TITLE: The Complete Weird Epistles of Penelope Pettiweather, Ghost Hunter by Jessica Amanda SalmonsonBOOK PAGE: PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE I was given an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. PUBLISHER: Alchemy Press
EDITION: Paperback
RELEASE DATE: 27 June 2016PAGES: 174
Fourteen stories detailing Penelope Pettiwather's quest to understand the nature of ghosts. Full of the rich history and landscape of Salmonson's northwest USA, these quiet tales will appeal to the fan of the traditional ghost story. Jessica Amanda Salmonson is a recipient of the World Fantasy Award, ReaderCon Certificate, and Lambda Literary Award. Her previous books include What Did Miss Darrington See?: Feminist Supernatural Stories of the 19th and 20th Century; two volumes of Tales by Moonlight; The Swordswoman; The Tomoe Gozen Saga; The Death Sonnets; and Pets Given in Evidence of Old English Witchcraft and Other Bewitched Beings.
Stories included:
The Hounds of the Hearth
Serene Omen of Death in the Pike Place Market
The Spirit Shaman of Glen Acres Golf Course
The Forest in the Lake
The Oval Dragon
The Woman Who Turned to Soap
Legend of the White Eagle Saloon
Sarah, the Ghost of Georgetown Castle
Fritz, the Gentle Ghost of Shaw Island
Ogopogo
Harmless Ghosts
The Burnley School Ghost
The Queen
EXTRACT
Theo Elliot sat in an easy chair reading from the pages of an old, leather-bound book when the lights went out (THE HOUNDS OF THE HEARTH)
The Complete Weird Epistles of Penelope Pettiweather, Ghost Hunter is a hugely enjoyable collection of stories. My favourite type of supernatural fiction is the ghost story. Sinister presences, strange noises, spooky events, bad omens and a sense of foreboding do more for me than blood and gore. Gruesome novels fill with blood and gore leaves me cold while a novel with rattling chains sends me screaming into the night. It's the same with movies as well. Gory movies like the Saw franchise make me feel indifferent but I still watch The Ring from behind the sofa. The Complete Weird Epistles of Penelope Pettiweather, Ghost Hunter contains the type of supernatural stories that I love. The collection reminded me of the work of Arthur Conan Doyle and M.R James. The Hounds of the Hearth opens the collection with a bang. This is an excellent story. Like any collection some stories are stronger than others. My favourites were The Hounds of the Hearth, The Forest in the Lake, The Woman Who Turned to Soap, Ogopogo and The Burnley School Ghost. The other stories were enjoyable but these shone a little brighter. I also really liked the fact the stories took the form of letters from Penelope to various acquaintances. The collection includes some insight into the author on how each story came about. I love it when author's do this. The Complete Weird Epistles of Penelope Pettiweather, Ghost Hunter is a must for fans of ghost stories.
