ALWAYS HOLD THE RIBBON

In Huntington’s (Jade, 2013) novel, Jo Claire Monahey faces danger from her past after moving in with her parents to recover from a terrible loss.

Jo Claire moves back home with her parents, who own a farm outside Charleston, S.C. Finally free of her abusive husband, Eric, she takes her time at the farm to regroup after the loss of her teenage son, Jordy, who was killed in an accident caused by Eric when the mother and son tried to flee from him. Eric died in the accident as well, as far as Jo Claire knows. After several months, she starts to recover, going into town with her mother, spending time with the animals on the farm, and seeing Dr. Daniel Baxter, the local pastor, for counseling sessions. In these sessions, she talks about Eric, her family’s misgivings about their relationship, and her own early suspicions about him. At the same time, Jo Claire begins seeing visions of her son and her grandmother, Grandy Jo. Sometimes they even speak to her, offer her items for protection, or appear to fight off dark spirits. Soon enough, frightening things start happening around the farm—animals are killed or injured, farmhands are attacked, a strange man is spotted on the property. What follows is a long string of assaults that do become gratuitous over time. Jo Claire’s budding romance with Daniel is also imperiled, as the mysterious assailant threatens to target him and his teenage daughter Sarah, a girl Jo Claire has become close to. In order to save those she loves, Jo Claire must face her past and stand up for herself, her family and her friends. While the story is sometimes repetitive, it works as a thriller and as the story of a woman trying to rebuild her life in the wake of tragedy. Readers will root for Jo Claire, and the mix of supernatural and ordinary elements is also done well.

A thrilling, moving story of finding happiness after suffering abuse and loss.