Larriane Wills a.k.a. Larion Wills

 

Steven jumped at the chance to see the Morning Meadow Mansion even if he had just met Caroleigh and did suspect he would have to fend off her amorous attentions for the weekend. The house, one of the few left designed by DeBain, was worth the possible discomfort, and the estate had never been open to the public. There was the added possiblity of landing the job of developing the property for a resort/hotel. Forewarned that Caroleigh's sister, Kari, was a little strange and taking his own transportation in case Caroleigh's advances became too much, he wasn't warned of possible hauntings until the party of four arrived to find themselves locked out and waiting for Kari to make an appearance.  There was no doubt Kari was remote and distant. Steven found out why and that there were many more secrets, dangerous and deadly, to the meadow than visits from the hereafter.

print or ebook: http://www.swimmingkangaroo.com

print or kindle at: http://www.amazon.com/Mourning-Meadow-Larion-Wills/dp/1934041165/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250202673&sr=1-2

Excerpt:

Candles lit the room and a fire was built, again courtesy of Kari and with the same degree of appreciation shown as there had been for the two meals she had provided for them. The four sat at a small table, Steven reluctantly. Kari's single refusal to join them had been accepted. His four attempts to refuse had been rejected. Even when Kari came in and took a seat off to the side on a delicate settee to watch in that intent way of hers, no invitations were made for her to join them at the table.

Caroleigh took charge. "We start by calling forth the spirit."

"How does one do that?" Evelyn asked.

"Here ghosty, ghosty," Edward teased, drawing a nervous giggle from Evelyn and a scowl from Caroleigh.

"Be serious or it won't work," Caroleigh ordered.

"I must say I'm not sure I want it to," Edward drawled. "He did give Emily rather a nasty start."

"Because she wasn't expecting it. It would help if we knew his name."

"I don't believe introductions were made, but one would assume it was daddy."

"One must never assume. Now join hands, close your eyes and concentrate." She waited long enough for her orders to be obeyed, then began. "Oh, spirit of the house, speak to us. Speak to us now."

They all fell into silence with the only other sound the abnormally loud ticking of a mantle clock. "Oh, spirit, speak to—"

A noise started. Low at first, it gained in volume as it drew nearer them. A sharp, irregular wail pierced the ears and a chilled cold swept over them, puckering flesh with goose bumps and causing chills.

"Oh," Evelyn gasped, letting go of hands to rub her arms and look around frantically as the sound grew in volume, heading towards them.

"Whatever…?" Edward began and strangled off with a gasp of his own.

The sound of a crash reverberated off the walls followed by a violent buck of the table beneath their hands. Edward was suddenly on his feet with another crash slamming their senses. Evelyn screamed, jumped to her feet, stood for a moment in indecision and then started to run. A split second later, she screamed again and fell with a thud to the floor. Before one scream faded, she screamed yet a third time when the room blazed into bright light.

Reviews:

This well thought out plot is heightened by several bite-sized chunks of family history, supplying the sturdy and intelligent cast of characters with credibility and warmth. The possibility that the mansion could be haunted also adds to the tension and drama, as does the pressure put upon Kari who is deeply involved with a suspect. This novel has romance, mystery, intrigue and portrays a sense of 'who done it?' to keep you hooked right through the end. Another aspect I enjoyed about this lighthearted mystery is Larion Wills' portrayal of the droll, British Edward Van Philips. He has a dry, but highly amusing sense of humour that made me smile along with him, and you can’t help noticing his heart is in the right place.

http://tjbook-list.blogspot.com/2008/02/review-mourning-meadow-by-larion-will.html

The segments of action and mystery, the character development, along with the writers unique writing style only adds to the emotions you feel while reading. I, at no time, felt the book was predictable. Even after finishing the book you almost feel there is still mystery left, and leaves you guessing.

http://www.bookpleasures.com/Lore2/idx/0/3415/article/Mourning_Meadow.html


LOVE ROMANCES AND MORE;
MOURNING MEADOW is an interesting and intriguing book. So much so, that I was so caught up in the characters and story and couldn’t stop reading until my eyes were droopy, I just had to go to sleep. The very next morning, I couldn’t wait to get back to the story to see how it ends. Those cyber pages were flying! Larion Wills gives her readers an intricate plot with leap-off-the-pages characters and a mystery that will have the reader guessing right up to the very end. The romance in this story is sweet, the main focus is on the mystery, but nevertheless, the story will certainly get the reader’s heart a-beating. I can highly recommend this wonderful story and it’s also available in print!

BookPleasures.com
I found the book to be a good read. There were no dead spots and I didn't find myself at any time disinterested. The characters were believable and endearing. The plot flowed well, so much so that every time an incident was over another was thrown at you. What I liked most about the book was the romance element didn't overuse gushy verses or overdo scenarios to where you felt like skimming through them. The segments of action and mystery, the character development, along with the writers unique writing style only adds to the emotions you feel while reading. I, at no time, felt the book was predictable. Even after finishing the book you almost feel there is still mystery left, and leaves you guessing.
I look forward to reading more books from her in the future.

Review for:

Mourning Meadow, by Larion Wills

ISBN: 9781934041161, Publisher: Swimming Kangaroo Books

 

 

After reading the book Mourning Meadow, by Larion Wills, I am, overall, impressed. Larion Wills, a pseudonym for Larriane Wills writes in the romantic fiction and sci-fi genres. She has books in print and ebooks.

This book is a work of romantic suspense with a ghost story thrown in. It centers around four main characters; Kari, Steven, Caroleigh, and Edward. Steven, with ulterior motives came to the Meadow to see the grand mansion and its estate. He found Kari, a remote and reclusive woman with secrets she wasn’t ready to reveal. Her sister, Caroleigh, at first a rather wicked woman and a bit of a snob is masking her true feelings as a defense mechanism. Edward, the English jokester and friend of Caroleigh is caught in the middle and just trying to survive the weekend. These four people, of which don’t even appear to like each other are swiftly thrown into a murder mystery. They need to get past their differences to find out who exactly it is that wants them dead and why, or no one will be leaving the Meadow. Amongst the chaos there is a budding love attraction between Steven and Kari, as well as Edward and Caroleigh.

While reading this book I found a few misspellings and minor grammatical errors. With the rich family history it was a bit overwhelming trying to keep the deceased characters straight. At times, the dialog can be difficult to follow, and I often had to reread a sentence to be sure I understood what the author was trying to get across. It could use a little editing.

In saying that, I found the book to be a good read. There were no dead spots and I didn’t find myself at any time disinterested. The characters were believable and endearing. The plot flowed well, so much so that every time an incident was over another was thrown at you. What I liked most about the book was the romance element didn’t overuse gushy verses or overdo scenarios to where you felt like skimming through them. The segments of action and mystery, the character development, along with the writers unique writing style only adds to the emotions you feel while reading. I, at no time, felt the book was predictable. Even after finishing the book you almost feel there is still mystery left, and leaves you guessing.

I look forward to reading more books from her in the future.

 

Kelly Moran,

Author and Reviewer