The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White pits Melanie Middleton, a Realtor who guards her emotions like most would protect buried treasure, against Jack Trenholm, a confident author and potential suitor, and elements of the supernatural. Melanie must face her fears about her abilities and the truth behind the break-up of her family when her famous mother and opera singer returns to Charleston, South Carolina.

"We stood gaping at the marble-tiled floor with the faux-zebra shag area rug galloping down the middle of the hall. The elegant egg-and-dart carved cornices had been painted black to offset the fuchsia hue of the walls. Lime green beanbag chairs with legs offered seating to anybody with enough taste to make their knees go weak upon viewing the psychedelic colors of the hallway. (Page 44-45)

White creates an intricate mystery that Melanie must unravel for herself without relying heavily on Jack, as she did in the previous book, The House on Tradd Street. White's characters are vivid; so much so, that readers may want to smack Melanie through the pages and tell her to get a grip. The beginning chapters spend a bit of time with Melanie as she attempts to sort out her feelings for Jack, her mother, and her abilities. In some cases, Melanie's whining may be a bit much for readers, but the action picks up and the knotted lives of Melanie's ancestors will hook readers until the very last pages.

"I didn't wait for a response, and was glad he didn't show any resistance as I dragged him toward the back door. . . . I gave a brief wave and had pulled Jack through the door and closed it before my mother made it into the kitchen.

'I think I like it when you're rough,' Jack said." (Page 143)

White introduces new characters, like Rebecca Eggerton, and resurrects some of the older characters, like Sophie and Chad, from the first book. This provides readers with new relationship triangles to navigate, while trying to work through the paranormal mystery. If readers have read and enjoyed The House on Tradd Street, they will enjoy this tale.

The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White is an entertaining and a good second book in this paranormal-gothic romance-mystery series. At times, readers could find the repetitive elements in Melanie's narration distracting, as she repeats her grudge against her mother and her indecision about letting go of her self control where Jack is concerned. It is clear that this is a second book and that there is more to come given the final lines of the book. ( )

In her new novel The Girl on Legare Street Karen White brings us back to Charleston to revisit the wonderful characters we first met in The House on Tradd Street and have the pleasure of meeting a few more. Where we find Melanie Middleton reunited with her mother who abandoned her when she was six, but if she thinks that’s her biggest problem she’s whistling Dixie.
Karen’s love for the south, especially Charleston and it’s wonderful historic homes really shines through in this her second of four books in her House on Tradd Street series. It’s a haunting tale of fear and fearlessness of loss and love and redemption. Her story line/plot is not unique to anyone who’s ever walked through an old building and felt the temperature drop or saw a hint of something that couldn’t be explained, but she makes it uniquely her own with her twist of a classic ghost story. Her characters are endearing and funny and quirky and she knows them so intimately that you can feel the anal attentive qualities of Melanie and the sexual tension between her and her co-star, co-conspirator Jack Trenholm sexy author and amateur historic sleuth, you can feel the apprehension and tension she feels toward her mother and her feeling of abandonment. Her supporting characters are equally interesting from her best friend Sophie to her recovering alcoholic father, to her ghostly apparitions and all the rest. And they are all constantly breathing life into her story. Her amazing descriptive dialogue paints her words into pictures in our minds as she tells her tale. She will make you laugh and cry, empathize and sympathize with the various characters. She gives us the continuing non-relationship that our heroine Melanie and our hero Jack are too afraid to pursue and the sexual tension between them just about kills me. Knowing there are two more installments before completion makes me impatient for the next one, to not only see what lies ahead with the ghosts and hauntings, but also finding out what’s in store for Melanie and Jack.
So be prepared to expel many emotions through this exciting and sometimes terrifying wonderful new novel. Be prepared to laugh and cry, hold your breath, bite your nails, to be haunted and sit on the edge of your seat as you turn the pages. And most of all be prepared to fall in love with the grand olde dame of the south, Charleston and with Karen’s wonderful characters in her new book “The Girl on Legare Street”. A must read for 2009. As mentioned this is the second book in a series, but holds up very well as a stand-a-lone read. ( )