Karen Wiesner, The Bloodmoon Curse

The Bloodmoon Curse

Karen Wiesner

Samhain Publishing, December 2006

ISBN: 1599982501

When Amberlyn Lyons trips and falls, she miscarries. This is not the first time she has lost a baby, but Amberlyn blames herself as she grieves her loss. However, what hurts more is that, though she agrees with him, she believes her beloved spouse Cain holds her culpable for the death of this offspring. Despondent Amberlyn leaves her beloved spouse and their home.

She obtains work as a temporary nanny to three children (Simon, Jack and Lydia) at Bloodmoon Manor. Once she meets her charges, Amberlyn is appalled that the Bonavaris family would allow the mistreatment of three of their young. In fact the brood seems to take better care of their dead relatives than these children. As Katerina Bonavaris taunts Amberlyn that soon she will be one of the family, the nanny realizes she was not brought here for the kids' sake; she knows she must run away again, but this time with the burden of three living kids instead of the memory of one deceased baby. However, she has no idea how to escape Bloodmoon, which is built more like an isolated fort miles from nowhere, before her wards are further abused and she is used as a vessel to add to the nearby graveyard of stillborn babies.

This modern day Gothic thriller grips the audience from the moment that villagers warn Amberlyn not to go to Bloodmoon Manor where no taken for granted conveniences exists; and the gripping plot never slows down until the expected final confrontation. The contrast between Amberlyn and Katerina adds to the feel of foreboding that grips readers, who anticipate bad things happening to the heroine and her three wards. The final twist to this tense tale will stun readers as few suspense thrillers can, as Karen Wiesner provides, a frightening paranormal novel starring a woman who risks her life to try to save three small discarded orphans.