The Haunting of Octavius Manor: The Historic Estate Mysteries

A war bride. A sealed story. A house that never gave up its past.

Margaret Ellison entered Octavius Manor as a war bride. Three years later, the story of her life—and her death—was neatly written: murdered by the husband she had loved and waited for. Eighty years later, when Bill Sterling purchases the long-abandoned manor overlooking the Atlantic—drawn by its potential for a veterans’ animal training sanctuary, and because Sally Davies has never quite forgotten it—the house proves far more difficult to restore than expected in what becomes a coastal Maine gothic mystery rooted as much in history as in place. What he didn’t anticipate was how thoroughly the house’s reputation would work against him. Octavius Manor is considered haunted, and finding anyone willing to work on it proves nearly impossible,, and its history feels strangely contained, and the deeper Sally looks, the more she begins to wonder if what happened in 1946 was never fully told. What begins as a renovation quickly becomes something else. The house feels less abandoned than withheld. A sealed wing remains untouched. The estate’s history is oddly incomplete for a place that once stood at the center of the town’s life. Records exist—but not where they should, and not in ways that fully explain what happened.

Sally isn’t looking for a mystery, but she recognizes when a story fits a little too neatly. The more she learns about the events of 1946, the more the official account begins to feel less like a conclusion and more like a version that was accepted because it came from the people most in a position to define it.

As past and present begin to align, Sally finds herself drawn into Margaret’s story—not as it was told, but as it might have actually unfolded. What emerges is not a single dramatic revelation, but something quieter and more enduring: how easily a life can be reduced to a convenient narrative, and how much persistence it takes to see beyond it.

She isn’t working alone. Joni brings a sharp instinct for what lies beneath the surface, while Lonnie’s practical eye catches details others would overlook.

And then there’s Cary Grant.

A Great Dane with boundless enthusiasm and absolutely no sense of restraint, he approaches every situation—suspicious or otherwise—with complete commitment. He is not subtle. He is not helpful. But he is very much part of the investigation.

As past and present come into clearer focus, Sally uncovers a story that is less about a single night and more about how easily a truth can be shaped—and how difficult it is to recover once it has been left unquestioned for decades.

The Haunting of Octavius Manor is a gothic, dual-timeline mystery that blends small-town history, slow-burn romance, and the quiet persistence of a woman unwilling to accept an answer that doesn’t quite fit.

Perfect for readers who enjoy: • Amateur sleuth mysteries with strong female leads

• Slow-burn romance woven into a central mystery

• Gothic estates, hidden histories, and atmospheric settings

• Dual-timeline stories connecting past and present

• Coastal Maine and New England settings

• Found-family dynamics and character-driven storytelling

• Cozy mysteries with depth, history, and emotional stakes

• Dogs who were absolutely not meant to be involved—but are anyway

The Historic Estate Mysteries follows Sally, Bill, Joni, Lonnie, and Cary Grant as they uncover the stories hidden within remarkable historic properties. Each book stands alone while deepening the relationships at the heart of the series.

Perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries with a touch of gothic atmosphere, in the spirit of The Forgotten Garden and The Maid.