New Review! Seance on a Summer's Night by Josh Lanyon 4 Cranky Stars

Seance on a Summer's Night by Josh Lanyon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Cranky Stars


Theater critic Artemus Bancroft leaves his New York home when his aunt, Halycone Bancroft- Hyde, summons him back to his childhood home. Artie grew up in Green Lanterns and loves his Auntie H, but now it seems that her late husband, Ogden, might be haunting the home. Is it possible that his Aunt might have had something to do with Ogden's tragic accident?


Ogden's sister, Liana, insists on holding frequent seances to communicate with Ogden by enlisting the help of a spiritualist named Roma Loveridge. "So many seances, so little time." As Artie says, "I always thought Liana's attachment to Ogden was the stuff of bad seventies' horror flicks."


The cast also includes the belligerent Tarrant and his daughter, Ulyanna (Betty), who have worked at Green Lanterns for years. Newly hired gardener Seamus Cassidy also seems to be up to something since he can't seem to tell the difference between the flowers and the weeds.. And, don't forget the religious group that lives next door, Rational Christians United, run by the Reverend Ormston, "the one who looks like Biker Jesus."

Artie tries to discover what is actually happening in this crazy mix. "How the hell long was I going to be trapped in the alternate universe of Green Lanterns?" Artie finds out that Ogden was involved in directing porn films, one entitled "Hot Wet Mutant". And, he was also an embezzler.

As you can tell, this book is full of entertaining moments and equally entertaining characters. Artie: "I didn't actually swan around in brocade dressing gowns most of the time, but I'd figured if I was ever going to wear it, Green Lanterns was the place."


I have to say that the whole feel of the book was more like a gothic/haunted house story set somewhere in the past, not in modern times. Even the characters names and mannerisms were more like the 1950's than present day. IMHO, the book would have worked better if it was written in that time period.


Also, I didn't think that the romance between Artie and Seamus really added anything to the book. It seemed more like something the author thought she had to write into the book since she is known for the M/M romances in her books.

That being said, if you enjoy offbeat books with some good old-fashioned ghosts, possible murders, swooning ladies and more twists than you can count, give this book a chance. It was definitely worth my time to read it.


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