A House of Ghosts

During the winter of 1917, at the height of WWI, various people with hidden agendas travel at the invitation of munitions tycoon Lord Highmount to Blackwater, an island off the English coast, in this lively traditional mystery from Irish author Ryan (The Holy Thief). At Blackwater Abbey, Lady Highmount hosts a séance that she hopes will allow her to speak with her two soldier sons who perished on the western front. The Highmounts’ guests include a man who calls himself Capt. Robert Donovan, spunky socialite Kate Cartwright, Kate’s parents, Kate’s slimy ex-fiancé, Count Orlov (a medium), Madam Feda (another medium), and a shell-shocked soldier, whose doctor insists that he hovers on the border of the spirit world. Also present are the spirits of the dead that Kate, a natural though unwilling medium, sees swarming throughout the house. Heightening the suspense is a mysterious stranger, who lurks in the secret passages that honeycomb the house. After a storm isolates the place and violence breaks out, a ripping yarn ensues. The tale exudes a whiff of fusty melodrama in places, but this is a quibble. Agatha Christie fans will have fun. (Oct.)