The Siren And The Spectre – Jonathan Janz
When David Caine, a celebrated skeptic of the supernatural, is invited by an old friend to spend a month in “the most haunted house in Virginia,” he believes the case will be like any other. But the Alexander House is different.
Built by a 1700s land baron to contain the madness and depravity of his eldest son, the house is plagued by shadows of the past and the lingering taint of bloodshed. David is haunted, as well. For twenty-two years ago, he turned away the woman he loved, and she took her life in sorrow.
And David suspects she’s followed him to the Alexander House.
My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tour for the chance to join the blog tour and to Flame Tree Press for my review copy.
Over recent weeks I have been extremely fortunate to have enjoyed some of the new titles being published by Flame Tree Press. They are assembling a cracking collection of horror tales, each new read has left me unsettled and thoroughly entertained.
The Specter and the Siren is a haunted house story – there is more (much more) to it than that but events do centre around Alexander House and David Caine’s experiences while he stays in the house.
Caine is an author noted for his cynicism towards the supernatural and an old school friend invites him to live in Alexander House – an old property with a dubious past and the reputation for ghostly experiences. If he writes a book on his experiences then there is a hope the interest generated in Alexander House will turn the property into a money-spinner for his friend.
From the moment the reader is taken into the Alexander House there is a tangible sense of gloom and foreboding. Caine feels it too and we realise that despite not believing in the supernatural he does get nervous easily and is not enjoying the dark, creaking house. Things are about to get considerably more terrifying for Caine.
The house does not sit in isolation. Caine has a neighbour, a retired gentleman who enjoys fishing on the river (Alexander House sits on an isolated peninsula and is surrounded by water). Another neighbouring house shelters the most dysfunctional family I can recall. The parents are permanently drunk or stoned. Hard-core pornography streams constantly on their television and the mother, Honey, has insatiable desires – Caine being fresh meat. Her husband is a willing participant is violent physical abuse and their kids try to find a “normal” in this toxic environment.
These neighbours will both help and hinder Caine as he tries to adjust to his new living arrangements and he is going to need all the help he can get. Alexander House is not a happy residence and Caine is sitting in the heart of danger.
Jonathan Janz has delivered a truly unsettling read which horror fans will love. The history of Alexander House is horrific and it it not content to remain “history” – Caine and his friends are in more danger than they could possibly have realised.
Loved this – even though it freaked me out!
The Siren And The Spectre is published by Flame Tree Press and can be bought in paperback and digital format. A copy can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Siren-Spectre-Fiction-Without-Frontiers-ebook/dp/B07GVQJHTX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536399131&sr=8-1&keywords=the+siren+and+the+spectre
