Teresa Mathews | splashesofjoy

Thirteen Steps to the Cellar by Teresa Mathews

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My Rating: 5 stars

Thirteen Steps to the Cellar. They were steep; they were narrow—but was a fall down them enough to have caused the twenty-seven deep lacerations to her aunt’s head?

Callie Harris travels from her home in Alabama to her aunt’s former mansion in Maine to unravel the haunting forty-year-old mystery of Dr. Laverne Harris Doss’ brutal death.

Why wasn’t a murder weapon found? Was her uncle justly convicted of the killing? Was his mistress involved? Or was the murderer the bearded stranger rumored to have arrived by train that night?

In the charming town of Richmond, located on the banks of Maine’s historic Kennebec River, Callie uncovers the community’s darkest secrets—a botched police investigation, a betrayed widow’s lie, a dead woman’s blackmail, and a wealthy philanthropist’s shame. The web of intrigue extends far beyond her suspicions and its connection to her personal story pierces Callie to her core.

Please read EXCERPT

Three weeks after her father’s funeral, Callie stood in front of the Richmond, Maine house where her aunt had lived, worked, and died. She took one picture after

another, even crossing the street to capture the full view of the magnificent three story home. The stately, red-brick Colonial mansion still looked much like the

pictures from the old newspaper article she’d found in the drawer. Four chimneys rose above the roof, and modillion cornice adorned the overhanging eaves. A white

portico covered the front entrance. Zooming in, she could even see the shiny brass knocker on the red door.

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

For a first novel, author Teresa Mathews writes an amazing haunting, suspenseful, scary and such an entertaining read, but be advised, this one will keep you up at night! I had a hard time putting this book down! As Callie Harris tries to uncover the mystery of her aunts death many years before, her journey was a not so easy one.

I love a good clean suspense, and 13 Steps to the Cellar is just that. And the writing of this first time author is amazing. With the wonderful unique character and their development as the story unfolds kept me totally engrossed in this story. There are so many twists and turns in the awesome murder mystery that it will keep you guessing. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something else comes up and you are back to square one! There are so many things to say about this story, but I’ll not ruin it for you. If you enjoy a good clean murder mystery, suspense, this would be a great one for you to read. I’m looking forward to more from this author.

A copy of this book was given to me by the author or publisher. I am not required to write a positive review. The opinions here in this review are totally mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TERESA MATHEWS is a graduate of The University of South Alabama. She’s a member of the Mobile Writers Guild and serves on the Board of Directors for the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association.

An avid gardener and artist, she has multiple book covers to her credit. Several years ago after visiting the site of her real-life aunt’s murder, Teresa discovered a third passion–storytelling. Although inspired by an actual tragedy, Thirteen Steps to the Cellar is fiction.

Raised on the Gulf Coast, Teresa, her husband, and son now live on a farm with a second home on the sparkling white sands of Fort Morgan, Alabama. This is her first novel.