Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Most Anticipated Books of 2025!

Summary and Reviews of Ghost Moon by Karen Robards

Ghost Moon by Karen Robards

Ghost Moon

by Karen Robards
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (5):
  • First Published:
  • Feb 1, 2000, 368 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2001, 448 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

Olivia must face down her old demons, and find the courage to confront her new ones, in order to rebuild a new life with her little girl--and with the man she loves.

Karen Robards, the New York Times bestselling author of The Senator's Wife and The Midnight Hour, has written her most compelling novel yet in Ghost Moon, a mesmerizing, powerful tale of forbidden love, family intrigue, and a proud woman's return to the dark secrets of her past.

Olivia Morrison, raised by her affluent stepfather John Archer on a lavish estate in Louisiana, enjoyed a life of privilege until she ran off with a cowboy and left the wealthy Archers behind. Years later, with her eight-year-old, Sara, in tow, Olivia returns to that long-ago estate--a prodigal daughter returning home, unsure of what she'll find there.

Olivia thinks she is prepared for a chilly reception, but she doesn't expect the emotions that churn when she comes face-to-face again with Seth, her older stepcousin, to whom she had once been so close. Seth, himself the father of a daughter and engaged to be married, is still disturbingly, dangerously, attractive. Olivia must contend, too, with the powerful emotions evoked by the past, and with a flood of dreams about her mother's death by drowning so many years before. When a new danger threatens her and her daughter, Olivia must face down her old demons, and find the courage to confront her new ones, in order to rebuild a new life with her little girl--and with the man she loves.

"Mom, I wet the bed." The small, shamed voice and the little hand that went with it tugged Louise Hardin out of a deep sleep. She opened one groggy eye to discover her daughter Melissa, standing at her bedside in the darkened room. Behind her, the alarm clock glowed the time: one a.m.

"Mom." Missy's hand tugged once more at the long sleeve of Louise's pale green nylon nightgown.

"Oh, Missy, no! Not again." Louise's whisper was despairing as she rolled out of bed, careful not to disturb her husband, Brock, who slumbered peacefully beside her. Brock had to get up early, at quarter to seven, to be at the office by eight. As he said, the rest of them could sleep all day if they chose, but he had to earn a living. Besides, he hated the fact that Missy sometimes still wet the bed. He was a pediatrician, he knew Missy should be over wetting the bed by now, and he tended to take her frequent accidents personally.

Consequently, Louise, Missy, and her ten-year-old sister, ...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

Chicago Tribune
Robards is one terrific storyteller.

Library Journal
Robards has combined edge-of-your-seat suspense with a nicely developed romance to produce a real page-turner. This should have parents thinking twice about their children's nightmares-maybe there really is a monster under the bed! Highly recommended for popular fiction collections.

Kirkus Reviews
Robards does a decent job mixing elements of family, love, and mayhem. Not one of her most exciting efforts, but fans wont be disappointed.

Publishers Weekly
The fainthearted should be warned: Robards has crafted a mossy modern gothic drenched in gore. ....Robards conveys the dusty heat of the Louisiana summer, and has an ear for the nuances of dialogue. But the cast of characters is so big, and the dramatics so unrelenting, that readers never have a chance to fully absorb the dynamics of the clan, and the serial killings remain an unintegrated subplot till the very end. When the bogeyman makes a move close to home, and Livvy and Seth get romantically involved, the murder mystery and the love story finally, satisfyingly, converge.

Reader Reviews

adrienne

WOW! I loved Ghost Moon so much! iread it in 2 days. I just couldn't put the book down! It really is a GREAT read. And I was shcoked at whom the killer was. And that Seth well damn he sounded sexy! Im sorry i just had to add that. But DO pick this ...   Read More
becka

What a great book! Extremely creepy yet had a bit spice of love!
Pluz, who would have known that who the killer would turn out to be without flipping the pages back to the end of the book??Therefore every page is exciting!!!
marissa

i enjoyed this book very much.. it was suspenseful and you wouldn't have guessed the killer until the end.. i couldn't put it down... i also like Maggy's Child just as much
Sara

I thought this book was really good! I enjoyed very much!

Write your own review!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Ghost Moon, try these:

  • High Tide jacket

    High Tide

    by Jude Devereaux

    Published 2000

    About this book

    Only in the heart of the swamplands could Fiona get lost in a maze of intrigue and become the prime suspect for a shocking murder -- with Ace as her presumed accomplice.

  • All The Queen's Men jacket

    All The Queen's Men

    by Linda Howard

    Published 2000

    About this book

    More by this author

    In a world of deception, one thing is clear: John Medina has once again set Niema on a freefall into danger and desire - and one can't exist without the other.

Read-Alikes are one of the many benefits of membership. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Karen Robards
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    The Wager
    by David Grann
    From the bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a gripping story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth.
  • Book Jacket
    The Bluest Eye
    by Toni Morrison
    The story of a black girl in America whose love for its blond, blue-eyed children can devastate all others. First published 1970; won the 1993 Nobel Prize.
  • Book Jacket
    The Frozen River
    by Ariel Lawhon
    From the bestselling author of I Was Anastasia comes a historical mystery inspired by 18th-century midwife Martha Ballard, who investigates a shocking murder.
Who Said...

Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Harlem Rhapsody
    by Victoria Christopher Murray

    The extraordinary story of the woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance.

  • Book Jacket

    Three Days in June
    by Anne Tyler

    A new Anne Tyler novel destined to be an instant classic: a socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding.

  • Book Jacket

    Beast of the North Woods
    by Annelise Ryan

    When a local fisherman is mauled to death, it seems like the only possible cause is a mythical creature.

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T the L

and be entered to win..