Review: The Door to Lost Pages by Claude Lalumiere

The Door to Lost Pages by Claude Lalumière
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was drawn to The Door to Lost Pages because among other things it sounded like a wonderful bookstore, one you'd like to find on a little side street and explore. The chapters in the book are really more short stories that are loosely strung together with Aydee and the store as common elements.


"Bestial Acts" introduces Aydee as a 10 year old leaving home and encountering supernatural beings that in turn give her comfort and lead her to the store. The other chapters have different main focuses, though through it all Aydee continues to grow up. Then in "Lost Girls" Aydee must confront herself, her own worst fear as it turns out.


Perhaps especially intriguing is the tale marked "Coda" which appears after "Lost Girls". It seems to be from the author's perspective and talks about the weird building across the street from him that is changing appearance and aspect daily. He is tempted on more than one occasion to enter the building, but ultimately only one visage will truly tempt him.


The book is well written and the writing is varied from easygoing stories like "Let Evil Beware!" to erotica and coming of age in ":Dregs" to horror that reminded me of H.P. Lovecraft in "Dark Tendrils". Lalumiere shows that he has a wide range of writing that he is capable of and that he can do it well.


I would recommend this book to adult fans of urban fantasy and sci-fi/fantasy. It's not a long read, but it is a good read.
The Door to Lost Pages

I received a copy of this book in order to provide my unbiased review.


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Review: Play Dead by Anne Frasier

Play Dead by Anne Frasier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Elise is a Savannah detective who has had a somewhat unorthodox education as a teenager from a root doctor. David is a Yankee, former FBI agent, and working on recovering from his son's death at his ex-wife's hands. Together they are investigating the deaths of young men in Savannah that resemble zombiism. Paralyzed by tetrodotoxin, the poison of the pufferfish, the young men are aware of their fate up until their deaths.


The book was taut with suspense. I did not see who the killer was before the identity was revealed.

This is a mystery book, but I also shelve it under horror because the idea of being paralyzed, but aware of everything and under the control of a criminal is horrifying. Not to mention finding out that the body you are cutting into to autopsy is really alive and not dead after all would be horrifying both to the supposed corpse and the medical examiner. And to make it worse, there is an element of necrophilia that eventually comes up. Don't kiss me with that corpse breath!


In addition, the author handled the culture of Savannah and that of the root doctors well.


Overall, I enjoyed the book and I would love to see a sequel with these detectives in Savannah.


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