaime Jo Wright is the author of eight novels, including Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award-winner The House on Foster Hill and Carol Award winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She’s also the Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestselling author of two novellas. Jaime lives in Wisconsin with her cat named Foo; her husband, Cap’n Hook; and their two mini-adults, Peter Pan and CoCo.
