Richard Taylor The Haunting of Cambria

The Haunting of Cambria

Richard Taylor

Tor, Jul 2007, $24.95

ISBN: 0765317052

The car accident on the day they signed the papers left his wife Lily dead and Theo Parker severely injured. After recovering physically he still grieves his loss and suffers from survival guilt. Still he tries to move on with their business plan although that haunts him as he keeps thinking they signed on that tragic day. Still with property manager Eleanor Grey, Theo reviews the business plan he and his late spouse had developed to convert a home into a B&B.

However, still emotionally battered, Theo struggles between euphoria that his plans are being employed and despondency that his wife is dead and he lives. Soon he begins to hear noises and things occur that make no sense especially when Eleanor initially denies hearing or seeing anything out of the ordinary. Somewhat concerned with his mental state, Theo begins to believe his late wife's spirit live inside the B&B and she is trying to tell him something while his mother-in-law shows her loathing for his role in her daughter's death.

The story line starts off as a typical haunted house ghost story filled with the usual suspects from Poltergeist 101. However, about half way into the by the numbers story line, the tale changes into something much deeper and more fulfilling as Theo and Eleanor begin to realize that their perceptions about the B&B are wrong. Sort of like the NBA in which the first half is enjoyable and fun, but does not matter much beyond filler time; however the second half is when the game begins in earnest. Richard Taylor provides a strong finish that if started earlier with less bumps in the night would have haunted readers long afterward.

Harriet Klausner