Review of E. F. Watkins’ Dark Music…
(E. F. Watkins, Dark Music, Amber Quill Press, 2013, 978-1611248944)
While this book might be considered more appropriate for winter reading—sitting by a crackling fire with spirits at hand as you become spooked by the author’s spirits—I read this after the Fourth and thoroughly enjoyed it. “What? Steve’s reading paranormal now?” you ask. It’s true that the last ghost story I can remember reading, and for the umpteenth time, was “A Christmas Carol,” just after I saw Patrick Stewart’s rendition of Scrooge. But I’ve even written one ghost story, “The Town Hall Gang,” so I’m not a teetotaler with respect to frothy, ectoplasmic brews.
I had an agenda, of course. I met the author at BooksNJ (a local book fair) a few weeks ago. She was kind enough to do an interview for my blog. Consequently, I thought I’d be kind enough to read her book and write a review of it. The music and house renovation themes permeating the book also attracted me. Don’t get the idea that I write a review of every book I read—I wouldn’t have any time to write if I did that. But I want to signal to my readers that this book is an interesting read, any time of the year! Moreover, it’s almost a manual on the art of story-telling.
It’s also almost a manual on house renovation. When we moved to New Jersey a few years ago, after 20+ years in the Boston area, we bought an old house that needed a lot of renovations. Around big cities in the Northeast (in this case, NYC), you make a choice: buy an old house for your money that also has easy access to the city (public transportation, short commuting time, etc) or buy a new house miles away from the urban centers (this assumes you don’t have multiple millions of dollars to buy a mansion, of course). The first choice often involves some serious renovations because old houses have inevitably suffered years (sometimes centuries) of wear and tear.
The protagonist, Quinn Matthews, has the chance to buy her Uncle Ed’s old Victorian Queen Anne-style house located in the small town Crane’s Crossing (probably not real) in New Jersey. There are pros to her move from Elizabeth (a real NJ city—a port, in fact), including the fact that she can keep her cat. She learns about the cons. Her cousin Michael offers the house to her at a good price because, even though it’s structurally sound, it needs renovation. Unbeknownst to Quinn or her cousin, the house also comes complete with three ghosts—one is Jeremy Spence, a murdered classical pianist who lived there originally back in the 19th century; and the other two are Deirdre McConnell, Jeremy’s Irish maid, and Mary Lenehan, an Irish neighbor, who were involved in the murder. Written in the first person, Quinn relates how she tracks down the story of why the house is haunted. In this sense, this is a paranormal mystery that could make your skin crawl if you’re not used to these stories—and, if you are used to them, you’ll still find this a fun ride as Quinn embarks on her sleuthing voyage.
Writers and photographers have interesting roles in this book. Quinn works part-time at a local newspaper where she writes articles on old houses and their renovations. Photographers often accompany her to snap pictures that will accompany the articles. There are some interesting and amusing peeks into this world. I also found interesting Tony, Quinn’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, an investigative reporter for the same rag. He plays against stereotype and can be a wus at times, adding humor to some stress-filled scenes. He can also play the piano a wee bit; the ghost pianist can play very well. They team up to make a scene that left me feeling strange but also laughing—one of the better scenes in the book.
I won’t go into any more details—no spoilers here. Considering the genre, it’s unusual and a treat that there isn’t much violence here—I’m sure Miss Marple would be comfortable perusing the book at tea time. Another thing missing is the ghost pianist’s “Spring Sonata,” which could have been included as an addendum to the ebook. Of course, it doesn’t really exist, but I would have liked to hear it! Sounded interesting….
In libris libertas….
