The Diary of Natalya Zlota

Natalya Zlota is missing. Nobody knows. Nobody cares. Castledaly is populated by haves and have-nots. Sharp-witted student Nora may not have the same resources as some of the townsfolk but she’s a pragmatic young woman, doing what she can to get herself through college.There’s something about the Calder House that has always intrigued Nora. When Nora is asked to babysit for Marianne and Colin Calder, she gets her wish to spend some time inside the old mansion. Over the course of Nora’s visits, it becomes apparent that the house has an interfering entity. And this entity refuses to leave Nora alone. When Nora comes across the diary of the Calder’s former housekeeper, Natalya Zlota, she learns the unsettling truth about the Calders and what exactly what has been happening behind closed doors. These people have a sheen of respectability but are dogged by rumours and gossip. Marianne left her society life in Dublin to move to Castledaly with her husband. Since then, life has been unsatisfactory and she struggles to find her purpose. The neighbours poke fun at the grand opinion she has of herself. Colin owns a property company, and business has been up and down. He’s got a wandering eye and there’s talk that he’s committed insurance fraud. “How boring life must be, to have so much money but not to know what to do with your life. I unfortunately have not much money but a huge passion for life!” Natalya reveals her true character through her diary entries. She has a deep hatred of Marianne.“I want to barge down there and knock her off her white throne.” And she lusts over Colin, the man who can give her what she wants. “He has a certain smile. I know what it means.” The lifestyle and money that she’s never had, and will never have with her boyfriend Joe. “I’ve taken a box of Marianne’s mother’s jewellery too, she will never miss it. It’s ugly and old-fashioned but valuable.”Nora summons up the courage to investigate the diary further and try to learn what has happened to Natalya. There was a peculiar arrangement made between Natalya and the Calders but, as the reader will learn, somebody lost out. Big time. Will justice prevail? And will Natalya’s ghost ever leave Nora in peace?