The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

While there is only one book in the Restless Spirits series so far, I decided to mention it in this folder instead of the "Paranormal" category, because there will be more to come.

After losing the family fortune to a fraudulent psychic, inventor Henry Strauss is determined to bring the otherworld under control through the application of science. All he needs is a genuine haunting to prove his Electro-Séance will work. A letter from wealthy industrialist Dominic Gladfield seems the answer to his prayers. Gladfield’s proposition: a contest pitting science against spiritualism, with a hefty prize for the winner.

The contest takes Henry to Reyhome Castle, the site of a series of brutal murders decades earlier. There he meets his rival for the prize, the dangerously appealing Vincent Night. Vincent is handsome, charming…and determined to get Henry into bed.

Henry can’t afford to fall for a spirit medium, let alone the competition. But nothing in the haunted mansion is quite as it seems, and soon winning the contest is the least of Henry’s concerns.

For the evil stalking the halls of Reyhome Castle wants to claim not just Henry and Vincent’s lives, but their very souls.

This is a very classic "let's go investigate a haunted house" tale, and in general it unfolds just as you'd expect; we've all seen these stories before, whether in print or on film.

However, just because the premise is familiar doesn't mean the story is dull---not by a long shot! I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of late-Victorian ghost hunters. A very pleasant diversion; this is precisely the sort of spooky story that I like.

Now, I can't say that Henry and Vincent quite grabbed me like Whyborne and Griffin did in the author's Widdershins series, but in time I may become every bit as fond of this new pair as I am of the previous duo. I think this initial volume, the beginning of a new series, contains a huge amount of potential. We'll get to watch the developing relationship between the two protagonists, and who knows what sorts of ghosts they may run into next? The possibilities are limitless; I'm already looking forward to the next instalment!

Hmmmmm.... I can't help but wonder if Henry and Vincent exist in the same universe as Whyborne and Griffin---the time period is the same, but is it the same world? If so---hey, maybe we have a crossover story to look forward to as well, with all four of the gentlemen sharing an adventure. Now that would be fun!

I like the cover too:

I enjoyed it too. It was very scary at times. Hawk's a talented author for getting the adrenaline going.

A haunted house, a desperate client offering a hefty reward, a psychic struggling to keep his business afloat, an inventor with brilliant ideas needing funds to start up his business. In a classic scenario of science vs paranormal – two men battle it out for the cash prize in the midst of a country mansion haunted by several entities, one or more of which has already acted murderously in the not-so-recent past.

If I had to make comparisons – this is a much better read overall than Rhys Ford’s Fish and Ghosts – more engaging and satisfying. The technical ghost-busting details are interestingly spelled out, the spooky menace and presences making themselves felt build steadily and nicely towards the malevolent showdown. I was quite intrigued by the MCs detective-work in uncovering the ‘whos’ and ‘whys’ behind the haunts. And like any classic Scooby-Doo episode – I can could not entirely decide whether the spooky-scariness is real or fake/man-made until the final denouement scenes; it was good that I was surprised by a couple of plot point twists at the end.

The love-hate dynamic between Henry (science) and Vincent (paranormal) stretches across the entire tale and to the author’s credit, she not overdo the high dramas nor upsetting misunderstandings. There are painful secrets and past traumas behind each man to be sure and these are nicely fleshed out / uncovered in little flashback vignettes – starting from the very first page actually! The cast of secondary supportive characters – female sidekicks to each MC actually, worked well and were also sufficiently fleshed out to make them individually distinct and I came to care for their well-being and outcomes just as much as for our two M-M heroes.

A highly recommended read. Jordan L Hawk is now an auto-buy for me – especially for her spooky stuff. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

Woohoo, here we have book two in the Restless Spirits series:

After the events of Reyhome Castle, Henry Strauss expected the Psychical Society to embrace his application of science to the study of hauntings. Instead, the society humiliates and blacklists him. His confidence shaken, he can’t bring himself to admit the truth to his lover, the handsome medium Vincent Night.

Vincent’s new life in Baltimore with Henry is disrupted when a friend from the past asks for help with a haunting. In the remote town of Devil’s Walk, old ties and new lies threaten to tear the lovers apart, if a fiery spirit bent on vengeance doesn’t put an end to them first.

And here we have another enjoyable ghostly outing; no surprise there, as the author always delivers. Chief among the pleasures of this new story is the gradually unfolding relationship between Henry and Vincent, which continues to grow (though of course not without the obligatory setbacks!). The supporting characters are quite engaging also, though neither Lizzy nor Jo seem to have as much to do this time around. I wouldn't mind if they were featured more prominently in a future story. And yes---I hope this becomes a long-running series!

(Oh, I got a kick out of the fact that the novel takes place in the same general area in which I live, so the setting seemed very familiar.)