House of Whispers: Book One of the Supernatural Properties    by Margaret Lucke Order:  USA  Can Juno, 2008 (2008) Paperback      Reviewed by Ricki Marking-Camuto Mystery, romance, horror – Margaret Lucke's House of Whispers got it all. If this first book is any indication of the series, the Supernatural Properties is sure to be an emotional thrill ride. Claire Scanlan has moved to California to start a new life after she discovered her ex-husband cheating on her. On her first day as a real estate agent, she is assigned a fabulous ocean view property designed by a famous architect – that also happened to be the scene of a grisly murder-suicide a little over a year before. Coinciding with the start of her new career, Claire is also having vivid nightmares that seem related to the house. Whenever she is in the great room of the house alone, she hears voices pleading for help and experiences other ghostly occurrences. When a dream shows her the police were wrong in calling it a murder-suicide, Claire does everything she can to get to the bottom of the deaths, even if the culprit might be the current owner of the house and her new boyfriend, Ben Grant. Lucke begins House of Whispers on a creepy note, starting the novel from the viewpoint of a ghost. When Claire is introduced, she is instantly likeable, and Avery, Claire's rival at the real estate office, is equally despicable. As Claire gets more involved with the house, the horror grows but is nicely offset by her budding romance with Grant. Aside from the chilling horror and the warm romance, Lucke also writes a good, complex mystery with plenty of suspects. Once I started House of Whispers, I could not put it down – either I was too scared to stop reading where I was or I had to know what was going to happen. Margaret Lucke keeps the plot moving at a breakneck pace that, along with the story's emotional atmosphere, keeps the reader sucked in and hanging on for dear life. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews