Roberta Writes – Halloween Book Festival: The Price of Atonement: Harbor Pointe Series Book 1

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Today, I am featuring The Price of Atonement by Mae Clair. This is Book 1 in the Harbor Pointe series.

What Amazon says

he Harbor Pointe Inn has loomed on California’s cliffs for generations of Hawthornes. For some, it’s been a blessing. For others, a curse. Travel through two centuries of stories to discover the old inn’s secrets.

Some hauntings come from within.

Leviticus Sinclair has been a broken man since the murders of his wife and brother. Burdened by personal failures the night they were killed, he occupies himself by crossing the country, searching out departed spirits unwilling to move from this world to the next. His dead brother’s Bible and a pocket watch—forever frozen at the precise moment of his wife’s death—serve as grim reminders of a past he cannot exorcise.

Accompanied by Wyatt Resnick, a paid employee who fills the role of researcher and hired muscle, Leviticus arrives at the Harbor Pointe Inn amid rumors of a vengeful ghost. A phantom who may be the single spirit he has long sought, one capable of freeing him from his torment.

Set in the remote Pacific Northwest of 1887, The Price of Atonement is a story of jealousy, guilt, and one man’s relentless quest for absolution.

My review

Leviticus Sinclair is not alive. He is also not entirely dead. He is stuck somewhere in between and has been tasked with assisting troubled spirits who have lingered among the living, to cross over and claim their place in the afterlife. Many don’t want to go. They have unfinished business that requires resolution before they can find peace, and they have to be forced into capitulating which is exhausting work.

While going about his tasks, Leviticus also seeks to find his own path to redemption. This is his motivating force.

Having recently finished a particularly difficult assignment involving three ghosts in a love triangle, none of whom wanted to pass on and had to be forced, Leviticus and his assistant, Wyatt, set off to an inn at Harbor Pointe to find a troubled spirit who has ‘called’ Leviticus. On arrival, the pair discover that the inn is in dire straits due to a significant drop in visitors to the area. The inn is populated only by the inn keeper, his young wife and their small child, as well as a handyman. Their closest neighbours are the lighthouse keeper and his wife, who happens to be the inn keeper’s sister, and their eleven year old daughter.

Leviticus needs to find the ghost and discover the source of its internal conflict. The inn keeper and his sister are resistant to acknowledging the existence of a ghost. Left to investigate on his own, Leviticus runs into some dangerous trouble which causes him to pause, and look deeply into his own turbulent past.

Leviticus Sinclair is an interesting and complex character. Although this is a novella and not very long, he was nicely fleshed out and the subject of intrigue right from the initial description, as follows: “Leviticus slumped in the seat across from him, head angled against the coach wall. The high collar of his shirt gaped on either side of his neck, exposing the rope burn he was usually careful to hide.”

Wyatt is a sensible and kindly man, older than Leviticus, and who has developed a sense of responsibility and friendship towards his employer. Between the ghost and the determined protectiveness of Wyatt, Leviticus undergoes an interesting growth in his character and understanding of his purpose, which is very compelling.

A most entertaining darker short read.

Purchase The Price of Atonement on Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCW59D94

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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53 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Halloween Book Festival: The Price of Atonement: Harbor Pointe Series Book 1”

  5. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Mae’s latest, Robbie. I loved this story and I agree, Leviticus was a complex character. I also loved his assistant and found him to be equally as compelling. Congratulations to Mae on this spotlight!

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  9. Hi, Roberta, what I great idea, to think that there may be someone to help the troubled ones to cross the bridge to the afterlife! Many thanks for your eccellent summary of “The Price of Atonement” Have a good week:)

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    1. Hi Gwen, Mae’s is a great story. I’m looking forward to yours which has a very different take. Such an interesting idea, to have several different stories revolving around one place. It really highlights different writers different ideas and styles.

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  16. As is my custom, I bypassed your review for now, Robbie, because I know this one is coming up soon on my rotation. I like to compare other reviews to my own afterward. I’m planning on reading all the books in the series.

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  17. If you’re looking for other scary/ghostly books to read, I recommend Memory Bound by A. R. Clayton, The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti, and Beneath Blair Mountain by Shannon Barnsley.

    And if you’re interested in a series with a similar concept of different stories in the same place, check out the Cursed Island series by Marissa D’Angelo.

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  19. Hi, Robbie! Thank you so much for that excellent review, and for sharing it with your readers. I have been offline the last few days with family health issues, and finding this made my day. I am so glad you enjoyed the story. I hope to bring Leviticus and Wyatt back again for more ghostly adventures. I hope you are doing well! 🤗 💕

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