There’s atmosphere a plenty in Jonathan Janz’s latest, THE SIREN AND THE SPECTER. Creepiness and dread oozes from each subsequent page after page. David is a cynic. He has to be. It’s his job. Debunking hauntings has paved the way for a decent living. Now David’s college pal invites him to Virginia to write about the place he and his wife just bought, the notorious Alexander House. Chris and Katherine hand over the keys and David plans on staying in the house for a month. Their motive for having David write about the house is clear. Publicity. David is a best-selling author and they want him to write about his experience to drum up publicity as they plan to make the house a tourist attraction. David doesn’t mind. He’s disproved more haunted houses than he can count. In fact, he’s yet to find any credible evidence to support hauntings and his skepticism has sold a ton of books. Why should the Alexander House be any different? Well, guess what? This house isn’t like all the rest and it’s due to Judson Alexander, the man who built the house back in the 1700s. He was one nasty S.O.B.and he’s not ready to vacate the premises anytime soon.
SIREN has a lot going for it. Janz creates interesting characters and David is the one that’s fleshed out the most. So much so, that his character has created some nice discussions when we read this as a group. To some, he’s an egotistical shit head that deserves all the nastiness that comes his way. For others, myself included, I found that his college past seemed to lead to an unfortunate turn of events, but not one that he should be solely blamed for. Characters with this much layered depth stick with you, rattling around in your psyche, long after the story has been put back on the shelf. That’s a good thing. Emotions run deep in SIREN. You have characters you feel for, some you relate to, and others that you absolutely loathe. There’s a lot there. Sometimes too much. And thats the only negative that I have. Specters make up the mother load of story. Ahh…but it’s called The SIREN and the Specter and I felt the siren is a little out of place in the tale. I simply think that it didn’t add anything and really wasn’t necessary. Others may think otherwise. Have yourself a go at it and decide for yourself.
3 1/2 Skeletons in the Closet out of 5
You can also follow my reviews at the following links:
Into The Macabre 