This is the author’s revised edition of Ghosts, a novel Noel Hynd originally wrote in 1993. As I have not read the 1993 version, I cannot say what has changed other than some obvious modernizations such as the use of Blackberries. There were a few spots it seems that Hynd missed updating as the dates or ideas do not fit with the rest of the narrative, but if readers can overlook this, they will be in for one hell of a terror ride.

Ghosts is available both in print and ebook form – and I am so glad I had the ebook. I love the feel and smell of print books, so I have not jumped on the ereader bandwagon yet, which is why I was tethered to my computer to read Hynd’s novel. Why was this a good thing? Because if I had a print copy, I would have read it at night in bed and would not have been able to sleep – it was that scary.

The island of Nantucket, normally a tranquil summer vacation spot, has been plagued with an odd series of deaths. First, a college student dies in the middle of a field while her boyfriend is allegedly passed out drunk in a ditch nearby. To two of the local detectives, this is a clear-cut case of murder and the boyfriend is quickly indicted. To the third island detective, Tim Brooks, who noticed the looks of abject horror on the girl’s face, it is not so simple. His hunch is soon confirmed when the semi-retired medical examiner shows him X-rays from the drowning death that happened a week later; the victim had almost identical injuries to his neck. Add to this the rash of birds with broken necks, and Tim is starting to believe in that supernatural stuff his best friend is always talking about.

While Tim is not the lead detective on the murder case, he is the one called to investigate a series of prowlers at a new resident’s house. Annette Carlson is an actress taking a break after the death of her mother, but her relaxing island retreat proves to be anything but when strange women keep appearing in her home. After all rational explanation is disproved, Annette believes they are ghosts, but Tim is still a little reluctant to agree – until he begins to witness things that cannot be explained with any natural cause.

While the action and scary mood start off almost immediately, they are broken quite a bit in the beginning for lengthy exposition that does not really add to the story. However, once most of this is out of the way, the ball really begins rolling and the horror starts to come loud and clear. After this, breaks in the action as the characters go about their daily lives are actually a relief and help to add to the terror as the reader starts to connect to the characters, making the terror more realistic.

Ghosts by Noel Hynd is a must for any horror fan. Personally, I would love to see this tale of ghostly terror turned into a film – that would be one true scarefest, indeed.

Book Stats:

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786014865
• ISBN-13: 978-0786014866

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