Sleep, Pale Sister (P.S.)

Average customer rating:

Engrossing Fantasy

"I want to keep you innocent. I want to keep you beautiful."

A Wonderfully Ethereal Novel

Didn't like it at all

A Dreamy Drug of a Book!

Sleep, Pale Sister (P.S.)
Joanne Harris
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060787112
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Book Description

Before the sweet delight of Chocolat, before the heady concoction that is Blackberry Wine, and before the tart pleasures of Five Quarters of the Orange, bestselling author Joanne Harris wrote Sleep, Pale Sister -- a gothic tourde-force that recalls the powerfully dark sensibility of her novel Holy Fools.

Originally published in 1994 -- and never before available in the United States -- Sleep, Pale Sister is a hypnotically atmospheric story set in nineteenth century London. When puritanical artist Henry Chester sees delicate child beauty Effie, he makes her his favorite model and, before long, his bride. But Henry, volatile and repressed, is in love with an ideal. Passive, docile, and asexual, the woman he projects onto Effie is far from the woman she really is. And when Effie begins to discover the murderous depths of Henry's hypocrisy, her latent passion will rise to the surface.

Sleep, Pale Sister combines the ethereal beauty of a Pre-Raphaelite painting with a chilling high gothic tale and is a testament to Harris's brimming cornucopia of talents.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Engrossing Fantasy.......2007-06-26

I must say, this was one of the best books I've read in a long time. It starts off like a typical historical novel, but soon the story has you enmeshed with more twists and alternate realities! The story was a true cloud of drug induced confusion, and it is a refreshing change from so many novels published today. Plus, the story line is never predictable. I highly recommend this book!

"I want to keep you innocent. I want to keep you beautiful.".......2007-01-28

What seems at first a man's Svengali-like obsession with a pure young woman and another man's seduction that female proves to be but a part of a clever plot that twists and turns in unexpected ways, producing a darkly gothic ambiance that reeks of menace. At the center of everyone's fascination is the ethereal Effie, a frail girl with streaming white-blonde hair, who becomes the singular model for artist Henry Paul Chester. In the Victorian fashion, Chester makes clear moral distinctions, his life well-ordered and constricted by society's tenets, his considerable dark side kept well-disguised. Many years her senior, Chester marries the unassuming Effie, but struggles to maintain the ideal of purity with his wife, exorcised when she turns to him with passion on their wedding night. Repulsed, Chester believes his wife is tainted, ruined beneath the surface of her innocence. To assuage his own needs, Chester frequents a local bawdy house, where he is consistently drawn to a nubile virgin, Marti, provided by the madam, Fanny Miller.

Determined to maintain the façade he requires for emotional equilibrium, Chester doses his wife liberally with laudanum to assure her compliance with his wishes and shelter her from the outside world. Henry has a showing to introduce his work to the public; into this venue steps a roué, Moses Zachary Harper, who is immediately fascinated by Effie, her shy modesty a drug to his jaded senses. Much to Moses' surprise, his seduction is eagerly embraced, Effie desperate to taste the forbidden fruit he offers, her young life circumscribed by Chester's rigid control. Even Moses is out of his depth, anticipating a short, satisfying dalliance, but pulled into an erotic affair that both exceeds his expectations and frustrates his natural inclination to dominate. Manipulating behind the scenes is Fanny Miller, who has plans of her own for Effie and Moses, among them a long-awaited revenge that will not be denied. Once Effie is introduced to Fannie, the die is cast.

What ensues is a complicated brew of obsession, revenge, guilt and the loss of innocence, all laced with increasing draughts of laudanum and chloral hydrate. While Effie drifts through her days and deceptive nights in a drug-filled fugue, Henry is beset with guilt and increasing paranoia, relieved only by furtive doses of chloral hydrate. Fantasy and reality merge as the final act begins, the tortured souls tearing at one another with artifice and deception. In true gothic fashion, the pages are laced with evil intentions, even Effie unrecognizable in the hands of a master. A pawn to Henry, Moses and Fanny, Effie is the key to all, the coin of a terrible misdeed. Henry, the dark master, is ultimately destroyed by his damaged soul, dissembling to the end to avoid the consequences of his sick and twisted existence. Harris defines the powerful subconscious of her characters, a murky underworld of sexual dysfunction and the callous destruction of a defenseless young woman. In true Victorian fashion, the morality play self-destructs, hurling the protagonists into their just rewards. Luan Gaines/2007.

A Wonderfully Ethereal Novel.......2007-01-06

Effie is a child muse to painter Henry Chester, a religiously devout, yet unpiously checkered man who takes her as his wife and molds her into his pure, innocent, flawless, and unsensual doll of a woman. Growing up in the dysfunctional bubble of Henry's existence, Effie is instructed to quell all creative endeavors, intellectual or otherwise in the name of what is the right and "proper" way for a woman to behave. All the while she is in a laudanum-induced fog forced upon her by her hysteric husband. It is only when Effie is encountered by the sly, womanizing sweet-talker Mose and the sensual, independent Fanny Miller that she begins to realize the extent of her own passion and the extremity of her current, suffocating oppression. Their presence in the novel serves as a catalyst to her escape from her "lap dog" lifestyle and the beginning of her stand against her increasingly unstable husband. Between the painfully growing tension and the mysterious and intriguing laudanum-induced haze, the ambience throughout the novel's course is ethereal, leaving readers feelings as if they too are under the drug's spell.

Didn't like it at all.......2006-07-31

All that one can say about this book is that it's "Gothic". Yeah, right. Here are ghosts, witches, mad wives in the attic, black cats and other mandatory attributes. But probably, "gothic" decorations are not enough for a book, there should be something else. Something that I failed to find. The novel is tedious and empty. A weak attempt to create a thriller rather failed, the plot is hardly glued together, the episodes that are probably supposed to scare remind a bad horror movie that is full of dark rooms, ominous music and crazy screams, but simply does not frighten, period.

I finished the book, but it was a waste of time. If you want a good thriller by Joanne Harris, read her "Gentlemen and players" instead.

A Dreamy Drug of a Book!.......2006-02-11

I bought this book on the advice of a member of my Tarot group. She said that there were several instances of Tarot readings and such. I'm very grateful that she recommended it because it was a fabulous read!

"Sleep, Pale Sister" is a dreamy drug of a book, an ethereally written Gothic sort of ghost story that had me enthralled for several late nights. Magic, Tarot readings and a nice touch of the supernatural add yummy cayenne to this unique story of the wealthy artist, Henry Chester, and his young model, Effie, who becomes his wife at the tender age of 17, although she became his model many years before. Though Henry keeps Effie drugged with laudanum, she manages to find a cad of a lover in Moses Harper, a rival carpetbagger of a painter who introduces Effie to Fannie Miller, the occult madam of a brothel that Henry visits every Thursday. The characters are excellent as is the engaging plot.

I won't give away any more of the plot, but let me just warn you that this book is not for the faint of heart. Try it, you might like it!!!

Average customer rating:

Very disappointing...
Jane Stanton Hitchcock fan!!
A Page Turning Mystery...
Don't believe all you see
A Literary "Trick of the Eye"

Trick of the Eye
Jane Hitchcock
Manufacturer: Miramax
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0786888474

Book Description

Faith Crowell, a trompe l'oeil artist, reluctantly puts her well-ordered, uneventful life aside to accept a prestigious commission painting a grand old ballroom on the estate of a legendary and reclusive society hostess. She expects only money and perhaps a little glamour, but what she discovers is terrifying. The ballroom was built for her employer's daughter who was brutally murdered years ago in a crime that was never solved. Faith gradually realizes that her own uncanny resemblance to the dead girl has more to do with her job than she ever could have imagined. This sophisticated, hugely entertaining nail-biter was nominated for both an Edgar Allan Poe Award and the Hammett Prize for Best First Novel of the Year when it was published in 1992. Now in print again, Trick of the Eye will fascinate suspense readers as well as Ms. Hitchcock's many fans.

Customer Reviews:

Very disappointing..........2007-03-21

Because I loved Social Crimes, I purchased this book and was looking forward to an excellent tale. Oh my! How disappointing. I figured out it was a "first book" right away, but even allowing for that, the dialogue was stilted, the characters were poorly developed, and the ending was awful. The unfortunate result was a terrible waste of paper which should have remained in the hard drive and spared all of us Jane Stanton Hitchcock fans! Thankfully, she improved immensely as a writer and I whole-heartedly recommend her subsequent books. Save your money and purchase one of those!

Jane Stanton Hitchcock fan!!.......2007-02-10

I bought this book because I loved Social Crimes so much. In fact that is my ultimate favorite book, and I've been reading since I was literally 4 years old. I also recommend One Dangerous Lady by the way. :) Anyway Trick of the Eye is a great book because nothing is predictable. I think Jane Stanton Hitchcock does a great job putting the reader in the shoes of the character. Some quality about her writing makes you feel that you are going through and feeling everything her character is. This book is not as good as Social Crimes or One Dangerous Lady, but I still highly recommend it. Worthwhile book!!

A Page Turning Mystery..........2007-01-08

I have to preface this 4-star review by saying two things. First, I would really give this book about 3.5 stars, were that an option. Second, if I hadn't read Hitchcock's Social Crimes before reading this book, I probably would have given it an even higher rating. Social Crimes was just such an amazing book that it made Trick of the Eye pale in comparison.

Trick of the Eye follows trompe l'oeil artist Faith Crowell as she embarks on the biggest assignment of her life: painting the interior of the ballroom that was built for the cotillion of a wealthy socialite's daughter Cassandra twenty years prior. Cassandra was murdered shortly after, and the murder remains unsolved.

Without giving away the plot, what was great about this novel was that the ever-changing personality of Frances, the wealthy socialite, and Faith's constant attempts to figure out what she was really supposed to do, kept the plot moving. It was definitely a page turner, with a lot of twists and surprises (especially the end) along the way.

However, Faith's character left a bit to be desired. She seemed almost passive-aggressive to me. At times she just longed to please, at others she was distant and remote. Sometimes her actions didn't make a lot of sense to me.

Overall, a great, page-turning read. If you haven't read any Jane Stanton Hitchcock before, I'd recommend starting with this one -- her first novel -- because it only gets better after this.

Don't believe all you see.......2006-10-23

This thriller held my attention, because there are so many twists and turns in it that occasionally, if your mind strays, you lose complete track of what's happening. There's a mystery of sorts to solve, and a plucky heroine who sets out to do just that. The characters are fully realized, but the reader doesn't know which ones are actually who or what they appear to be. I found the book quite satisfying, and the twist at the end came as somewhat of a shock. I recommend this book for good relaxing reading, but stay alert!

A Literary "Trick of the Eye".......2006-08-18

'Trick of the Eye' is a truly compelling book. It kept me up until 2am on a week night (I overslept and was late for work the next day!) so I could finish it and find out what would happen to its protagonist, Faith Crowell, and what secrets she would discover about her patron Frances Holt Griffin.

I happened to read 'Trick of the Eye' because I recently saw again the movie that was made out of it some years ago. Meg Tilly played the role of Faith and Ellen Burstyn played that of Frances. I've always found Meg Tilly fascinating (a combination of beauty, sexiness, sweetness, and mystery that is all-too-rare in Hollywood these days; the fact that she only made one more film after this before retiring is a great pity).

Anyway, I noticed that the movie was based on a novel, and I decided to read it. I thought that as a guy, I might find it to be too much an example of "chick lit." But it wasn't. It was an engrossing tale of psychological suspense, obsession, and art. It kept me guessing about the outcome to the very end. It is also a much better book than the movie, which benefited greatly from Tilly and Burstyn's performances but suffered from the plot being severely abridged).

'Trick of the Eye' is beautifully written in simple, clear, and evocative prose that sets mood and tone perfectly. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I think Faith is a sympathetic character. I also think that the charges of it not being realistic are specious. Is it unlikely that something like the story might unfold in real life? Yes, but sometimes fact is stranger than fiction (and one can only wonder if the author drew on experiences of her own or those of close friends to create the plot). And the story certainly does not suffer from the clich6s and stale chestnuts that mar most suspense fiction produced these days.

The narrative follows a "twisty" path where the reader is led to believe a succession of different answers to the riddle that Faith tries to unravel: who killed Cassandra Griffin, Frances' daughter, so long ago. Some readers might not like the final twist to the story that comes at the very end of the book, labeling it a cheat. But I did like it, and I think that was because I remembered the title 'Trick of the Eye' (which is the English translation of "trompe 'oeil," a style of painting that deceives the viewer into viewing something as real that is not). So I would say read the book, and remember as you approach the end that 'Trick of the Eye' is a literary version of a trompe l'oeil. Besides, as a reader, you're free to make your own conclusions about what the ending really meant, and I've decided that the final "trick" did not mean that all that preceded it was illusion.

Average customer rating:

Very Good, Rather Cerebral Suspense Novel
A Very Good, Rather Cerebral Suspense Novel
The plot builds like a snowball rolling down a mountain
Deliciously creepy
An unrelenting thriller

The Murder Artist: A Thriller
John Case
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0345464729
Release Date: 2005-06-28

Book Description

The bestselling author of The Genesis Code and The Eighth Day now strikes his most harrowing chord, with a chilling novel that pushes suspense to nearly inhuman limits.

As a television news correspondent, Alex Callahan has traveled to some of the most dangerous corners of the globe, covering famine, plague, and war. He’s seen more than his share of blood and death, and knows what it means to be afraid. But what he’s never known is the terror that grabs him when, on a tranquil summer afternoon, he ceases to be an observer of the dark side and, to his shock, becomes enmeshed in it.

Separated from his wife, and struggling not to become a stranger to his six-year-old twin sons, Alex is logging some all-too-rare quality time with the boys, when they vanish without a trace amid the hurly-burly of a countryside Renaissance Fair.

Then the phone call comes. A chilling silence; slow, steady breathing; and the familiar, plaintive voice of a child–“Daddy?”–complete the nightmare . . . and set in motion a juggernaut of frenzy and agony.

The longer the police search, exhausting leads without success, the deeper Alex’s certainty grows that time is running out. And when, at last, telltale signs reveal a hidden pattern of bizarre and ghoulish abductions, Alex vows to use his own relentless investigative skills to rescue his children from the shadowy figure dubbed The Piper.

Whoever this elusive stranger is, the profile that slowly emerges–from previous crimes involving twins, from the zealously secret world of professional magicians, and from the eerie culture of voodoo–suggests that The Piper is a predator unlike any other. A twisted soul hell-bent on fulfilling an unspeakably dark dream. A fiend with a terrifying true calling. What Alex Callahan is closing in on is a monster with a mission.

From the Hardcover edition.

Download Description

The bestselling author of The Genesis Code and The Eighth Day now strikes his most harrowing chord, with a chilling novel that pushes suspense to nearly inhuman limits.

As a television news correspondent, Alex Callahan has traveled to some of the most dangerous corners of the globe, covering famine, plague, and war. He's seen more than his share of blood and death, and knows what it means to be afraid. But what he's never known is the terror that grabs him when, on a tranquil summer afternoon, he ceases to be an observer of the dark side and, to his shock, becomes enmeshed in it.

Separated from his wife, and struggling not to become a stranger to his six-year-old twin sons, Alex is logging some all-too-rare quality time with the boys, when they vanish without a trace amid the hurly-burly of a countryside Renaissance Fair.

Then the phone call comes. A chilling silence; slow, steady breathing; and the familiar, plaintive voice of a child—“Daddy?”—complete the nightmare…and set in motion a juggernaut of frenzy and agony.

The longer the police search, exhausting leads without success, the deeper Alex's certainty grows that time is running out. And when, at last, telltale signs reveal a hidden pattern of bizarre and ghoulish abductions, Alex vows to use his own relentless investigative skills to rescue his children from the shadowy figure dubbed The Piper.

Whoever this elusive stranger is, the profile that slowly emerges—from previous crimes involving twins, from the zealously secret world of professional magicians, and from the eerie culture of voodoo—suggests that The Piper is a predator unlike any other. A twisted soul hell-bent on fulfilling an unspeakably dark dream. A fiend with a terrifying true calling. What Alex Callahan is closing in on is a monster with a mission.

Customer Reviews:

Very Good, Rather Cerebral Suspense Novel.......2006-12-24

This is the first novel I've read by John Case, and it won't be the last. THE MURDER ARTIST is a very well written thriller, and I say that as someone who has read close to a thousand books in the genre.

The best part of this book is the beginning. Reporter Alex Callahan's 6 year old twins are kidnapped, and the first hundred pages are a highly realistic depiction of how Callahan and the authorities respond. This section of the book is incredibly suspenseful, on par with the very best the genre has to offer.

Unfortunately, after starting with a bang, THE MURDER ARTIST eventually turns into a rather formulaic detective story. Callahan decides to purse the kidnapper on his own, and essentially becomes a de facto private investigator. He then embarks on a cross-country trek, interviewing witnesses and pursuing clues.

The suspense level of the book drops considerably at this point. Case is a writer who obviously loves research, and much of the book is filled with a lot of interesting historical trivia, much like the work of Dan Brown. There are many lengthy dialogues about magic, origami, voodoo, and a host of other subjects. I personally found these dialogues quite interesting, but they do slow the pace of the plot somewhat.

The storyline is ultimately very interesting, but it does becomes less and less credible as the story progresses. Still, I enjoyed THE MURDER ARTIST, and the book's pace does pick up considerably toward the end. Overall, this is a very well written thriller, definitely one of the better ones I've read this year.

Recommended, and I plan on reading more of John Case's work.

A Very Good, Rather Cerebral Suspense Novel.......2006-12-24

The plot builds like a snowball rolling down a mountain.......2006-06-24

This books starts out with a rather run-of-the-mill premise - kidnapped boys from a separated couple. Once the story gets past the "did the father kidnap his own children" cop phase, it picks up steam and I couldn't put it down. I typically do not get excited about first person narratives, but in this case the technique is key in keeping the suspense going. I couldn't put it down.

Deliciously creepy.......2006-05-01

This one kept me awake on a dark and stormy night, about 10 hours until I finished it. Maybe it's because I was avoiding writing a paper at the time, but there are very few thrillers I find literally unputdownable.

I didn't care too much about most of the characters, but the villian was fascinating enough to make up for them all. The voodoo business, the bit by bit uncovering of his past... all creepy as hell. So much so that meeting him in the end was a little anticlimactic, but the book as a whole is still very much worth the read.

I would give it 4.5 stars if possible, since it's no great literary masterpiece, but as cheap thrills go it's one of the best I've encountered in a while.

An unrelenting thriller.......2006-04-20

I've read all of John Case's books and enjoyed them immensely; this one is no exception. The Murder Artist is well-researched and replete with fascinating information about magic and voodoo, but it's also paced extremely well. Unlike the stop-start narratives of Dan Brown (chase scene, characters stop to talk to someone who knows stuff, then chase resumes) Case blends action and exposition skillfully. He also has a good ear for dialogue and can bring characters and settings to life with just a few well-chosen details.

My only complaint -- and it's a minor one -- is that Case's endings tend to be very abrupt. He avoids the awkward tie-up-the-loose-ends closing chapter that most thriller writers feel obligated to include, so some readers will undoubtedly finish the book and say "That's IT?"

Case's characters also do quite a bit of traveling, and there's lots of renting cars and checking into hotels that some readers may find tiresome.

Average customer rating:

A startingly good first effort!
Good Humored Plus the Real Thing
"Sensei" packs a punch!
a.weiss , author of the BackSmart Fitness Plan
Engaging

Sensei: A Thriller
John Donohue
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312288123

Book Description

Someone is killing the great martial artists of America. Connor Burke, a part-time college instructor with a passion for the martial arts, is dragged into the investigation by the NYPD. With the help of his teacher, the master warrior Yamashita Sensei, Burke begins to follow a trail of clues that stretches across time and place, ultimately con-fronting his own fears, his sense of honor, and the ruthless killer who calls himself 'Ronin'-Japanese for masterless samurai. Combining the exotic world of martial arts with the gritty aspects of a homicide investi-gation, Sensei is a gripping thriller that explores the links between people as they struggle for mastery, identity, and a sense of belonging.

Customer Reviews:

A startingly good first effort!.......2005-07-18

John Donohue is to be commended on his first novel, Sensei, a remarkably good first effort that I would whole-heartedly recommend to fans of thrillers. This was a very enjoyable read and in no way felt like a freshman effort. It is always such an unusual treat to stumble across a new writer and have their debut novel completely capture you and take you off guard. Debut efforts rarely have me scribble the author's name on my "must read from now" on list, but this one did, and I am waiting as patiently as possible for his next novel to come out.

His protagonist, Connor Burke, is a finely realized and interesting character with substantial depth, complex feelings and motivations, and is an unusual hybrid of both college professor and martial artist. Connor, a thinking man's hero, finds himself drawn into a police investigation because of his unusual background and expertise. All the characters are finely realized, the plot reasonably realistic, the atmoshpere compelling, but it's the pacing of the novel that appeals to me the most. Much like Dave Robicheaux in James Lee Burke's novels, Donohue's character, Connor Burke, narrates events in an introspective, almost brooding fashion, and thoughout the story is contemplative, thoughtful, and focused on matters conscience and trust. He is an extremly interesting and sympathetic character and it is a pleasure to read about his adventures. So while the action is completely lively and thrilling, the story itself is calm and centered. This novel is much like the martial artists it depicts; externally violent and active, yet calm and centerd within.

The novel is set in New York City, feautes an impressive amount of action, and unfolds in layers as Connor seeks down and confronts an extraordinarily talented martial artist who for obscure reasons has murdered several prominenet martial arts teachers (sensei). Fans of James Lee Burke, Lee Child, Barry Eisler will all enjoy this one. I heartily recommend it.

Good Humored Plus the Real Thing.......2005-04-23

I was looking for a good read that would explore the special inner states of awareness found in martial arts. Sensei has it, plus a surprisingly wonderful humor, and a good tale to boot.

I have been practicing awareness techniques for over thirty years with martial arts, meditation, and doing CranialSacral therapy. I hunger for the spirit in my fiction, not just kick-butt. I like the characters and the story keeps the pages turning. If you are hungering for the real world of martial arts, this will give you a taste.

"Sensei" packs a punch!.......2005-04-05

As a third degree Black belt I am somewhat jaded on the whole fantasy of martial arts and the media. From the flying choreography to the comedic stunts and sound effects, they all tend to degrade or detract from the greatness that the martial arts provide. Not so in this novel. This is a terrific thriller from someone who certainly knows the Martial Arts as a master!
The writing is superb and provides just enough terrific detail to have you looking over your shoulder and preparing to confront that odd noise you think you heard in another room.
This is a must-read for any martial arts student or any martial artist wannabe!
5 Stars...and keep them coming!

a.weiss , author of the BackSmart Fitness Plan.......2004-12-14

I enjoyed the first half of the book and how the student and instructors relationshiped developed and the underlining of meaning when the sensei would say something to his number one student- it reminded me of my training.

Engaging.......2004-10-12

Well done martial arts mystery. Surprised? Me too. The author is skilled and the hook is set early, and we are not disappointed.

Average customer rating:

Sleep, Pale Sister

Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GG4IV0

Book Description

"An occult thriller, scary, learned, and charitable in the true tradition of Charles Williams and his fellow Inklings," says T.A. Shippey, editor of The Oxford Book of Fantasy Stories. A remarkable witch's brew of supernatural, Christian, classical and scientific arcana.

Customer Reviews:

More Things in Indiana Than Are Dreamt Of In Your Philosophy.......2005-05-23

The advance blurbs on the back of this remarkable genre-straddling novel (more accurately: three novelettes) make reference to Charles Williams and G. K. Chesterton, and quite rightly so; but good arguments could be made for Dorothy Sayers and Madeleine l'Engle as additional godparents.
Why is this book remarkable? Because in it, Christianity and magic coexist without shame or apology, in a way that hasn't happened in popular fiction (at least, in popular fiction with a contemporary setting) in decades, and in a way that is probably counterintuitive to current Anglophone majority popular culture (but would have been perfectly normal in the Middle Ages). It's nice to know, for instance, that there are alternatives to Phillip Pullman out there: that a narrative can be fantastic (and contain demons and angels as characters) without taking potshots at religions, be they Christian or any other. The Marion Zimmer Bradley formula (All Christians are prudes and witch-burners, all pagans would fun to party with) is avoided as well: magical skills are inherited rather like musical ones, irrespective of religion. (Houghton's narrative shows particular respect to Native American religions and to Judaism. There is some scorn for certain types of neo-paganism, though not all of them. Most surprisingly, that variety of Christianity we most often see made fun of nowadays -- revivalist evangelism -- does get beaten with a few stripes, but comes out fine in the end.)
Houghton's paranormal detective hero is Jonathan Mears, an Anglican chaplain at a military school in Indiana (modeled on the Culver Military Academy, of which the author is an alumnus, and which is [judging by its website] quite pleased with the novel), and later the bishop of an Anglican diocese in the same state. Military schools aren't a venue with which I am familiar, and sometimes the one in this book seems overpopulated with too-clever-by-half adolescents in uniform (like so many Miles Vorkosigans), inhabiting some kind of Austro-Hungarian neverland, complete with matching music (Franz von Suppé) and a wardrobe from the old Sissi movies of the fifties; but it is a vividly imagined world (to me; maybe Culver is/was really like this) that eventually wins the reader over entirely.
All three of the stories are engaging, particularly the third, which has a delicious villain and a stunning conclusion, featuring unexpected guests out of the past plus a surprising and satisfying star turn from a previously minor character. (Think Yoda's duel with Count Dooku, and you'll get the idea; although sabers don't feature in the scene.) Another goosebump scene is the"Jeff's a psychic, Chaplain Mears says prayers, and Larry's a nudist" sequence from the middle story; which also includes a passage in a monastery ("We did horrible things - I can't say") that is reminiscent of the scariest parts of C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength. (I'm carefully not spoiler-ing, for readers of this review who may buy the book.) There's also a "what religion is for" passage, citing Huck Finn and his fishhook,that echoes the thoughts of this reviewer on that subject: worth the price of admission.
The spoken dialogue is, oddly enough, both the best and the worst thing about the stories. All the characters are witty conversationalists, and there is a generous share of laugh-out-loud lines ("We'll have one greasy Christian on our hands," "We never should have stopped putting saltpeter in the mashed potatoes," "175 pounds of Lion Chow in a magenta bag," "If I meet the Buddha on the road, I shall kill him"); but they mostly talk just like each other, and when there is a string of unattributed quotations in a group of speakers larger than two, the reader has to do some detective work to unravel who is talking. One notable exception is the character Brad, with his unusual laugh, amusingly described. Back on the downside, though, the book has teenagers saying things teenagers would be unlikely to say in the 1990s, even in Indiana ("right here in River City," "some poor schmo"). And, most peculiarly, there is a sequence of 58 pages (325-383), throughout which various characters articulate the phrase "that sounds like a plan," or a close facsimile of it, approximately once every eight pages. (Well, maybe plans were particularly in order at that point in the plot. But this style gaffe should have been caught in editing, I think, especially considering the quality [and variety] of much of the rest of the dialogue.)
This reader was left with an appetite for more stories about Jonathan Mears, including perhaps a late-in-life romance in the manner of Lord Peter Wimsey, whom he resembles on more than one front. (And perhaps he has already met his Harriet in the person of the surprisingly multitalented Mrs. Jameson, who is, one presumes, a widow?)

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