"The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond" by Jaime Jo Wright - delightfully eerie

When Annalise Forsythe unexpectedly inherits the dilapidated trailer from an old recluse, it's a shock to everyone that it is filled with pictures of her--even pictures from the hidden, secret part of her life. Along with those photos are clippings, photographs, and obituaries from a century before: obituaries that had been delivered to the news office where Libby Sheffield worked hours before the subject had even died . . . As Annalise delves into Gossamer Grove's dark history from the present and Libby works to unravel the mystery from past, both young women find themselves in danger from those who don't want the secrets of Gossamer Grove's inhabitants revealed.

I'm not a fan of horror stories, but I do enjoy the occasional eerie, Gothic-style tale, and this book was marvelous. I loved the premise of the obituary arriving before the death takes place. It's a sign of a good dual timeline book that neither the past nor the present story overwhelms the other; I was constantly hooked on whichever timeline I was reading at the time, which is definitely not always the case in this style of book. I did like the plot of the past timeline a little better (it's that Gothic thing), but the highly emotional relationship development of the present balanced it out. Equally captivating, just in different ways.

There is a lot of depth to both stories, and they are heavy with themes of guilt, grace, and forgiveness, but instead of slowing down the suspense of the story, they add to it, being so intimately entwined with the characters and the dangers they are facing.

Hats off to the author for developing such a complex, well thought-out tale; I don't know how she kept track of details to keep the mystery(ies) so well balanced between the two timelines, peeling them back layer after layer until all connections are revealed, but it was impressive.

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.