The Vanishing at Castle Moreau
A short prologue set in 1801 introduces a young girl visited by a woman with a scarred hand whom she knows isn’t a dream. In the present day, Cleo Clemmons flees her demons and her life to take a job offered by Deacon Tremblay, American royalty, to help his grandmother, Virgie, sort the family estate of Castle Moreau, a French chateau in the woods of Wisconsin that has a reputation for swallowing local women.
In 1871, Daisy François, an orphan fleeing her foster home, learns in her own way about the rumors surrounding Castle Moreau when she rescues a young girl from a trap. When Elsie disappears, Daisy isn’t sure she can trust the mysterious Ora Moreau, who writes bestselling horror fiction, or her forbidding grandson, Lincoln Tremblay, who poses another mystery. In both timelines, both women fear the shadows of the castle will reach out to vanish them, too.
While the brief vignettes of the girl are poetic, Daisy offers the most active, fleshed-out character, determined to overcome her harrowing experiences and save another. In contrast, Cleo is the clinging, helpless Gothic heroine, unable to do much more than swoon over the suspiciously attractive Deacon Tremblay. While Cleo receives key bits of information she doesn’t act on, Daisy is the one who uncovers the mystery at the heart of Castle Moreau, and for those who don’t want to read one more book about victimized women, it’s worth reading through to the end.
The atmosphere is wonderfully Gothic, though the older women struggle to emerge from type. The middle plods, hitting the same emotional notes over and over, but the prose is proficient enough to carry the suspense, and the identity of the phantom woman is a nice reveal. Fans of inspirational romance and Gothic mystery will enjoy this.
