GIVING UP THE GHOST
By G.A. Hauser
Cover art by Dan Skinner
ISBN Trade paperback: 978-1-60202-097-9
Linden Bay Romance, LLC
February 2007
Paranormal Gay Romance
174 pages
From the first paragraph where Ryan Monroe is working on his latest painting to the very end the reader will be able to almost hear ghostly piano mucic playing in the back of their head as they follow the Ryan through the story. Ryan hears the sound of music coming from the empty apartment next door and shortly later it stops with the occupant knocks on his door to see if he minds the music. Ryan is stricken with the looks of his new neighbor, who introduces himself as Evan Oliver a pianist.
Evan went back to his piano and Ryan went back to his painting but Ryan could not stop thinking about the handsome man next door. This in itself was strange because Ryan had not been able to think about another man since the death of Victor Hancock, his deceased lover, since his death almost two years ago on Christmas eve.
Since then, Ryan has been spending time with Amy Woodward a neighbor of his. Although Ryan has no attraction fo Amy or any woman as any more than a fried, it is good to have someone to hang out with. Their friends had been Victors friends and had slowly drifted away.
Staringly though Ryan heard the them music and saw Evan though the neighbor hood, even walking with him along the pier, no one else seemed to see him and Amy was sure the apartment next door to Ryan was empty. Then too, Evan always was dressed in black. Ryan fascination and attraction to Evan rose, and the mystery built. Evan did not quite seem human.
Who or what was this staringly exciting man.
During one encounter Ryan dreamed of Evan and a man, obviously his partner having a good time on the pier and taking photos in a vending machine. When Ryan woke Evan was gone But a photo of Evan and the man, Paul he realized, from his dream remained. Who was Paul and where did he fit in this picture?
Another morning Ryan woke to find his latest painted changed from the angry reds and yellow he had been using the last two years to a blue and green serene impressionist landscape, it was completely at odds with his previous style but it was what he had talked about with Evan a few days before . . . Both Amy and his agent Lauren were delighted with his new painting, Ryan found he had adopted a new calmer style of painting/. Perhaps at last he was letting go of the rage over his friends death.
His new show at the gallery was scheduled for just after Christmas, that worst of all times for Ryan. He was still desolate over Victors death on Christmas Eve as the holidays approached, Ryan and Amy planned a trip to his family, the first since the loss of Victor. And she got tickets to the symphony for the Nutcracker.
Trying to solve the mystery of Evan and his lover Paul they turned to the internet to search for Evan. The discovered his obituary. He had died in the same accident as Victor and he left a lover, Paul Goldman, a violinist.
After their next encounter Evan left a violin bow at Ryan’s apartment, ivory and ebony. Very special. Apparently as a pointed to Paul. Ryan and Amy attended the concert and found they recognize Paul from the internet and Ryan’s dreams. How could Ryan approach him he would be convinced that Ryan was insane. As they left the concert hall, Ryan saw Evan standing outside Was he a ghost and was he trying to puts Ryan and his former lover Paul together.
There is more to this haunting story, but I will leave ti to you to discover it for yourself. I throughly enjoyed this well written book. It is a charming romance and a wonderful haunting. I would give it 5 notes out of 5 and a grace note as well, enjoy!
Cries and Whiskers By Clea Simon
Poisoned Pen Press
Mystery
copyright 2007 by Clea Simon
First edition 2007
251 pages
Price hardcover $24.95 Large type paper $22. 95
Poison Pen Press.com
A hit and run death, Feral Cats, Animal Activists, Real estate Developers, Drugs and the Music Scene even domestic cats, these all are balls that freelance journalist Theda Krakow is balancing along with her friends and her boyfriend, Bill, a policeman, currently recovering from a broken kneecap.
Gail was dead. The Animal Activist had been attempting to trap feral cats at the old abandoned bottling plant near the river, and had been struck by a hit and run driver. Violet, another animal activist had called Theda to go with her to try to find the cats that Gail had trapped, If they could not be removed to a safe location they would freeze to death in the traps. Gail had died in surgery so they couldn't just ask her where the cages were.
Bill reacted to Theda's story like the bored policeman he was. To him it was an intellectual puzzle, statistics, evidence and facts. He was recovering from a broken knee cap and after two surgeries was barely able hobble around on crutches. He was an active intellectual man, and outgoing. He hated to be alone. The involuntary rest was hard for him.
Theda, on the other hand, welcomed the opportunity to be alone. She worked as a freelance journalist, doing a regular column, Clubland, for the Morning Mail. She preferred Mornings rousing herself slowly with a couple of cups of coffee, just the computer and her cat Mussete.
But as much as Theda liked her morning solitude her day was broken by others, first the editor of the Morning Mail called changing her current freelance assignment. Forget the group Dragon's Breath, and prepare an article on the new group Swann's Way. Swann's Way had never been seen or heard of before, but they had excellent publicity and were opening in a big concert at the university in just a short time.
Then she found another friend of hers, Tess, had been involved in an auto accident the night before. Her car was the same color as some paint marks at the hit and run scene. And Tess told conflicting stories to her friends about the accident.
Searching for information Theda could find no prior appearances for Swann's Way and the only song releases she could find was their sample on the website. It was a slick website with a non-memorable song. There was a notice that their true debut would be in a couple of weeks at MuzeArts concert hall, at 10,000 a night usually only booked by top flight groups. No one had seen or heard anything of this group before.
A phone conversation with the Morning Mail's house supplement editor started Theda looking into the development of the old river front building, including the old bottling plant where Gail was killed. Yet her real estate friends were reluctant to discuss the development of this building with her. There seemed to be something more than possible community protests involved.
The representative from Swann's Way agreed to meet with Theda at the Casbah club that night. Again, the girl seemed to be totally new to what she was doing, but the brochures were slick and expensive. She explained there was no point in putting all this effort into just one project. Perhaps even a coop deal with a string of book and music stores with Swann's Way displays and showcases. Another sign of big money involvement with the Swann's Way group. Somehow Theda resented the group buying its way in and skipping the normal development of local music groups.
A girl had staggered past them to the bathroom acting and sounding high as a kite. Not a totally unusual sight for the music club scene, but she did not look the type for this early on a Tuesday night and before the band had even begun to play. Then another woman came running out of the bathroom insisting that an ambulance be called. The girl in the bathroom was having convulsions and the woman doubted that she was breathing. When Theda told Bill about this later he mentioned there had been a rise in drug-related incidents recently.
The police were looking at Violet as a suspect in Gail's hit and run death, but could it have been her, or Tess, or someone from Animal Now, the violent animal rights group Gail had just left? Questions were multiplying and answers refused to appear. Then the realtor admitted to Theda about the problems with the development at the bottling plant where Gail met her death. The developer had been threatened, and tires slashed. Could Animals Now be involved? Everything came together loosely, but real ties could not be seen.
Yes, Theda had a lot to unravel. The Hit and Run death, Feral Cats, Animal Activists, Real Estate Developers, Drugs and the Music Scene even domestic cats, these all are balls that freelance journalist Theda Krakow is balancing along with her friends and her boyfriend Bill. How are they connected, if they are? You will be reading into the night to solve this fascinating puzzle.
The characters are well rounded and the cats are adorable. If you are like I am, a mystery and cat lover, you will be in heaven with this book. I would give it 5 catnip mice out of 5.
c Reviewed by Rita M., gottawritenetwork.com,
April 24, 2008
