Janet Hensen holds a copy of the book “The Shop on Royal Street” by Karen White.
Submitted photo
Name: Janet Hensen
Job title: Information services manager for the Jackson County Public Library
What’s the name of the book and author you are recommending?
“The Shop on Royal Street” by Karen White, which is the first book in her new Royal Street mystery series.
What made you want to pick up this book in the first place?
I really enjoyed the Tradd Street series by this author, which features Melanie Trenholm, a real estate agent in Charleston who reluctantly communicates with ghosts but solves mysteries set in historic homes. This new series is about Melanie’s stepdaughter, Nola, who has just moved to New Orleans. In addition to enjoying the characters, I also really like the history and details about southern architecture in both series.
Once you got into the book, what made you want to keep reading it?
Since I had read the original series, I knew I would like the main character, but the new cast of characters is really fun. I love her roommate, Jolene, especially. And of course, I wanted to find out more about the ghosts inhabiting her new house.
Once you finished the book, what did you like about it?
I liked that it resolved the mystery arc of this book but still left questions for the next book. I like series mysteries and enjoy following the development of the characters from book to book.
What is the book about?
The main character, Nola Trenholm, has moved to New Orleans with her brand-new graduate degree in historic preservation and fallen in love with a fixer-upper of a house. It becomes a little bit of a problem when she discovers Beau Ryan, with whom she shares a complicated history, owns the house and doesn’t want to sell it to her. The house also is occupied by a couple of ghosts, who Nola can’t see or communicate with but Beau can. It turns out there was a murder in the house in 1964, which was never solved, and it seems to be somehow connected to Beau, his grandmother, Mimi, and his sister, Sunny, who disappeared just before Hurricane Katrina. Nola’s former college roommate, Jolene, happens to be Beau’s assistant, and she knows people who can help dig into the history of the house and Sunny’s disappearance.
Why would you recommend this book to others?
There is really something for everyone in this book. It has the charm of southern fiction and an appreciation for the architecture and history of New Orleans while being a mystery, a ghost story and a reluctant romance. It is the first book of a new series, and although there are visits from characters in the other series, you don’t need to have read them to enjoy this book.