The Supernaturals

The Supernaturals is apparently meant to be the first in a series. That doesn't mean that we get to feel relaxed about who is going to live. There's plenty of suspense to be had, especially since the prologue leaves us in no doubt that Summer Place is dangerously haunted. Summer Place is rumored to have been the inspiration for Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. Fellow fans of the 1963 film adaptation, 'The Haunting', will recognize some elements of that classic. Kelly Delaphoy wants to do a Halloween special on Summer Place for her highly-rated TV show, 'Hunters of the Paranormal'. She really wants to get Professor Gabriel Kennedy, head of the disastrous investigation seven years ago, to be part of her special. He's not interested. We know from the prologue that Kennedy is not a murderer, but State Police Detective Damian Jackson and TV reporter Julie Reilly treated him as if he were, which ruined his career. In fact, getting the special approved and ready takes up the first four of the book's five parts (not counting the prologue and epilogue). This doesn't mean that we have to wait until the broadcast starts in chapter 18 for anything supernatural to happen. Summer Place doesn't want the special to take place and is not at all shy about making its displeasure known, especially in the test broadcast (which goes about as well as Kennedy's investigation). Too bad for Summer Place that the UBC Network CEO sees the attempted warning as proof of potential ratings gold. Prof. Kennedy is eventually brought on board. He puts together a team of friends and grateful former patients with special talents. The book gives us a chance to get to know their backstories before the big broadcast. It's very good for a haunted house story, although one cryptic warning was a little too easy to figure out. The author plays fair with his clues -- fair enough that I was able to guess part of the DARK SECRET before it was revealed. Summer Place is dangerous and scary, not unlike Richard Matheson's Hell House and Stephen King's Rose Red. It doesn't top Hill House in outcome, but there are plenty of chills to be had.