Review: Very good story with a touch of paranormal and mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 16, 2013
Rhys is a history professor with an interest in parapsychology. Sam is a cop. They are more or less matched by Oliver, the owner of Berkeley's house, a haunted mansion that Rhys wants to investigate for a book he's writing. At first the two seem to clash: Sam thinks Rhys is Oliver's last fling; he doesn't believe in paranormal phenomena; he doesn't want Rhys to walk into Berkeley's house. Rhys is attracted to Sam, but at the same time he can't stand Sam's ways.The paranormal plot has also a bit of mystery. The haunted house is creepy, as are Rhys' walks in the woods at night and the apparitions he believes he sees. The two men find their way to each other physically quicker than their way to each other's trust. Both are not forthcoming and open and they keep something to themselves. It's not the stubborn miscommunication that comes from misunderstandings, it has more to do with a natural reserve on their part.There's also another lovely story in the background: Oliver and Thaddeus'. They are both painters, they've grown up together, they love each other. They're not young anymore, but Oliver keeps having flirts with younger, pretty men and breaking Thaddeus' heart repeatedly. It was moving and a sort of bonus story into the main plot line.I think you've read me tell repeatedly that Lanyon's writing is superb and always worth reading, so yeah, again. There are a few editing errors that come from the earlier anthology version (many other errors were fixed in this edition). Adding the chapters was the right decision. They correspond to the section breaks of the original version, but as chapters they give the story a better organization.