Drowned Night: A Novel of the Abbadon Inn

The Abbadon Inn has a secret and horrible history of murder. The entire town conspired to kill Jackson Bell in 1929. They thought the evil would die with Jackson. They were wrong and evil has returned.... Liz and Ted McShane arrive at the Abbadon Inn with high hopes. Ted is still traumatized from watching his partner die in a diving accident while Liz is trying to keep it together for both of them. Their two children, Megan and Daver, are bored with the isolation of the inn and Daver is apt to explore areas that perhaps should remain forever ignored. Meanwhile, the deaths have started again. Will the McShane family survive this? DROWNED NIGHT is one of three books in a series about the Abbadon Inn. Although each book is allegedly written by Chris Blaine, each of the books is actually written by a different author using the pseudonym of the fictitious Chris Blaine. Matthew Costello is the true force behind DROWNED NIGHT. DROWNED NIGHT starts rather sluggishly and this reviewer initially was concerned Chris Blaine had penned a rather pale version of Stephen King's THE SHINING. However, once the idiosyncrasies surrounding the Abbadon Inn begin emerging, the reader is fully hooked! The subtle layers of intrigue begin building the tension level and creating a rather clever horror novel. The inclusion of the shark aspect provides a unique touch to DROWNED NIGHT as the evil appears omnipresent. This adds a bit of creepiness to the overall atmosphere while Ted's diving incident really drives the scenario home to the reader. Chris Blaine, aka Matthew Costello, once overcoming a slow beginning, has written a fantastic horror novel! COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I didn't know what to expect in this book and it certainly surprised me. While the Abbadon Inn is central to the story, it's also a horror story that's very much about the sea. Another reviewer mentioned Jaws, and if you imagine that story mixed with supernatural horror you get some idea of where this book goes. Set in the early 90s, it feels like one of the classic horror novels of the day, with great story telling and twists and turns everywhere. Highly Recommended.

This novel offers a full plate of terrors -- a small town, a haunted hotel, sharks, missing kids, an unsuspecting family who thought they'd left their troubles behind in NYC. This is the kind of horror novel that sucks you in and won't let you go. Others may have done "shark stories" before, but this one is a wild, salty, fast-paced original! Highly recommended!