A Grippingly-Good Read – 5 Stars
When I decided to read Things Half In Shadow by Alan Finn, I wasn’t sure what I should expect. Was this book a Historical Fiction? Murder/Mystery? Paranormal Thriller? Something in between? Or would it encompass all of the above? Needless to say, this title’s ‘about’ blurb had intrigued me – and my only real concern was whether this 436 page book was going to be an interesting read or a ‘snoozer.’
I needn’t have worried because Things Half In Shadow was completely captivating. For starters, I was happy that Finn wrote this tale in the first person (a style I thoroughly enjoy). I was also impressed with the manner in which he shared this adventure – using history, verbiage and mannerisms that made me feel as if I was actually experiencing the 19th century. Yes, Things Half In Shadow is a fictional yarn and yet Edward Clark, the book’s main character, believably explains (via the Foreword) that his coming words will be truth. Clark’s granddaughter Isabel has a fascination with the ghostly and the macabre – when she learned that he had first-hand experience with a supernatural murder, she demanded that he pen the accounting to paper for posterity’s sake.
So, readers will finish the Foreword (dated 1919), and then they will turn the page – meeting the Edward Clark from 1869. He’s a well-respected crime reporter for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin and has quite the readership following. On this particular April morning, Clark was unceremoniously awoken at five o’clock only to be escorted by a policeman to the city’s waterfront. Even earlier that morning, a young woman’s body had been fished from the Delaware River and police need Clark’s Evening Bulletin readers’ help in identifying her.
Police Investigator William Barclay believes that this is a case of accidental drowning, but Clark doesn’t agree with that assessment. Where is the purpling skin due to lack of oxygen – or the bloating that goes hand-in-hand with drowning? This woman’s expression is so serene – she looks as if she had passed in her sleep. Clark and Barclay’s conversation is abruptly interrupted when an older woman and her daughter arrive on the scene. The two women positively identify the deceased as none other than their daughter/sister. With the victim’s identity now established, Clark is no longer needed so he trudges off to the office.
Unfortunately, Clark’s editor corners him with a very unfavorable assignment: visit the homes of local mediums; participate in their séances and then write a weekly article debunking the myth – proving that each medium he visits is a fraud. This is definitely not Clark’s cup of tea. He’s a crime writer and is completely uninterested in pursuing stories about what are obviously fictitious happenings. While his editor does agree that séances are nothing but hokum, he refuses to let him off the hook so easily. Clark must at least give the proposed assignment some sincere thought first. And at this point, if readers desire to know where the story goes from here, then they’ll need to get their own copy.
In summary, Things Half In Shadow was a grippingly-good read. Finn has a wonderful writing style and he unquestioningly managed to accurately portray the feel of 1869. The plot, scenes and characters were exceptionally believable. In fact, there were times I felt as though I was reading one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s, Sherlock Holmes stories. Things Half in Shadow has it all: murder, mystery, intrigue, and a smattering of some ghostly paranormal thrown in for good measure! A fantastic tale and an author I’m looking forward to reading more from in the future. Five stars – and certainly deserving of each one.
Review first published: http://blogcritics.org/book-review-things-half-in-shadow-a-ghostly-19th-century-thriller-by-alan-finn/