The Tradd Street Series by Karen White

I found the seven books in this series hard to put down and enjoyed them quite a lot.  The wonderful thing about reading a series after it's been in publication for a few years is that there's no wait to borrow the books from the library.  You can read them in quick succession and without interruption, if you choose.  I've tried to write the comments without giving away the ending of each book.  Of course, if you read the comments for each book, you'll have an idea of what else happens in each previous book.

The House on Tradd Street
Realtor Melanie Middleton hates old houses even though her job as a realtor in Charleston, S.C., is to sell homes of all ages.  One of Melanie’s gifts is being able to see the spirits of people who have died.   She has an appointment with an elderly gentleman, Nevin Vanderhorst, which she assumes is to arrange the sale of his 150-year-old home.  While viewing the gardens, she sees the spirit of a woman near a swing.  She visits with Nevin, answers his questions, but they never get to any discussion of the sale of the home before she is ushered out.  Several days later she is asked to visit an attorney’s office early one morning where she learns that she has inherited all of Vanderhorst’s property.  She must live in it one year, improve it, and can sell it after that first year.  There are several mysteries to be solved, several spirits who visit the house, and other living characters including her friend Sophie, a client Chad, two other men, author Jack Trenholm and Marc Longo.  I enjoyed it enough to read the next in the series.

The Girl on Legare Street
A little fantasy, a lot ghost story.  Melanie Middleton’s mom, Ginette, buys back the house on Legare Street where she grew up and Melanie lived for a number of years when she was a child.  Melanie stays there with her mom (estranged mom) while the floors in her Tradd Street house are being refinished.  The house has a protector spirit and an evil spirit.  And there’s a mystery to be solved which requires Melanie and her mom to join forces. There’s a bit of family history involved in this story, too.   And, of course, there’s Jack who Melanie does her best to avoid despite being attracted to him.

Says journalist Rebecca Edgerton, “‘The information you need is always there if you’re willing to be persistent and look hard enough.’”  How I wish that were true in family history!

The Strangers on Montague Street
This continues the story of Melanie Middleton, her parents, and Jack.  Melanie and her mom both see ghosts so it is, I guess, a ghost story.  There’s a bit of a mystery in this book, too, plus Jack’s 12-year-old daughter, Nola/Emmaline, is in this one.  There’s a dollhouse with dolls who get dashed, and Nola’s deceased mom, Bonnie, is part of the story.  Plenty of other characters, too....  Still hoping that Melanie and Jack will get together.  I was a little disappointed that there was some sex in this book but the language was mostly clean.

Return to Tradd Street
The continuing story of Melanie and Jack, and the Tradd Street house Melanie inherited from the Nevin Vanderhorst in the first book.   Melanie is pregnant and planning to raise the baby alone but doesn’t seem to have a clue about pregnancy and delivery.  She refused Jack’s marriage proposal because she thinks he’s doing it for the sake or responsibility, not the sake of the baby.  The remains of a newborn is found in the foundation of the house (that is being restored), and then she hears the cries of a baby and a female ghost who tells her, “Mine.”  Always a mystery, always a ghost or a few, and always Jack.

Melanie’s mom, Ginette, on marriage:  “If you wait until everything’s perfect, until all your differences have been settled and all the stars have aligned just right, then you miss your chance at happiness.  That’s what real and enduring love is.  It’s being able to see past the disagreements so what’s left is the knowledge that you’ll never be complete without the other person.      p. 208 ¶3

The Guests on South Battery
Melanie returns to work as a realtor after maternity leave and is met with a young woman, Jayne Smith, who inherited one of the old homes in the area.  Jayne has no idea why Button Pinckney, Melanie’s mother Ginette’s childhood friend, would choose her to inherit the home.  Jayne wants nothing to do with it.  Like Melanie, she doesn’t like old homes.  In fact, she doesn’t to go inside the house.  Melanie recognizes soon that there are ghosts, one of which does not want her or Jayne or Ginette there.  A ghost story, a mystery, a romance....

The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street
Melanie and Jack have toddler twins, Sarah and JJ, but they also have a cistern in the backyard that is being excavated by Melanie’s best friend, Sophie, and her students.  And, of course, there are spirits and  mysteries to be solved.   There’s a woman named Eliza, who appears to have committed suicide by hanging, a Revolutionary War soldier, and two Vanderhorst men.  And, of course, there’s the challenge of trust between self-reliant Melanie and Jack.  There’s also Marc Longo who is intent on having whatever he wants.  Lots of  twists and turns in this one.

The Attic on Queen Street
This time there’s a frozen Charlotte in a tiny casket, buttons from charm strings, and a heart-shaped pillow.  As the book opens, Jack and Melanie are separated but when Marc Longo’s film crew descends on the house, Jack moves back in (sleeping in the guest room) to keep watch over the house to prevent Marc from snooping for the treasures he believes are still there.  Ghosts include a young girl from Civil War times and Adrienne, the sister of a woman Melanie knew in college, among others not named.  Adrienne’s murder has been unsolved for 20 or more years.  Other living characters include Jack and Melanie’s children Nola, and twins JJ and Sarah; Jayne, Melanie’s sister; Melanie’s and Jack’s parents; Thomas Riley the detective; Rebecca, Melanie’s distance cousin; Suzy Dorf, the reporter; and various others.  I thought it was a satisfying ending for the series.  It was ghost story, mystery, family history, and romance all rolled into one.

Enjoy!
nm