Twisted Branch

When I first saw the first two of the three "Novels of the Abbadon Inn" appear one at a time on the shelves at my local bookstore starting in the fall of 2005, I wondered who this "Chris Blaine" was. The books appeared in the stores a month apart and this prolific author seemed to really be on a roll. The first, Twisted Branch, which I review here, immediately embraces you with the setting, the history, and the tastes and smells of late 70's Cape May and the very haunted and very creepy Abbadon Inn, an entity itself. The publishers of this series even saw fit to include an illustration of some "artifacts" from the history of the Abbadon Inn in the frontispiece of the books. This creates an instant, authentic "backstory" and sets the chains to rattling even before the first chapter is encountered. A very nice touch, and unusual for a paperback. There are no spoilers here, and I won't get into a blow-by-blow accounting of why this book, and indeed the series thus far, makes an excellent addition to your shelves, but I'll just try to communicate a bit of the ambience of this wonderful book. The author's weaves a subtle, ever-building web of tension, and apprehension, building into some very literal spine tinglers punctuated by some genuine shocks as we're ushered into the Abbadon Inn along with the main character Sam, whose motivations, background and intelligence make him a very sympathetic and appropriate hero for this book. It's my opinion that the realism of his character development is enhanced by the brief, sensual encounter with his girlfriend, Dani, and that it adds to his eventual heartache and loneliness. It helps us empathize more deeply with Sam and the scene is handled expertly. Not only are the local sounds, aromas and sights of Cape May made very palpable by the author but those emanating from within the Abbadon Inn have very precise and specific origins as the careful reader will discover. The author uses all five senses (even including the sixth sense) to tell this tale and to frighten us. Why this first book was so good...I found out soon after. Addendum: In the fall of 2005, I was alerted by a friend in New Jersey that there was to be a special Halloween presentation in Cape May at the Queen's Hotel for the Abbadon Inn series. The third book of the series was to be available hot off the presses. Making the pilgrimage to the scene of this scary series on this particular weekend was a rare treat, and upon meeting "Chris Blaine" at this intimate book signing and presentation, I was delighted to discover that "Chris" was actually five people. Ginjer Buchanan of Berkley Books was the creator of the concept and three authors, Elizabeth Massie, Craig Shaw Gardner and Matthew Costello wrote these first three books. A fifth "Chris" was Cortney Skinner, the person who designed the physical layout of the Abbadon Inn in order to create consistent setting for the three writers. He also created the frontispiece for the books. The attende

Twisted Branch was scary, well-written, and engaging from beginning to end. Sam was a character who I really cared about! This is a must read! I loved this story of the Abbadon Inn.