Sylvie
Mason and her sister, Rose, are daughters of famous parents
who help people who are haunted or need spiritual help through
prayer. Considered oddities by the small town of Dundalk,
Maryland, the Masons are often harassed, primarily due to
publicity from a book featuring their exploits and the “haunted”
items they store in their basement.
Sylvie, the youngest, is the dutiful daughter, the opposite
of the older, self-centered Rose. After an argument Rose has
with her parents, she leaves the house, then asks them to
meet her at a nearby church. Sylvie hears a loud sound and
runs inside the church to discover her murdered parents. Soon
another shot sounds and Sylvie awakens in a hospital. Now
orphans, Rose is made Sylvie’s guardian, but often neglects
her. While Sylvie tries to reconnect with her only other family
member - her father’s uncle – she tries to discover
who killed her parents, and why.
I expected possessions and hauntings, but was pleased to read
an engrossing page-turner and fascinating in depth study of
a dysfunctional family whose members, like many of us, keep
their true selves hidden behind façade. The story is
told with flashbacks to reveal Sylvie’s relationship
with her parents and sister, but it’s also a journey
that allows Sylvie, like her parents, to help a haunted person
find peace.
Help for the Haunted is an amazing, mesmerizing book
that reveals a young teen’s emotions and fears through
a diary, and the search for the truth behind a murder. Help
for the Haunted deals with the paranormal, but more so is
a story of the disparities of life that holds families together
or rends them apart. It’s also a perfect coming of age
story combined with supernatural elements to provide a fascinating
and fast paced read.
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