Series: Royal Street #1
By: Karen White
ISBN: 978-0593334584
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: 03/29/2022
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
Nola Trenholm is hopeful for a fresh start in the Big Easy but must deal with ghosts from her past—as well as new ones—in this first book in a spin-off series of Karen White's New York Times bestselling Tradd Street novels.
After a difficult detour on her road to adulthood, Nola Trenholm is looking to begin anew in New Orleans, and what better way to start her future than with her first house? But the historic fixer-upper she buys comes with even more work than she anticipated when the house’s previous occupants don’t seem to be ready to depart.
Although she can’t communicate with ghosts like her stepmother can, luckily Nola knows someone in New Orleans who is able to—even if he’s the last person on earth she wants anything to do with ever again. Beau Ryan comes with his own dark past—a past that involves the disappearance of his sister and parents during Hurricane Katrina—and he’s connected to the unsolved murder of a woman who once lived in the old Creole cottage Nola is determined to make her own...whether the resident restless spirits agree or not.
My Review
Southern storyteller, Karen White returns following her Tradd Street (set in Charleston, SC-loved) with an exciting new spin-off series, THE SHOP ON ROYAL STREET set in New Orleans, LA. Featuring Nola with another great Southern city full of history, architecture, renovations, and plenty of ghosts.
Nola Trenholm is twenty-eight and is looking for a fresh start. She has purchased a wreck of a house (Creole cottage on Dauphine--historical home) that needs major work.
Nola is the stepdaughter of Charleston Realtor Melanie Middletown Treholm (and daughter of Jack Trenholm) from Tradd Street Series—and she thinks the house needs a wrecking ball or a flamethrower. Melanie has her own history with historic homes and ghosts. They also have twins JJ and Sarah.
Nola received her master's degree in historic preservation at the College of Charleston and did some renovations, but was she prepared for this job? She also worked at Trenholm Antiques in high school
She falls in love with the fixer-upper but she soon learns it comes with a murder mystery and ghosts that haunt the house.
On the door there is the initial MB embossed on the handle. They were from the iconic Maison Blanch department store building downtown. A piece of history. Lots of mysteries surrounding this house!
The house also comes with another ghost from Nola's past- Beau Ryan, the owner of the home who refuses to sell her the house. He wanted to take it off the market because he says it needs to be demolished as not safe. It is a murder house.
But Nola wants this house but has not clue what is in store or the secrets buried in the past.
Beau and Nola have history, which is rekindled when Beau finally agrees to sell Nola the home, under the agreement that his company assists in the renovations.
She was not wild about this, but it will help speed it along and help with cost and document it in media.
They work together to try and solve the murder mystery along with Jolene. One mystery is close to Beau and still haunts him — the disappearance of his sister, Sunny, right before Hurricane Katrina.
Also, we catch up with Jolene, Nola's former Tulane's roommate. She also works for Beau and his grandmother at Mimi JR Properties. They buy old houses and buildings that need restoring. Beau's grandmother also owns an antique shop in the French Quarter.
There are many mysteries surrounding the house and Beau. I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series. There are some restless spirits that need to be set free.
Beau also has a podcast, Bumps in the Night and Other Improbabilities with his partner Sam Beck.
I loved this book! Jolene was a lot of fun as well as the new cast. Cannot wait for more.
Being a former interior designer for hotels for many years and worked with top architects across the country, New Orleans is a favorite for architecture, especially, the Garden District. I adore cities, homes, and architecture rich in history and charm.
White does a great job with the vivid setting and descriptions, food and, ambiance of The Big Easy as well as she does with Charleston.
It has it all—Southern fiction, romance, humor, mystery, suspense, ghosts, rich history, delectables, antiques, architecture, a fabulous, well-developed cast of characters, and fun renovations.
"Often the last had a way of unearthing itself."
No one does Southern charm and ghostly mysteries better than Karen White. I think I like this series even better than Tradd Street series..
I cannot wait for the next book in the Royal Street #2 of 2 series— The House on Prytania coming May 9, 2023. I adore both covers!
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Mar 29, 2022
Praise
“White has added another page-turner to her repertoire of haunted houses and ghosts who won't stay put."
—Northwest Indiana Times
"A complex mystery that’s appropriately goosebumpy. Not just fans of the Tradd Street series, of which this is a spin-off, will look forward to seeing more of Nola." —Publishers Weekly
The House on Prytania
Series: A Royal Street Novel Book #2 of 2 By: Karen White ISBN: 978-0593334621 Publisher: Berkley Publication Date: 05/09/2023 Format: Hardcover My Rating: TBR TOP BOOKS OF 2023 LIST The second book in the new Royal Street series from New York Times bestselling author Karen White.
Nola Trenholm thought she was settled into her new home in New Orleans, but trouble makes its way to her in an unearthly form. More Coming!
About the Author
PHOTO CREDIT: MARCHET BUTLER
About Karen
Karen White is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 31 books, including the Tradd Street series, The Last Night in London, Dreams of Falling, The Night the Lights Went Out, Flight Patterns, The Sound of Glass, and A Long Time Gone. She is the coauthor of The Lost Summers of Newport, All the Ways We Said Goodbye, The Glass Ocean and The Forgotten Room with New York Times bestselling authors Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. She grew up in London but now lives with her husband near Atlanta, Georgia.
More About Karen
With almost two million books in print in fifteen different languages, Karen White is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 31 novels, including the popular Charleston-set Tradd Street mystery series.
Raised in a house full of brothers, Karen’s love of books and strong female characters first began in the third grade when the local librarian issued her a library card and placed The Secret of the Old Clock, a Nancy Drew Mystery, in her hands.
Karen’s roots run deep in the South where many of her novels are set. Her intricate plot lines and compelling characters charm and captivate readers with just the right mix of family drama, mystery, intrigue and romance.
Not entirely convinced she wanted to be a writer, Karen first pursued a career in business and graduated cum laude with a BS in Management from Tulane University. Ten years later, in a weak moment, she wrote her first book. In the Shadow of the Moon was published in August, 2000. Her books—referred to as “grit lit” (Southern Women’s Fiction)—have since been nominated for numerous national contests including the SIBA (Southeastern Booksellers Alliance) Fiction Book of the Year.
Karen’s latest releases include The Shop on Royal Street and The Lost Summers of Newport. The Shop on Royal Street, released on March 29th, 2022 and is the first book in a brand new series set in New Orleans and starring Nola Trenholm from the Tradd Street series. The publication of the fourth collaboration with Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig, The Lost Summers of Newport, was released on May 17th, 2022.
Next up for fans of Karen White is The House on Prytania Street, the second novel in the Royal Street series, scheduled for May, 2023.
When not writing, Karen spends her time reading, singing, and avoiding cooking. Karen and her husband have two grown children and a spoiled Havanese dog, Sophie, and divides her time between Atlanta, Georgia and the northwest Florida coast. WEBSITE
