Lethal Journey: Famous 1892 Gaslight Mystery: True Crime & Ghost Story at the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego

The beautiful, mysterious ghost of the Hotel del Coronado is well known to anyone who collects ghost stories (and who doesn't, in this day and age?) In Lethal Journey, John Cullen not only unravels the mystery behind the ghost with Holmesian precision, but gives us a portrait of an era where robber barons ruled and violence was taken for granted, and even venerated. The sad stories of Lizzie Wyllie and Kate Morgan, both victims of a culture that had little room for women of imagination, and the inevitable unraveling of their hopes and futures, lies at the center of this very noir story. Although there are Pinkertons and gun slingers aplenty, and violence enough for any taste, this is really a sympathetically rendered tale of two women born not to fit in, and the explanation of how one of them ended up dead on a beach, only to haunt future holiday makers with her enduring sorrow. I will not reveal Mr. Cullen's idea of who it was, exactly, lying on that beach, but I will say his well-researched solution seems to answer any questions very neatly. This book ought to be a hit not only with those who love noir thrillers, but with those who love to follow the clues and find answers to real world mysteries.

"Lethal Journey" is a fictional account of a true mystery with John Cullen's ingenious solution. This thriller kept me in suspense as I read it; it was entertaining and fascinating throughout. Don't miss the Author Notes after you finish the book. Cullen explains which parts of "Lethal Journey" are fiction versus the reality of a story that made headlines and causes speculation to this day.

Gripping noir 1892 story, kept me glued, I finished in one sitting. Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a murder mystery wrapped around a sentimental tragedy and a mix of dark and light characters engaged in world-class shenanigans.

John Cullen is the best writer you haven't heard of -- yet. He's been writing provocative thrillers, historical material and science-fiction for decades. (Look for his A WALK IN ANCIENT ROME coming soon, and interviews with him on the History Channel.) As a writer myself, I know good work when I see it. What John has done here is to take a historical mystery and solve it using his imagination and understanding of the darker corners of the human psyche. There can't be much doubt that things went down the way John describes. I think what I appreciate most about his work is that it plunks me down into a thoroughly convincing recreation of a time and a place with which I am unfamiliar -- but he makes it come alive. Let him do the same for you.

I began reading this last night and stayed up 'til waaaaaaay past bed time to finish it. From the very start it was a great read! Adventure, romance, murder-mystery and a some factual history of early California thrown into the mix. The author does a fine job developing the characters, putting more than enough flesh on their bones to make them credible and interesting. The story winds in some of the wild history of early San Diego, a time when the saloons offered more that just a hard drink and tinny piano music. The twisting, interwoven lives of Hawaiian royalty, wealthy first citizens of San Diego, their sycophants and wannabes, and the desperately-trying-to-eke-out-an-existence-at-any-cost, may be a bit hard to follow at times but the author brings it all together with style. I'd definitely recommend it for a great read.