Out of the Blue – by Ian Rogers (Cdn – Peterborough) –
Premise: A real estate agent specializing in haunted properties calls his detective buddy in the middle of the night to help him find out if something bad has happened to a young woman he hired to redecorate a weird country house with a history of driving its occupants murderously insane.
Hey! The house is located near Barrie, Ontario, the town I was born in. Of course I want to read this.
Nothing symbolic or allegorical here. Just a straightforward what-the-heck-is-going-on tale with a suitably shambling menace. Easy and quick to read, with the foolishly over-confident detective a study in contrast to the worrywart real estate agent. With a bit of cheeky humour thrown in, something you know I like to see.
Rating: Entertaining. Nothing New Wave here, but rather an old-fashioned piece reminiscent of E.C. horror comic tales. I’m okay with that. I like this sort of thing.