About the Book
Nola Trenholm is hopeful for a fresh start in the Big Easy but must deal with ghosts from her past—as well as new ones—in this first book in a spin-off series of Karen White’s New York Times bestselling Tradd Street novels.
After a difficult detour on her road to adulthood, Nola Trenholm is looking to begin anew in New Orleans, and what better way to start her future than with her first house? But the historic fixer-upper she buys comes with even more work than she anticipated when the house’s previous occupants don’t seem to be ready to depart.
Although she can’t communicate with ghosts like her stepmother can, luckily Nola knows someone in New Orleans who is able to—even if he’s the last person on earth she wants anything to do with ever again. Beau Ryan comes with his own dark past—a past that involves the disappearance of his sister and parents during Hurricane Katrina—and he’s connected to the unsolved murder of a woman who once lived in the old Creole cottage Nola is determined to make her own…whether the resident restless spirits agree or not.
My Review
It’s hard for me to resist a new Karen White novel, and with this being the first book in a new series and set in New Orleans – I had to say yes. This is a spinoff from the Tradd Street series and at first I thought it was a part of them, which I haven’t read all the books, so a few times I wished I had a little more information on a character or a setting that got glossed over. Nola was an interesting main character to follow – stubborn, determined, a little lost, and her first home purchase of an historic fixer-upper set quite the scene. Being in New Orleans I expected a haunting or two, but there were several moments while reading I got actual goosebumps, imagining the presence of someone passed on standing with me on the staircase. Beau Ryan’s character and his difficult past also offered several brow-raising moments to the book, and the cliffhanger ending definitely made me want to read the next book. The Shop on Royal Street is engaging, well-rounded and if you are up for a little mystery that will have you eyeing your own walls a little suspiciously, I would recommend!
4 stars
