The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright Review

 Hello Friends :)

I've been blogging and reviewing for almost five years already, but there is still a part of me that gets excited every single time I get to advance read a title by one of my favorite authors.

When I was approved through NetGalley to read Jaime Jo Wright's upcoming release, I couldn't wait to dive into it. I've loved every single one of her books, and as it's getting closer to the end of summer, I was in the mood for a suspense type of novel as I always feel they are so much more fun to read during the fall season.

Today I'm looking forward to sharing with you all what I thought about this upcoming release by one of my favorite authors.

The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Bethany House

Publication Date: September 1st, 2020

Genre: Christian Fiction/Christian Suspense Thriller

Synopsis:

1928
The Bonaventure Circus is a refuge for many, but Pippa Ripley was rejected from its inner circle as a baby. When she receives mysterious messages from someone called the "Watchman," she is determined to find him and the connection to her birth. As Pippa's search leads her to a man seeking justice for his murdered sister and evidence that a serial killer has been haunting the circus train, she must decide if uncovering her roots is worth putting herself directly in the path of the killer.

Present Day
The old circus train depot will either be torn down or preserved for historical importance, and its future rests on real estate project manager Chandler Faulk's shoulders. As she dives deep into the depot's history, she's also balancing a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease and the pressures of single motherhood. When she discovers clues to the unsolved murders of the past, Chandler is pulled into a story far darker and more haunting than even an abandoned train depot could portend. 

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

There's something about books with a circus theme that always end up appealing to me, and I couldn't wait to see how Jaime Jo Wright was going to tackle a novel with this setting. Ever since her first release, I've been impressed with how well this author pulls off dual timelines, and in The Haunting of Bonaventure Circus, my attention was grabbed right from the start, and I had a hard time wanting to put it down.

Jaime Jo Wright has an evocative writing style that truly draws the reader right into the story, and I loved how this one focuses around two women in drastically different time periods who are both fighting to find the place they belong and be there for the people they care about. While the mysteries in the different timelines don't seem to be connected at first, the plot twists and turns in ways I never could have seen coming, and the final reveals completely blew me away. I thought I had a good portion of the story figured out, but as always, this author still managed to genuinely surprise me with the direction she took the story in, and I never saw it coming.

The circus setting is spot on throughout the entire story, and I loved how it added an extra eerie overlay to an already spine chillingly scary story. I also loved though how the circus setting was used to emphasize the faith elements that God made us all exactly how He wants us to be and that He sees all of us no matter what we're currently going through. 

The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus is another amazing story by the talented Jaime Jo Wright, and I will definitely be recommending it. I read quite a few books each and every year, and I have yet to find another author that writes the way she does. Her writing style and story lines are always completely original and showcases what a master storyteller she truly is. My only complaint with this entire story was that I felt some of the questions that had been raised for me throughout the story weren't really answered before it wrapped up, but I still ended up loving it.

Final Rating: 4/5.

Definitely go ahead and pick this one up if you're looking for a scary suspense novel to read during the fall months.

Thanks so much to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Bethany House) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not required to give a positive review.