Midnight Bayou, Nora Roberts (Piatkus, £9.99)

Declan Fitzgerald has always been the family nonconformist; the one who flies against the normal. This time he has surprised himself too.

The purchase of Manet Hall is an impulse he can't justify; he just knows that the house holds a fascination he can't explain. Obsession would be the best way of defining his purchase, as he has known about the house for many years.

Set in the lush countryside of Louisiana, close to New Orleans, the mysteries of the bayou and the aura surrounding the old plantation house are a force to be reckoned with. Declan gives up practising law and concentrates on manual labour.

The carpentry is going to be his contribution to the restoration project, and tackling a re-build has been on his mind since he was a teenager on a summer job.

From the very start the atmosphere in the hall has held Dec in thrall. The history and feel of the house invade his every thought, sweeping rationality aside.

The feelings of dj vu are overwhelming when they manifest themselves, but most of the time he dismisses the strange feelings of previous inhabitants as ridiculous.

Ridiculous or not, the work has to move on and contractors start attacking the jobs that Dec can't do. The garden becomes a delight and room-by-room the house starts to come alive again.

However, not all the workers are happy there, strange happenings and weird atmospheres spook even the hardiest of builders, and it is when Declan's attacks of dj vu present in a sinister form that matters come to a head and he decides to investigate.

On the romantic front Declan meets Lena. Feisty, beautiful and independent, she is his delight and distraction from the work.

Along with old friends met at college and new neighbours, life has an attraction for Declan that he has never felt before, but he must overcome the ghosts from the past before he can really move ahead and accomplish his dream.

Nora Roberts has written yet another exciting and compelling story, with the usual twist that makes you gasp. Great reading for a winter weekend.

Annie Dendy