Description
2018 – Books Go Social Gold
2014 – NaNoWriMo Winner
Alexis’s childhood home is filled with secrets.
When Alexis’s parents and husband mysteriously die, she finds sadness and depression running rampant in her life. A simple invitation to Parsons Manor brings her exciting feelings and memories. Though she questions the intent, she readily accepts and is whisked away to her childhood home filled with secrets. Wandering the halls and yards of Parsons Manor, she cannot escape the feeling someone is watching her. Afraid no one will believe her, she doesn’t tell of her paranoia.
After a member of the kitchen staff plummets to her death from the third-floor balcony, Gabe Parsons becomes worried, but he acts as though nothing is out of the ordinary. But when someone brutally murders the downstairs maid and abducts Alexis for the second time, he knows he must act before the prophesized curse comes to fruition, changing everything about their lives.
ravenous reader
Pros: I have to say that a few pages into the book I laughed out loud. This author had the audacity or cunning to mention the title of the book the heroine was reading, and by coincidence or design, it was one of his other books. Might be a unique form of marketing.
My feelings when I finished this book was total confusion. Having said that, without the last chapter the story kept me turning the pages because everything was so twisted. If I explain my confusion, I will give away too much. My recommendation, if you like stories that twist and turn and keep you frowning, wishing you could talk to the author, then this is for you.
Cons: Did this author sat with his Thesaurus nearby? Sentence structure and odd use of words were quite jarring at times.
Random examples: “stitching her bravery together” “storm would circumference the house” In other words, the book could use editing.
Karen Ingalls
A long and confusing story that needs editing. I did not always understand what was going on with each character and it was not until the last chapter that it all began to make a little sense.
I have read three other books by Mr. Jones, which I enjoyed.
Balroop Singh
Hydrangeas on the Lanai is not an easy read! It takes you through absurd alleys of mystery, fantasy and suspense, with special effects borrowed from nature to create an aura for an enigmatic story that is set around a curse on Parsons Manor. It unleashes with the arrival of Alexis whose husband has been killed under mysterious circumstances and she is suffering from depression. Nothing seems to make sense and each character seems to be weird and skewed.
It is hard to believe that Gabe and Alexis were childhood friends, as they had miles between them – undisclosed secrets, unexpressed emotions and lying clearly shows that wedge. There are stories within stories and you have to be attentive all the time as Jones drifts into past and gets back into present without any warning. He is also cryptic and abrupt at places to keep the truth under wraps. Towards the end it turns grotesque and unbelievable but then suddenly reverts to realism. No truth could be traced till the last chapter, as he keeps the ultimate shocker for the last moment.
Jones has used the elements of nature most effectively to build the right atmosphere – “explosion in the sky,” claps of thunder, shadows in the forest, the rustle in the plants, “the moan echoed through the house,” deep baritone vibrated the floor, “the chandelier shimmied” – are some of the expressions that shine. There are some editing issues but the theme in the book has been handled proficiently. If you like blind and dark lanes, this could be the book for you. The title is as misleading as the story.