Charlotte “Charlie” Cates is grateful for the opportunity to go back to her writing roots in the field of true crime. Her new book assignment given to her by her old editor gives her the chance to get out of New York and the memories of her deceased son Keegan. Charlie’s assignment sends her to “Evangeline”, the Deveau family’s Louisiana estate, to look into a thirty-year-old case of a missing child. Charlie is drawn to the case for more reasons than having a job. She thinks the spirit of the Deveau child is communicating with her. The investigation, as well as a new romance, seem to be helping Charlie heal from her son’s death. However, there are so many secrets, as well as danger, at Evangeline which could spoil Charlie’s chance of happiness and may even prove to be fatal!

I loved this book! The prologue immediately captured my attention and never let go. The book got better and better as it went on and I didn’t want to put it down. I like the author’s style of writing and the way it pulls you in and gets you hooked on Charlie’s story. There were so many twists and turns, I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next. Charlie’s visions were intriguing and made an already interesting mystery even better.

The book has a classic gothic mood, with a Southern mansion, swamp, and fog, but with a definite modern feel. Charlie is such an interesting character, who is much stronger than the typical damsel in distress. I love that the local police detective is her ally, but not her love interest. Her relationship with Noah is fresh, believable, and I was invested in wanting things to work out for them.

"The Gates of Evangeline" has a lot of different elements and deals with themes such as infidelity, forbidden love, and evil, as well as forgiveness, a mother’s love, and healing. Everything is woven together seamlessly into a first-rate thriller that I loved reading. Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy of this excellent book.