Review: A Very Fine Noir Ghost Story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 3, 2014
William Meikle is a multifaceted writer.  You just can’t pigeon-hole him as this or that type.  He writes classic monster romps like Night of the Wendigo or Crustaceans, historical re-imaginings like Abominable, retro style sci-fi horror like The Hole.  He writes extremely thoughtful and deep character driven pieces that are very fine examples of where dark (literary) fiction is all about today---like Clockwork Dolls and this most recent novella Broken Sigil.This ghost story one had a 40’s crime noir style feel to it.  Maybe because this is part homage to The Maltese Falcon, a movie lover’s dream pic staring Humphrey Bogart (my favorite actor), I was destined in advance to really enjoy this one.  Drawing on the complex and layered movie as a background, Broken Sigil tells the story of a disappearing man.Called to investigate the violent death of an ex-friend, he is drawn to a mysterious house with a very peculiar set of residents.  In a place where the needful living commune with the ghosts of their respective pasts, through channels of their own creation, Detective Connors dives deeper and deeper into its secrets as the real world recedes.Extremely well done and another example of the fine dark fiction being published by Darkfuse.