The Siren and the Specter

Our main character David is a known skeptic who is invited to places said to be haunted. He is known for debunking the places he visits in his books where he writes about his supernatural experiences, or rather the lack there of.

When David is asked by an old friend to return to a town that was once their old college stomping grounds, he finds himself staying at the Alexander House. The goal for Chris and his wife is to turn the old house into a tourist attraction. To David Cain however the Alexander House is much more than just another job. It is also the house that David's idol and predecessor, John Weir went missing from. Weir's name has since been slandered by "true believers" as the skeptic who was killed by what he proclaimed didn't exist. The fact that Weir' body was never found makes the whole affair that much more of a mystery. With his book David wishes to honor Weir in a way, giving him the respect the man truly deserves but first he must survive a month in the Alexander House.

The twists and turns in this book will have you constantly questioning who can be trusted and what can be possible. Though we may come to some realizations before David, we are still rattled by his thoughts and questions even when we think the answers are solid and clear which I feel sets the book apart.

I like That David takes the time to think and asses the situations he finds himself in instead of running blindly into things the way so many horror characters do. Its refreshing not to be yelling "DON'T GO INTO THAT ROOM" to horror characters who can't hear you or take your advice. Jonathan Janz pulls away from the cliches of the horror genre to give us main characters who can remain somewhat composed in high tress level situations.

The only thing that really bugged me about this book is that all of the women that David encounters seem to have it out for him, almost collectively at times. Whenever he is around female characters he is constantly being accused (by the characters themselves) of sexualizing them when he is just trying to get answers, save some kids and survive! They only ease up on him when he starts dating one of them which is all kinds of fucked up. Though I am a woman who takes offence at this, I also understand that there are women in the world who are actually like this. It is just how quickly it all seems to end that had me a bit shook up.

Are ghosts real or is this all just another hoax...

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