The Legend of Rachel Petersen by J.T. Baroni ~ review

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Damnation Books, LLC (December 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1615725431
• ISBN-13: 978-1615725434

This book is also available as an e-book.

This book was reviewed for Readersfavorite.com

Publication Date: December 1, 2011

Did his book raise the dead? Outraged when The Post Gazette overlooks him for a promotion, thirty-nine year old sports writer, Christian Kane quits and moves to the country to write fiction. Inspiration flows from a grave he stumbles upon in the woods. He compiles The Legend of Rachel Petersen, a fascinating story revolving around the dead twelve year old girl lying beneath the weathered tombstone. His book becomes a Best Seller; then Hollywood makes it in to a blockbuster movie. Kane becomes rich and famous, but only to have Rachel rise from the grave to seek revenge on him for slandering her name!

My take on this book:

Christian Kane is a sportswriter who is a bit behind in the times, he really isn't into electronic gadgets, but that has never stopped him from being on top of his game when it comes to his job. So when the Chief Sports Job comes open he knows he is a shoe in for the job, that is until the job goes to someone else. When he tells his wife Shelby he is going to quit his job and move to the country to become a writer, well she is a bit skeptical,and gives him a year to write a book. When his inspiration comes from a lone grave belonging to Rachel Petersen, he quickly has a best seller on his hands,but when he starts seeing Rachel could it be that she is less than happy with him? 

To say that I enjoyed this story is an understatement. It's really hard to describe just how unique this story was. We start out with Christian and his wife Shelby, and follow them along as the move to the country, a contemporary setting,then as Christian starts to write, he effortlessly switches gears and we are drawn back in time to the 1950's where two young boys Seth and Thad Yoder are hunting for deer, in their quest to get the big one, they are led to 12 year old Rachel Petersen's grave, who lived during the civil war. The Yoder boys soon find themselves being haunted by Rachel, so they decide to find out what the real story is concerning Rachel. This transports the reader back to the Civil War Era. Then the reader finds themselves back with Christian, and we learn that we have just read his novel, one that will become a bestseller  The author transitioned between past and present effortlessly. I became  invested in the lives of Thad and Seth Yoder. I loved the camaraderie that I felt between the two, the author easily captured the sibling relationship. I also felt empathy for Rachel's character,as well as Sam. 

Halloween always puts me in the mood to read "scary" stories, so I decided to read "The Legend of Rachel Petersen" by J.T. Baroni. Well while the author took me on a scary journey, with more twists than a winding Appalachian  country road. Mr. Baroni had the ability to make me believe something and then throw in a twist that left me shaking my head. While there was definitely the scare factor with this story, the author actually weaves in humor, mystery along with a thrilling story that kept me mesmerized until the final page!

About J.T.Baroni:

Living in Western Pennsylvania all my life, I have been an avid Whitetail hunter since I was old enough to tote a rifle, which is also about as long as I've had a fondness for word games and literature. While hunting last year, I actually did stumble upon a weathered tombstone in the middle of the woods. Waiting patiently for any deer to cross my path gave me plenty of time to think about that lone grave's inhabitant and ponder her story, which I was then driven to write. Eerily enough, this is the premise of The Legend of Rachel Petersen, my first published novel. I have also composed several songs that are currently signed with a music publisher.
My home is Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a small town outside of Pittsburgh, where my wife Becky and I are both proud members of the Lions International. We share our home with our son, Skyler, and an AKC boxer, Butkus.

To learn more about Mr. Baroni, be sure and check out his website here.