Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Adaptive Books (April 17, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1945293500
ISBN-13: 978-1945293504
Praise for MARY ROSE
"An exceptional gothic thriller. Girard's literary roots shine through, and the dread rises with every turn of the page. Mary Rose will send a true chill down your spine. A haunting, scary, and beautifully written novel." ―J.T. Ellison, NYTbestselling author of LIE TO ME
"Girard's eerie descriptions exploit the fear of the unknown and the unnatural; and secretive characters, including the enigmatic island, hide their intentions. This is a nightmarish tale of repressed memories and misdirection." ―Publishers Weekly
Publisher: Adaptive Books (April 17, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1945293500
ISBN-13: 978-1945293504
Praise for MARY ROSE
"An exceptional gothic thriller. Girard's literary roots shine through, and the dread rises with every turn of the page. Mary Rose will send a true chill down your spine. A haunting, scary, and beautifully written novel." ―J.T. Ellison, NYTbestselling author of LIE TO ME
"Girard's eerie descriptions exploit the fear of the unknown and the unnatural; and secretive characters, including the enigmatic island, hide their intentions. This is a nightmarish tale of repressed memories and misdirection." ―Publishers Weekly
"The supernatural terror in MARY ROSE is masterfully invoked via a setting that quietly feeds on the past. Yet the novel's most chilling element is its aching and desperate love story. The titular character is as multifaceted as a dark gem, and Geoffrey Girard's genius is in his ability to cause fear of, and for, Mary Rose at the same time. MARY ROSEhas the effect of burrowing under your skin, lodging next to your throat - and then your heart." ―Vicki Pettersson, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author of SWERVE and SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC series
"Mary Rose is an elegant, classic ghost story that is, at once, truly literate and truly scary. Geoffrey Girard is a storyteller at the top of his game." ―Jacquelyn Mitchard, #1 NY Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Two if by Sea
Mary Rose Moreland and Simon Blake are the perfect couple: successful young professionals in Philadelphia, attractive, madly in love, and ready to start a life together. When they travel to England for Simon to ask her parents’ permission to marry Mary Rose, he learns an unsettling secret: Mary Rose disappeared when she was a little girl while the family was vacationing on a remote Scottish island. She reappeared mysteriously thirty-three days later in the exact same spot without a scratch on her and no memory of what had happened.
After Simon hears about this disturbing episode in Mary Rose’s childhood, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. He proceeds to launch his own investigation and arranges during their honeymoon for them to visit the island where she disappeared. But as Mary Rose’s behavior gets stranger after their engagement, the need for Simon to unlock the truth about her past grows even more urgent. What he uncovers is beyond his most terrifying fears.
Mary Rose is author Geoffrey Girard’s chilling and modern take on a classic ghost story originally written by J. M. Barrie. And for years, master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock attempted to adapt Mary Rose into a film but was never successful. With this novel, Girard taps into the nightmarish fears that inspired both Barrie and Hitchcock, while also bringing the story to the present day with his own unique voice.
You can purchase Mary Rose at the following Retailers:
After Simon hears about this disturbing episode in Mary Rose’s childhood, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. He proceeds to launch his own investigation and arranges during their honeymoon for them to visit the island where she disappeared. But as Mary Rose’s behavior gets stranger after their engagement, the need for Simon to unlock the truth about her past grows even more urgent. What he uncovers is beyond his most terrifying fears.
Mary Rose is author Geoffrey Girard’s chilling and modern take on a classic ghost story originally written by J. M. Barrie. And for years, master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock attempted to adapt Mary Rose into a film but was never successful. With this novel, Girard taps into the nightmarish fears that inspired both Barrie and Hitchcock, while also bringing the story to the present day with his own unique voice.
You can purchase Mary Rose at the following Retailers:



Obsession: the state of being obsessed with someone or something...
A little girl goes missing while on vacation in Scotland with her parents. A month later she reappears with no memory of the time she was gone. Decades later, Mary Rose is happy, successful and engaged. When Mary Rose and her fiance Simon travel to England to meet her parents, the uncertainty that shrouded her disappearance all those years ago will be uncovered and the lives of everyone involved will never be the same.
In fact, Mary and her parents really haven't been the same since the day she vanished. But why? Questions once again arise as Simon peels back one dark and dangerous layer of the mystery at a time. The truth though, well that's far more twisted than Mary Rose, Simon or her parents could ever have imagined.
I was drawn to this book by the cover initially. It's amazing and encompasses the story without words. The writing, the plot, storyline and characters kept me not only engaged, but engrossed throughout. Mary Rose was a conundrum, especially when you try to relate the little girl to the woman she grows into. This is the issue Simon has after meeting her parents and learning about the past. His obsession with solving the decades old mystery set in motion a sequence of events that are slightly terrifying and very dangerous.
I liked that the story was well paced, not a constant frenzied energy of one thing after another. The reality behind the mystery was something I didn't see coming and I enjoyed that as well. If you're a fan of ghost stories, Alfred Hitchcock-esque plots or books that keep you guessing until the very last page... you'll love this one.
EXCERPT
Ronny
turned back around, thought he heard the others’ voices. Only ten minutes
before, he’d been beside Aaron McDuffy and “Mousey” Costello, the three of them
finding strength of sorts in numbers. Now there was no one there with him. His
schoolmates somehow lost to the night. Each mound and hill in the distance
appeared as enormous roiling waves, waves which even moved, so that it was
impossible to know where the island ended and the sea began.
He
thought of running once more but feared stepping into a hidden hollow, a cave,
never to be seen again. No different from the English girl.
He wanted to cry out to the guys. Call their names, call for help.
He wanted to cry out to the guys. Call their names, call for help.
But what if he wasn’t truly alone?
If
he cried out to them, what might hear him first?
Behind
him, birch trees wavered dimly in the silhouette of night. Like dozens of long
crooked witch fingers breaking free from the black earth, stretching to touch
an even blacker sky.
He’d
already doubled back twice, every turn somehow taking him farther away from
where he’d thought his mates had last been. The willowy moon was lost behind
massive black clouds, hovering like some prehistoric god above the whole
island. Watching him, watching them all, look for the girl. Watching another
tragedy unfold. For this was not the first time something like this had
happened. There’d been other more horrible stories than the one playing out
here tonight.
This
time it was an English tourist and his daughter.
Six
years old. Gone missing the whole day.
His
father and the other local men cursed the English family under their breath. It
was more than customary dislike of the outsiders, though. It was something
else. His father and the others didn’t like being here, either. Old enough to
not need a good slap to force them into it but still wary.
“Best
hope she’s drowned,” his father had said, and the other men agreed as if he’d
said something kind.
The
ground was ragged and uneven suddenly, the grass giving way to rough clusters
of rock. Beyond, an outcropping and short hummock. The sound of a narrow stream
trickled in the darkness between. Brilliant! He could follow the stream back to
the lake where his father would be, or to the shore. In either case, he had his
bearings again.
Ronny
struggled more carefully, hands to rock, flashlight looking for hidden crevices
and jagged edges.
What
if he found her?
Out
here among the rocks, her body twisted and limp like a discarded toy doll.
Would her eyes be open? Would they be glassy too, like a doll’s eyes? Shining
in the dark.
Or
would they be dull and empty? Dead was dead.
Last spring, he’d seen his grandpa laid flat in the
casket, all waxy and frozen like a big candle wrapped in a man’s suit.
What
if the English girl was lying there dead like that?
She
might be right here beside him in the dark and he wouldn’t even know it. Faceup
in the unseen stream. Swollen and blue from the cold. Or worse, alive and
sitting in the dark on one of the adjacent rocks. Knees up to her chin. Just
sitting there in the dark and waiting for someone else to come along. Would she
grab him or, much worse, gently take his hand?
A
sound floated past him on the cool night wind, shifting across his face. He
told himself it had not been the sound of a little girl.
Ronny’s
foot slipped, something ripped into his ankle. Fangs! Claws! He screamed and
shone his light down. It was not the sharp teeth of a doonie or the ghost of a
Nazi. It was not the claws of some dead little girl. It was only a rock.
He
moved quicker now, following along the lip of the stream, jogging even, now
running, praying his choice led to the lake and his father and not to some
mysterious cave where horrible things mostly crawled but sometimes walked.
Book Nerd Spotlight
Photo Content from Geoffrey Girard
Geoffrey Girard writes thrillers, historicals, and dark speculative fiction. His first book, Tales of the Jersey Devil, thirteen original tales based on American folklore, was published by Middle Atlantic Pressin 2005, followed by Tales of the Atlantic Pirates (2006) and Tales of the Eastern Indians (2007). Simon and Schuster published two Girard novels simultaneously in 2013: CAIN'S BLOOD, a techno thriller, and PROJECT CAIN, a companion novel for teen/YA readers which was nominated for a Bram Stoker award for "Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel."
In 2017, Carolrhoda Books published TRUTHERS, a YA novel about the 9/11 conspiracy, and Adaptive Books published MARY ROSE, a psychological thriller/ghost novel.
Girard's short fiction has appeared in several best-selling anthologies and magazines, including Writers of the Future (a 2003 winner), Prime Codex, Aoife's Kiss, The Willows, Murky Depths, Apex Horror & Science Fiction Digest, and the Stoker-nominated Dark Faith anthology. The debut collection of his short fiction, first communions, was published by Apex Books in May, 2016.
Born in Germany and shaped in New Jersey, Geoffrey currently lives in Ohio and is the English Department Chair at a famed private boys' high school. Prior to teaching, he worked as an advertising copywriter, web developer and marketing manager. He has a BA in English literature from Washington College and an MA in creative writing from Miami University, where he is now working on an MFA. He has presented and led workshops on creative writing at schools, bookstores and various writers' conventions/events.
Social Media
WEEK ONE:
October 23rd Monday Movies, Shows, & Books EXCERPT
October 24th Tuesday JeanBookNerd VLOG & TENS LIST
October 25th Wednesday The Avid Reader INTERVIEW
October 26th Thursday Sweet Southern Home REVIEW
October 27th Friday Book Queen Reviews REVIEW
WEEK TWO:
October 30th Monday Sabrina's Paranormal Palace REVIEW & EXCERPT
October 31st Tuesday A Dream Within a Dream REVIEW
October 31st Tuesday Casia's Corner REVIEW
November 1st Wednesday Mama Reads Blog REVIEW
November 2nd Thursday Crossroad Reviews REVIEW
November 2nd Thursday TTC Books and More REVIEW & EXCERPT
November 3rd Friday tfaulcbookreviews REVIEW & INTERVIEW
November 3rd Friday CBY Book Club EXCERPT
*JBN is not responsible for Lost or Damaged Books in your Nerdy Mail Box*
--Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter
--Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter
- 5 Winners will receive a Copy of MARY ROSE by Geoffrey Girard.
Great review. This looks really good.
ReplyDeletewhen I was giving birth to my daughter until I knew she was ok and healthy
ReplyDelete