It’s Monday! What are you reading?
This week I read “Cades Cove: The Curse of Allie Mae” by Aiden James.
One of my favorite places on Earth is the Smoky Mountains, and sitting in a hollow in the mountains is Cades Cove. I’ve been there many times and was excited by the sheer name of this book.
Cades Cove: The Curse of Allie Mae is a ghost story written in current times with bits of history, tradition, and ancestry thrown in.
David and Miriam Hobbs venture to a secret place in Cades Cove that is reportedly the 1800’s version of Lover’s Lane. They see hearts and names carved on the old trees, and one of the names is Allie. Later they find an old treasure bag with Allie’s name embroidered on it. David takes the bag home to Denver and the ghost story begins. Allie turns out to be a hateful poltergeist that terrorizes David’s family. Of course you’ll keep reading to find out how they get rid of her and who she is. The family connection at the end between Allie and David is intriguing.
When the family can’t take any more of Allie’s deadly mischief, David takes Allie’s bag back to Cades Cove and enlists the help of a Cherokee Indian guide and his shaman daughter to get rid of Allie. After intense spells and a flashback to Allie’s gruesome death, the story ends, and all is well.
At that point, I would have given the book lots of stars for the good plot, but it doesn’t end there. Once David returns to Denver, he receives a letter from the Indian stating they have exhumed Allie’s remains and given her a proper burial. I wish the book would have ended there, but at that point Allie reappears in the family home, making the dog bark and making me feel like I just wasted two days of my life reading a book about how they got rid of her. The story apparently segues into a sequel.
If you like ghost stories, this one is for you!
Check it out on Amazon HERE and take a peak at Aiden James’s website HERE.
Lori Crane 
I’ve been to Cades Cove a bunch of times, and each time I see a bear–or multiple bears. That has nothing to do with your book, but what the heck, I thought you might find it interesting.
That’s one of the cool things about Cades Cove is the bears! 🙂
Since we’re in the process of relocating to the Smoky Mountains, this book just made my TBR list. Also, I’m eagerly awaiting my hardcover copy of Harper Lee’s new book. Controversy floats around the plot, but I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve read it.
I was thinking of you when I wrote this review. It’s a really interesting story.
Yikes! Just heard a relative got Ms. Lee’s book today and refused to finish it. Said they were going to go home and burn it. Of course, it’s dated, racist, and written with a different mindset from today, but… Well, let me know what you think.
I think I have to read it because of this controversy. Best to judge for myself. I understand she wrote this prior to To Kill a Mockingbird and was told to soften the rhetoric. Perhaps that’s why she didn’t write anything else. It’s important to understand the context/culture/historical perspective in which she wrote it. I will definitely write a review. BTW, I ordered your recommendation yesterday and got the audio version for an additional fee. Plan to “read” it on my drive down to NC later this month.