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Freelance journalist, Lilah Sanderford, was on her way to New Orleans with her teenage daughter, Angela, to do a series of interviews. Still reeling from her husband Sam’s death seventeen months ago, Lilah figured this trip would be a great way to kill two birds with one stone, work and quality time with Angela. For their stay in New Orleans, she had answered a newspaper ad to do a house swap for Mardi Gras, and had swapped her beach house for a mansion for the week. Only to discover Belle Villa was no ordinary mansion. It was shaped like a huge boat with twenty-one rooms, hidden passageways, and was rumored to be haunted.
On their way to the house, a green truck pulled in front of them, narrowly missing Lilah’s car. A young man in the back of the pickup waved an apology and then, obviously in a Mardi Gras mood, donned a bright, beaded hat and began to dance. No sooner had Lilah and Angela begun to be amused by the young man’s antics, when the green truck surged forward, causing the young man to fly straight into her windshield.
What seems like a freak, unfortunate accident, turns out to be more than just a bad start to Lilah’s week. With her journalistic instincts, Lilah soon unearths strange and confusing information which only leads to more questions, not answers. Mafia ties, political intrigue, murder, and a clairvoyant are just bits of the situations Lilah finds herself involved in. As if those weren’t bad enough, her body fights an all out war with her heart as she finds herself extremely attracted to Jay Cascio, while her heart wants to remain true to Sam.
MARDI GRAVESTONE is a wonderful story filled with intrigue, romance and a hint of paranormal. In this first novel, Sandy Semerad has written some great characters; Ben Comeaux, the cheesy, crooked cop, Mama Sis, whose not really any ones mama, and Katherine Georgia Wilson, the first female President. I did, however, find the quantity of characters confusing at times. Lilah’s daydream flashbacks were also a distracting way to give character background and I felt, sometimes, unnecessary as well. Overall, MARDI GRAVESTONE is an entertaining book and I look forward to watching Mrs. Semerad’s growth as an author in her future books.
Reviewed by Tina Burns
for The Road to Romance
April 7, 2004
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