Product Description

In her enthralling novels of literary suspense, Carol Goodman writes stories that resonate with emotion set in lush landscapes that entice the senses. Now, with The Ghost Orchid, a narrative that seamlessly weaves together the past and the present, Goodman creates her most lyrical and haunting work to date.

For more than one hundred years, creative souls have traveled to Upstate New York to work under the captivating spell of the Bosco estate. Cradled in silence, inspired by the rough beauty of overgrown gardens and crumbling statuary, these chosen few fashion masterworks–and have cemented Bosco’s reputation as a premier artists’ colony. This season, five talented artists-in-residence find themselves drawn to the history of Bosco, from the extensive network of fountains that were once its centerpiece but have long since run dry to the story of its enigmatic founder, Aurora Latham, and the series of tragic events that occurred more than a century ago.

Ellis Brooks, a first-time novelist, has come to Bosco to write a book based on Aurora and the infamous summer of 1893, when wealthy, powerful Milo Latham brought the notorious medium Corinth Blackwell to the estate to help his wife contact three of the couple’s children, lost the winter before in a diphtheria epidemic. But when a séance turned deadly, Corinth and her alleged accomplice, Tom Quinn, disappeared, taking with them the Lathams’ only surviving child.

The more time she spends at Bosco, the more Ellis becomes convinced that there is an even darker, more sinister end to the story. And she’s not alone: biographer Bethesda Graham uncovers stunning revelations about Milo and Corinth; landscape architect David Fox discovers a series of hidden tunnels underneath the gardens; poet Zalman Bronsky hears the long-dry fountain’s waters beckoning him; and novelist Nat Loomis feels something lingering just out of reach.

After a bizarre series of accidents befalls them, the group cannot deny the connections between the long ago and now, the living and the dead . . . as Ellis realizes that the tangled truth may ensnare them all in its cool embrace.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47892 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-10
• Released on: 2007-04-10
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
An isolated Victorian mansion in upstate New York is the backdrop for Goodman's latest literary mystery (after The Drowning Tree), which stars a debut novelist and her fellow residents at the artists' retreat Bosco. Ellis Brooks has been accepted to Bosco primarily because her first novel is to be a fictional account of the mansion's mysterious past; while there will be no deaths during her stay, there's spookiness aplenty, as well as several 1893 murders still begging resolution. Goodman's narrative alternates between Ellis's first-person present and 1893. Coincidentally—or not—two of Bosco's other guests are also working on projects related to the mansion. But they turn out to be little more than convenient accessories as Ellis, the daughter of a psychic (and possessor of certain powers of her own), unlocks clue after mystical clue to secrets long buried by the mansion's original owners. As great a player as any is the mansion itself and its creepy (and possibly haunted) gardens. Is this an updated Victorian drawing room mystery or a romance novel/crime fiction–cum–ghost story? Never mind. Enjoy the atmosphere. And enjoy the ride; its twists and turns mesmerize, even if they don't surprise.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
A complex ghost story unravels on a New York estate, Bosco, presently a writers' retreat. There are many more ghosts than living entities on this ground, and these spirits are none too subtle in their haunting. Jen Taylor does a mesmerizing job with the panoply of characters, living and dead. Amid the gardens and fountains of Bosco there lingers a legacy of murder and madness that slips into the present day in countless eerie ways. Goodman's interest in this tale is with the dead, who become far more dimensional than the living. Taylor responds with enthusiasm by making them far more memorable than the untidy group of writers wintering at the estate. B.H.B. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Nestled deep in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains lies the Bosco estate, a nineteenth-century mansion that was once the home of lumber magnate Milo Latham and his wife, Aurora. A rambling property nearly buried under the ruins of once--opulent statuary gardens and mazes, Bosco now serves as an exclusive creative retreat, where artists and writers live and work under almost oppressive seclusion. Inspired by a timeworn pamphlet describing the scandalous events that took place there in 1893, first-time novelist Ellis Brooks comes to Bosco to write about the tragedies that befell the Latham family and the role Corinth Blackwell, a spiritual medium, played in the family's downfall. When Ellis uncovers the family's secrets, she and her fellow writers find themselves imperiled by the house's sinister history. Goodman's mastery of eerily atmospheric and richly intricate plots is nowhere more evident than in this deliciously menacing and harrowing tale of greed and avarice, where perception is reality, and where past and present collide with disastrous results. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A Native American Gothic Tale that will Turn Your Screws
This was my first experience with Ms. Goodman's writing and I have to begin by saying that you'll recognize very early in your reading of this book that she's clearly a very well read and well educated author who enjoys her research as much as her writing. A Two-Fer for a reader who appreciates this extra effort made on the reader's behalf. Goodman has taken great pains to construct the most atmospheric of settings and her descriptive abilities are rare and impressive. I mean really impressive. I gave this book three stars because though I thought her story a very good one, I did have to occasionally stop and be certain I was correctly making the past to present connections between the characters.I realize the intention was to establish a very vital continuity and build tension, but every time I had to pull myself out of the storyline to fact check myself,(and believe me you will need to do this too) I was irritated. I was also often reminded of Henry James and The Turn of the Screw, and King's The Shining. Goodman herself mentions her fondness for these two writers. More than anything else though,I couldn't help but think of Julie Harris and Claire Bloom's performances in The Haunting, the 1963 film of Shirley Jackson's book The Haunting of Hill House. Claire (Theo) with ESP and an agenda of her own and Julie Harris as Eleanor, looking for a life of her own who slowly surrenders and finally becomes a part of the house itself. A well recognized classic because there was no need for the obvious murder, blood or roving midnight maniac. Watch this film, first to see Harris' memorable performance and then read The Ghost Orchid. Remarkable similarities between the film's house and this book's garden! I believe you'll appreciate even more Ms. Goodman's obvious talents.
Goodman provided such vivid descriptions that very little could be left to the reader's imagination, and there were so many mythological references, possibly too many.... All clearly written with the best of intention to give grounding and substance to the characters and their setting. Really though, in my opinion, nothing is so horrifying as the unseen, the unsaid, and the slow unfolding of truths and terrors that characters hide even from themselves, when eventually revealed. In the end, I felt as though I'd been fed such a rich variety of morsels in plot twists, and turns, and in clues and minute detail throughout the book that the ending couldn't help but leave me with the feeling that it was overblown or at the very least that I had been overindulged. Over the top. All dots connected and loose ends tied. Not sure I really needed to be that satisfied, especially when some loose ends,unexplained happenings or unanswered questions allow for an afterglow of disturbance that makes supernatural thrillers so enjoyable. I'll certainly be back for more though and will look forward to reading Carol Goodman's other books. She is a very talented writer to be sure!

Great story, a must-listen
Had it not been for the title of this audio book, I probably wouldn't have ever noticed it. But since I'm all about finding good ghost stories, "Ghost Orchid" caught my eye. Then to find that the book was not only about an allegedly haunted house but also about a writers' commune AND the Spiritualist movement of the 19th Century, well, I was actually pretty intrigued. It sounds like a lot to cram into one book, but Goodman does a good job with it. She turned it into a story within a story, which ended up working pretty well.

While the main character, Ellis, could be a little two-dimensional at times, I enjoyed both stories and most of the characters. I usually listen to books on CD in my car, but I found myself actually wishing I had picked up the book instead so I could read it faster. I ended up bringing it into the house to finish up the last few CDs because I wanted to know what was going to happen.

Jen Taylor, the reader, did a very nice job. A reader can make or break an audio book. Taylor is very good.

Excellent!
I loved this book. The details and plot really drew me in. I am fascinated with Victorian era and I could tell that this book was very well researched. Great for people who love gothic mysteries. Wonderful read, couldn't put it down!! Would also make an excellent movie, I am waiting for it!