Help for the Haunted: A Novel
by John Searles
William Morrow
HardcoverReviewed by Robin Ayers
John Searles’ new novel Help for the Haunted is a rare book, and a book that keeps you guessing. It draws you in from the opening paragraph and is so in-depth with details that it feels as if you are there. Searles creates a world that you will not want to leave.
It is 1989 and Sylvie and Rose Mason are the daughters of religious ghost hunters. Late one February night, the Masons are called to the town church in Dundalk, Maryland to meet Rose, who has run off again. Sylvie waits in the car, until a terrible noise urges her inside. Rose is not there, but a murderer is. Another shot rings out, and Sylvie awakens at the hospital with tinnitus, an orphan. Released into the care of her angry, wild older sister (who has finally turned up), Sylvie must try to come to terms with her new life and all that she never knew about her parents.
Elements of ghost hunting certainly led a spooky tone to the book but I didn't feel the “ghost story” plot-line was as prominent as the author quotes on the back cover would lend you to believe. The heart of the story is Sylvie’s journey, a journey that leads Sylvie to the truth about her parents’ career and their dealings. This story does bounce back and forth from past to present, but don't let it aggravate you; it all comes together and makes for a great novel. It also may make you think; "do you really know your family".
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