BookBrowse has a new look! Learn more about the update here.

Reviews of Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts

Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts

Midnight Bayou

by Nora Roberts
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Oct 1, 2001
  • Paperback:
  • Dec 2002
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Book Summary

Declan has always been obsessed with Manet Hall. Then he starts seeing visions of days from a century past, and experiencing sensations of terror and nearly unbearable grief - sensations not his own, but those of a stranger.

Declan Fitzgerald had always been the family maverick, but even he couldn't understand his impulse to buy a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of New Orleans. All he knew was that ever since he first saw Manet Hall, he'd been enchanted and obsessed with it. So when the opportunity to buy the house comes up, Declan jumps at the chance to live out a dream.

Determined to restore Manet Hall to its former splendor, Declan begins the daunting renovation room by room, relying on his own labor and skills. But the days spent in total isolation in the empty house take a toll. He is seeing visions of days from a century past, and experiencing sensations of terror and nearly unbearable grief sensations not his own, but those of a stranger. Local legend has it that the house is haunted, and with every passing day Declan's belief in the ghostly presence grows.

Only the companionship of alluring Angelina Simone can distract him from the mysterious happenings in the house, but Angelina too has her own surprising connection to Manet Hall a connection that will help Declan uncover a secret that's been buried for a hundred years.

Chapter 1
Manet Hall, Louisiana
December 30, 1899

The baby was crying. Abigail heard it in dreams, the soft, unsettled whimper, the stirring of tiny limbs under soft blankets. She felt the first pangs of hunger, a yearning in the belly, almost as if the child were still inside her. Her milk came down before she was fully awake.

She rose quickly and without fuss. It gave her such pleasure-that overfull sensation in her breasts, the tenderness of them. The purpose of them. Her baby needed and she would provide.

She crossed to the recamier, lifted the white robe draped over its back. She drew in the scent of the hothouse lilies-her favorite-spearing out of a crystal vase that had been a wedding present.

Before Lucian, she'd been content to tuck wildflowers into bottles.

If Lucian had been home, he would have woken as well. Though she would have smiled, have stroked a hand over his silky blond hair as she told him to stay, to sleep, he would have wandered up to the ...

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 $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

Booklist
Roberts has cleverly crafted an enticing tangle of times and relationships featuring characters whose pain and triumphs are palpable and has also created a hero who is strong enough to carry off being well mannered, sensitive, and interested in antiques without diminishing his manly charms. To add to the pleasure, tastefully choreographed, highly erotic lovemaking scenes are seamlessly woven into a novel that exemplifies storytelling at its finest.

Kirkus Reviews
A gumbo seasoned with ghosts, love, and murder on the bayou.... Agreeably credible lovers and a neat piece of home-restoration compensate some for the hokey hauntings on the bayou. Loyal fans will enjoy.

Publishers Weekly
Roberts's role reversal,here it is the male character who hears voices and even swoons, gives her faithful readers a little extra thrill, and the lush setting and the satisfying if predictable romance round out the package.

Reader Reviews

Linda

Nailed It
I grew up 50 miles south of New Orleans and I could feel the steam of the bayou, smell the flowers, and taste the food. I loved this story and the feel of New Orleans before Katrina. Thank you so much for this love story.
Linda A

Wanting more
I loved the history of the people that played in this book, and the story that finally came out for those deceased. Left me wanting another story just like this one.
netbug

Midnight Bayou
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down especially the last 100 pages I didn't want to stop reading. I loved the mystery of the ghost. Great book!
Crystalee

I liked this book so much! In true Nora Roberts fashion, it had me hooked on a great, mysterious plot and routing for Lena and Declan to officially become a couple! This book is much more than just romance, though some of the love scenes are a bit ...   Read More

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 $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Midnight Bayou, try these:

  • Empire of Sin jacket

    Empire of Sin

    by Gary Krist

    Published 2015

    About this book

    From bestselling author Gary Krist, a vibrant and immersive account of New Orleans' other civil war, at a time when commercialized vice, jazz culture, and endemic crime defined the battlegrounds of the Crescent City

  • Don't Look Back jacket

    Don't Look Back

    by Amanda Quick

    Published 2003

    About this book

    More by this author

    Lovers and partners-in-crime investigators Lavinia Lake and Tobias March continue their exciting newfound relationship, with its delicious mix of risky business, rising passion, and now--murder.

We have 4 read-alikes for Midnight Bayou, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Nora Roberts
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 $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Become a Member

Join BookBrowse today to start
discovering exceptional books!
Find Out More

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: The Briar Club
    The Briar Club
    by Kate Quinn
    Kate Quinn's novel The Briar Club opens with a murder on Thanksgiving Day, 1954. Police are on the ...
  • Book Jacket: Bury Your Gays
    Bury Your Gays
    by Chuck Tingle
    Chuck Tingle, for those who don't know, is the pseudonym of an eccentric writer best known for his ...
  • Book Jacket: Blue Ruin
    Blue Ruin
    by Hari Kunzru
    Like Red Pill and White Tears, the first two novels in Hari Kunzru's loosely connected Three-...
  • Book Jacket: A Gentleman and a Thief
    A Gentleman and a Thief
    by Dean Jobb
    In the Roaring Twenties—an era known for its flash and glamour as well as its gangsters and ...

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
Lady Tan's Circle of Women
by Lisa See
Lisa See's latest historical novel, inspired by the true story of a woman physician from 15th-century China.
Book Jacket
The 1619 Project
by Nikole Hannah-Jones
An impactful expansion of groundbreaking journalism, The 1619 Project offers a revealing vision of America's past and present.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl
    by Bart Yates

    A saga spanning 12 significant days across nearly 100 years in the life of a single man.

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

L T C O of the B

and be entered to win..

Win This Book
Win Smothermoss

Smothermoss by Alisa Alering

A haunting, imaginative, and twisting tale of two sisters and the menacing, unexplained forces that threaten them and their rural mountain community.

Enter