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A Room For The Dead
From Noel Hynd, the author of the supernatural classic GHOSTS!
In this hard hitting and sharp-edged tale of the supernatural, Veteran New Hampshire State Police Detective Sergeant Frank O'Hara pursues a crazed serial killer whose crimes bear the grisly signature of Gary Ledbetter, a vicious murderer arrested by O'Hara and executed years earlier. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
Mass market USA Today Best Seller in 1996. A Literary Guild Alternate Selection in 2005. It refuses to go away. Revised November 2013.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The chills come fast and hard in Hynd's latest, a riveting blend of ghost story and police procedural. New Hampshire state cop Frank O'Hara, approaching 50 and close to retirement, is given a case--a young woman is beheaded, her right hand cut off--that duplicates the M.O. of serial killer Gary Ledbetter. But Gary, a "low-rent Lothario" nabbed by O'Hara, was executed months ago in Florida, after political machinations moved the killer to a state with capital punishment. Since then, O'Hara's life has turned to ashes. He's taken seriously to booze, his wife has left him, his partner has committed suicide--and now, deep into another hated winter, something seems to be haunting his floors creak, doors slam, an empty rocking chair rocks. A tangle of right-wing state politics, skinhead thieves, a mysterious young woman and, increasingly, dialogues between O'Hara and what seems to be Gary's ghost lead the cop through past police corruption and malfeasance to a shattering conclusion. Throughout, the atmospherics are excellent and the local color "There's ten months of winter and two months of bad skiing. The state animal is the skunk, the state bird is the black fly, the state citizen is the deadbeat, and the state sport is petty larceny." After several spy thrillers, Hynd switched to the occult with his previous novel, Ghosts . This spooky follow-up confirms that he's made the right choice.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Fans of Stephen King, John Saul, Dean Koontz, and the like will give Hynd a thumbs up for his latest shivery ghost story. Detective Frank O'Hara, a New Hampshire cop anticipating early retirement, has to rethink his plans when a case he closed six months earlier comes back to haunt him--literally. Gary Ledbetter was executed for torturing, killing, and dismembering at least five young women up and down the eastern seabord. But now another murder has taken place, and this one has all the grisly trademarks of Gary's particularly gruesome style. Since it was O'Hara's dogged investigation that sent Gary to the electric chair, the detective finds himself assigned to reinvestigate one of the most puzzling and terrifying cases of his career. While Hynd doesn't quite invoke the same level of nightmarish terror as some of his fellow horror writers, he's good at macabre, mind-bending plots with plenty of grotesque details, and he effectively blends the horror and mystery genres.
E-book format by Nicholas Ambrose.
In this hard hitting and sharp-edged tale of the supernatural, Veteran New Hampshire State Police Detective Sergeant Frank O'Hara pursues a crazed serial killer whose crimes bear the grisly signature of Gary Ledbetter, a vicious murderer arrested by O'Hara and executed years earlier. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
Mass market USA Today Best Seller in 1996. A Literary Guild Alternate Selection in 2005. It refuses to go away. Revised November 2013.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The chills come fast and hard in Hynd's latest, a riveting blend of ghost story and police procedural. New Hampshire state cop Frank O'Hara, approaching 50 and close to retirement, is given a case--a young woman is beheaded, her right hand cut off--that duplicates the M.O. of serial killer Gary Ledbetter. But Gary, a "low-rent Lothario" nabbed by O'Hara, was executed months ago in Florida, after political machinations moved the killer to a state with capital punishment. Since then, O'Hara's life has turned to ashes. He's taken seriously to booze, his wife has left him, his partner has committed suicide--and now, deep into another hated winter, something seems to be haunting his floors creak, doors slam, an empty rocking chair rocks. A tangle of right-wing state politics, skinhead thieves, a mysterious young woman and, increasingly, dialogues between O'Hara and what seems to be Gary's ghost lead the cop through past police corruption and malfeasance to a shattering conclusion. Throughout, the atmospherics are excellent and the local color "There's ten months of winter and two months of bad skiing. The state animal is the skunk, the state bird is the black fly, the state citizen is the deadbeat, and the state sport is petty larceny." After several spy thrillers, Hynd switched to the occult with his previous novel, Ghosts . This spooky follow-up confirms that he's made the right choice.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Fans of Stephen King, John Saul, Dean Koontz, and the like will give Hynd a thumbs up for his latest shivery ghost story. Detective Frank O'Hara, a New Hampshire cop anticipating early retirement, has to rethink his plans when a case he closed six months earlier comes back to haunt him--literally. Gary Ledbetter was executed for torturing, killing, and dismembering at least five young women up and down the eastern seabord. But now another murder has taken place, and this one has all the grisly trademarks of Gary's particularly gruesome style. Since it was O'Hara's dogged investigation that sent Gary to the electric chair, the detective finds himself assigned to reinvestigate one of the most puzzling and terrifying cases of his career. While Hynd doesn't quite invoke the same level of nightmarish terror as some of his fellow horror writers, he's good at macabre, mind-bending plots with plenty of grotesque details, and he effectively blends the horror and mystery genres.
E-book format by Nicholas Ambrose.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1994
29 people are currently reading
337 people want to read
About the author
Noel Hynd
62 books219 followers I've been a published novelist for longer than I care to admit, since 1976. I'm frequently asked, however, how I first got published. It's an interesting story and involved both Robert Ludlum and James Baldwin, even though neither of them knew it --- or me --- at the time.
My first agent, a wonderful thorughly perofessional gentleman named Robert Lantz was representing Mr. Baldwin at the time. This was around 1975. Balwin, while a brilliant writer, had had some nasty dealings with the head of Dell Publishing. Dell held Jimmy's contract at the time and he could not legally write for anyone else until he gave Dell a book that was due to them. Nonetheless, he refused to deliver a manuscript to Dell and went to Paris to sit things out.
The book was due to The Dial Press, which Dell owned. Baldwin was widely quoted as saying....and I'm cleaning up the quote here, "that he was no longer picking cotton on Dell's planatation."
The book was due to The Dial Press. The editor in chief of The Dial Press was a stellar editor who was making a name for himself and a fair bit of money for the company publishing thriller-author Robert Ludlum. A best seller every year will do that for an editor. Anyway, Baldwin fled New York for Paris. The editor followed, the asignment being to get him to come happily back to Dial. As soon as the editor arrived, Baldwin fled to Algeria. Or maybe Tunisia. It hardly mattered because Baldwin was furious and simply wouldn 't do a book for Dell/Dial. The editor returned to NY without his quarry. Things were at a standstill.
That's where I entered the story, unpublished at age 27 and knowing enough to keep my mouth shut while these things went down. I had given 124 pages of a first novel to Mr. Lantz ten days eariler. Miraculously, his reader liked it and then HE liked it. It was in the same genre that Ludlum wrote in and which the editor at Dial excelled at editing and marketing.
My agent and the editor ran into each other one afternoon in July of 1974 in one of those swank Manhattan places where people used to have three martinis for lunch. The agent asked how things had gone in Europe. The editor told him, knowing full well that the agent already knew. The next steps would be lawyers, Baldwin dragged into US Courts, major authors boycotting Doubleday/Dell, Dial, maybe some civil rights demonstrations and.......but no so fast.
Mr. Lantz offered Dial the first look at a new adventure/espionage novelist (me). IF Dial wanted me after reading my 124 pages, he could sign me, but only IF Baldwin was released from his obligations at Doubleday. I was the literary bribe, so to speak, that would get Jimmy free from Dial. It seemed like a great idea to everyone. It seemed that way because it was. Paperwork was prepapred and paperwork was signed. Voila!...To make a much longer story short, Dial accepted my novel. The editor instructed me on how to raise it to a professional level as I finished writing it over the next ten months. I followed orders perfectly. I even felt prosperous on my $7500 advance. He then had Dial release Mr. Balwin from his obligation. Not surpringly, he went on to create fine books for other publishers. Ludlum did even batter. Of the three, I'm the pauper but I've gotten my fair share and I'm alive with books coming out again now in the very near future, no small accmplishment. So no complaints from me.
That''s how I got published. I met Ludlum many times later on and Baldwin once. Ludlum liked my name "Noel" and used it for an then-upcoming charcter named Noel Holcroft. That amused me. I don't know if either of them even knew that my career had been in their orbits for a month 1975. They would have been amused. They were both smart gifted men and fine writers in dfferent ways. This story was told to me by one of the principals two years later and another one confirmed it.
Me, I came out of it with my first publishing contract, for a book titled 'Reve
My first agent, a wonderful thorughly perofessional gentleman named Robert Lantz was representing Mr. Baldwin at the time. This was around 1975. Balwin, while a brilliant writer, had had some nasty dealings with the head of Dell Publishing. Dell held Jimmy's contract at the time and he could not legally write for anyone else until he gave Dell a book that was due to them. Nonetheless, he refused to deliver a manuscript to Dell and went to Paris to sit things out.
The book was due to The Dial Press, which Dell owned. Baldwin was widely quoted as saying....and I'm cleaning up the quote here, "that he was no longer picking cotton on Dell's planatation."
The book was due to The Dial Press. The editor in chief of The Dial Press was a stellar editor who was making a name for himself and a fair bit of money for the company publishing thriller-author Robert Ludlum. A best seller every year will do that for an editor. Anyway, Baldwin fled New York for Paris. The editor followed, the asignment being to get him to come happily back to Dial. As soon as the editor arrived, Baldwin fled to Algeria. Or maybe Tunisia. It hardly mattered because Baldwin was furious and simply wouldn 't do a book for Dell/Dial. The editor returned to NY without his quarry. Things were at a standstill.
That's where I entered the story, unpublished at age 27 and knowing enough to keep my mouth shut while these things went down. I had given 124 pages of a first novel to Mr. Lantz ten days eariler. Miraculously, his reader liked it and then HE liked it. It was in the same genre that Ludlum wrote in and which the editor at Dial excelled at editing and marketing.
My agent and the editor ran into each other one afternoon in July of 1974 in one of those swank Manhattan places where people used to have three martinis for lunch. The agent asked how things had gone in Europe. The editor told him, knowing full well that the agent already knew. The next steps would be lawyers, Baldwin dragged into US Courts, major authors boycotting Doubleday/Dell, Dial, maybe some civil rights demonstrations and.......but no so fast.
Mr. Lantz offered Dial the first look at a new adventure/espionage novelist (me). IF Dial wanted me after reading my 124 pages, he could sign me, but only IF Baldwin was released from his obligations at Doubleday. I was the literary bribe, so to speak, that would get Jimmy free from Dial. It seemed like a great idea to everyone. It seemed that way because it was. Paperwork was prepapred and paperwork was signed. Voila!...To make a much longer story short, Dial accepted my novel. The editor instructed me on how to raise it to a professional level as I finished writing it over the next ten months. I followed orders perfectly. I even felt prosperous on my $7500 advance. He then had Dial release Mr. Balwin from his obligation. Not surpringly, he went on to create fine books for other publishers. Ludlum did even batter. Of the three, I'm the pauper but I've gotten my fair share and I'm alive with books coming out again now in the very near future, no small accmplishment. So no complaints from me.
That''s how I got published. I met Ludlum many times later on and Baldwin once. Ludlum liked my name "Noel" and used it for an then-upcoming charcter named Noel Holcroft. That amused me. I don't know if either of them even knew that my career had been in their orbits for a month 1975. They would have been amused. They were both smart gifted men and fine writers in dfferent ways. This story was told to me by one of the principals two years later and another one confirmed it.
Me, I came out of it with my first publishing contract, for a book titled 'Reve
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 17, 2023
Creepy Under Your Skin Vibes!
Small backstory:
Frank O'Hara who is a detective sergeant that had a hand in sending an evil killer, Gary Ledbetter to the electric chair years ago is shaken to his core as bodies are now turning up that is parallel to Ledbetter's MO and Frank doesn't know if there is a copycat killer running loose or if maybe Ledbetter is killing from beyond the grave!
That is about all I can give on a small backstory without giving away spoilers so if that sounds intriguing then go read this book!
Thoughts:
It has been a long time since I read a book by Noel Hynd but I have owned this kindle book for a long time and thought I would step into it. I am so glad that I did as the crime thriller aspects of the story mixed within a haunting was right up my alley.
The book was a little slow to get going but by the time I hit the 20% mark it picked up gradually and then really took off around the 30% mark. Lots of spooky shiver vibes within this story as it unfolded with the mystery of whether the character Ledbetter was the cause of the recent killings even though he was dead.
The author slowly built up the dread and fear of the haunting along with the mystery of the crimes that was taking place. After reading this book I am planning on pursuing more books by Hynd. The last book I read by him was his book, Ghosts which I read a long time ago - sometime back in the 90's - not too long after it was published. So it is time to check to see what else he has out there to add to my tbr. Giving this book four "Supernatural Shivers" stars!
For digital artwork images of this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/...
Small backstory:
Frank O'Hara who is a detective sergeant that had a hand in sending an evil killer, Gary Ledbetter to the electric chair years ago is shaken to his core as bodies are now turning up that is parallel to Ledbetter's MO and Frank doesn't know if there is a copycat killer running loose or if maybe Ledbetter is killing from beyond the grave!
That is about all I can give on a small backstory without giving away spoilers so if that sounds intriguing then go read this book!
Thoughts:
It has been a long time since I read a book by Noel Hynd but I have owned this kindle book for a long time and thought I would step into it. I am so glad that I did as the crime thriller aspects of the story mixed within a haunting was right up my alley.
The book was a little slow to get going but by the time I hit the 20% mark it picked up gradually and then really took off around the 30% mark. Lots of spooky shiver vibes within this story as it unfolded with the mystery of whether the character Ledbetter was the cause of the recent killings even though he was dead.
The author slowly built up the dread and fear of the haunting along with the mystery of the crimes that was taking place. After reading this book I am planning on pursuing more books by Hynd. The last book I read by him was his book, Ghosts which I read a long time ago - sometime back in the 90's - not too long after it was published. So it is time to check to see what else he has out there to add to my tbr. Giving this book four "Supernatural Shivers" stars!
For digital artwork images of this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/...
March 10, 2021
A very interesting blend of police procedural and ghost story and while a fun read, the cliche characters and fairly predictable plot made this less than it could have been. Our main character-- Frank O'Hara-- is your 'classic' burned out detective on the verge of retirement. Frank is the leading homicide detective for the state of New Hampshire and the day he submits his retirement papers some local cops find the dead body of a woman in an isolated, remote cabin. She has been dead for months and clues are sparse. Nonetheless, the police chief 'makes Frank a deal' in that he needs to solve this case before he retires, so get cracking! Something really strange quickly emerges in the investigation, however-- the MO matches to a tee that of a convicted and executed killer named Gary. Besides that, Frank keeps getting 'visitations' from Gary's ghost at home, and Gary continually protests his innocence. After another body turns up, fresh this time, with once again the exact same MO, Frank thinks he is going crazy. The killings are very distinct (lopped off head and right hand, the latter is placed in a rosewood box and wrapped in pink ribbon) and the 'dirt' on the MO was never released to the public, so what exactly is going on? Is the ghost of Gary killing people? If not, who is?
I mentioned cliche characters and Frank O'Hara really stands out here. Burned out, struggling with alcohol, few friends but with a serious nose for sniffing out the bad guys. Gary, the man executed for a string of murders that happened several years ago, is also a classic cliche, protesting his innocence right up to the time they plunked him in 'old sparky' in Florida. Gary, the smart, handsome con, largely self educated, who teaches himself French on Death Row to read classic novels. I could go on, but you get the idea.
I will not go into the plot as this is basically a 'whodunit', but I will say the story flows nicely during its buildup to the end. Nonetheless, from fairly early on the clues to the final denouement start pointing in a direction that is not that difficult to follow. We are not talking Agatha Christie here!
I liked the atmosphere of the novel, set during a nasty winter in New Hampshire; the almost daily blizzards aptly serve as a metaphor for Frank's feelings and mental status and also give the book a very moody feel. ARFTD is engaging and fun, but ultimately probably a good one to pass on to someone else. 3 spooky stars!
I mentioned cliche characters and Frank O'Hara really stands out here. Burned out, struggling with alcohol, few friends but with a serious nose for sniffing out the bad guys. Gary, the man executed for a string of murders that happened several years ago, is also a classic cliche, protesting his innocence right up to the time they plunked him in 'old sparky' in Florida. Gary, the smart, handsome con, largely self educated, who teaches himself French on Death Row to read classic novels. I could go on, but you get the idea.
I will not go into the plot as this is basically a 'whodunit', but I will say the story flows nicely during its buildup to the end. Nonetheless, from fairly early on the clues to the final denouement start pointing in a direction that is not that difficult to follow. We are not talking Agatha Christie here!
I liked the atmosphere of the novel, set during a nasty winter in New Hampshire; the almost daily blizzards aptly serve as a metaphor for Frank's feelings and mental status and also give the book a very moody feel. ARFTD is engaging and fun, but ultimately probably a good one to pass on to someone else. 3 spooky stars!
September 9, 2014
I've never read this author before and had this book lying around so thought I would give it a go since I'm a fan of both ghost stories and police procedurals.
Its not a bad book, it's an easy read and there is some intrigue as to whether or not our protagonist Det. Frank O'Hara is really seeing, hearing, and interacting with ghosts, but it's not really intriguing enough to make it all that good either. I felt a definite lack of a connection with Frank, an alcoholic cop that hates snow, but lives in New Hampshire where it seemingly never stops snowing. I felt a lot of the build up toward a spectacular ending, what with all the conspiracy, legal injustice, corrupt policemen and politicians, and grim psychic forecasts, never really materialized, and there was a definite lack of connection with the victims of these particularly brutal crimes, so much so, that I almost didn't care and I didn't feel that the author cared that much either, choosing instead to focus on the ghost of a possible serial killer and Franks ongoing battle with the voices in his head and the unrelenting weather. The weather being a secondary character, set during a chilling New Hampshire winter, you really get a sense of the dire and depressing atmosphere winter creates. For O'Hara, "Snow was white death...He had come to associate it with his own resolute march toward the grave." Yep, and I felt like I was slowly dying as well.
There was also a lack of tension that is usually created when you have a good ghost story, and I am almost embarrassingly easily frightened and creeped-out by horror and ghost stories, but there were few "jump out of my seat moments" which is okay I guess, less nightmares for me.
So all in all an OK book with a few chills and a disappointing ending. If you like detective stories with some supernatural action pick up John Connolly's Charlie Parker series, it's the best of its kind out there.
Its not a bad book, it's an easy read and there is some intrigue as to whether or not our protagonist Det. Frank O'Hara is really seeing, hearing, and interacting with ghosts, but it's not really intriguing enough to make it all that good either. I felt a definite lack of a connection with Frank, an alcoholic cop that hates snow, but lives in New Hampshire where it seemingly never stops snowing. I felt a lot of the build up toward a spectacular ending, what with all the conspiracy, legal injustice, corrupt policemen and politicians, and grim psychic forecasts, never really materialized, and there was a definite lack of connection with the victims of these particularly brutal crimes, so much so, that I almost didn't care and I didn't feel that the author cared that much either, choosing instead to focus on the ghost of a possible serial killer and Franks ongoing battle with the voices in his head and the unrelenting weather. The weather being a secondary character, set during a chilling New Hampshire winter, you really get a sense of the dire and depressing atmosphere winter creates. For O'Hara, "Snow was white death...He had come to associate it with his own resolute march toward the grave." Yep, and I felt like I was slowly dying as well.
There was also a lack of tension that is usually created when you have a good ghost story, and I am almost embarrassingly easily frightened and creeped-out by horror and ghost stories, but there were few "jump out of my seat moments" which is okay I guess, less nightmares for me.
So all in all an OK book with a few chills and a disappointing ending. If you like detective stories with some supernatural action pick up John Connolly's Charlie Parker series, it's the best of its kind out there.
May 31, 2013
It is the winter of 1993. With only a few months to go before his retirement, Detective Sergeant Frank O'Hara faces the most impossible challenge of his career: a serial killer who can't possibly exist...not in this world, anyway.
Several years before, Detective Sergeant O'Hara helped send Gary Ledbetter, an angelically-faced blue-eyed psychopath, to the electric chair. Now Gary Ledbetter's grisly signature is apparent on a string of fresh murders that sicken even veteran cops... Is this just a hideous re-enactment of Gary Ledbetter's crimes? Or...is Frank O'Hara completely losing his mind?
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was incredibly eerie, very mysterious, and I just had to find out how the story ended. I give this book an A! Noel Hynd is a new author for me, and he certainly is an author I would like to read more from in the future.
Several years before, Detective Sergeant O'Hara helped send Gary Ledbetter, an angelically-faced blue-eyed psychopath, to the electric chair. Now Gary Ledbetter's grisly signature is apparent on a string of fresh murders that sicken even veteran cops... Is this just a hideous re-enactment of Gary Ledbetter's crimes? Or...is Frank O'Hara completely losing his mind?
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was incredibly eerie, very mysterious, and I just had to find out how the story ended. I give this book an A! Noel Hynd is a new author for me, and he certainly is an author I would like to read more from in the future.
November 3, 2012
I read this book years ago, probably right after it came out in paperback. I love Noel Hynd's supernatural novels. I was in the mood for a Halloween read, and I remembered this one being like a ghost story, so I pulled it out. I couldn't really remember that much about it after so long, so it was like I was reading it for the first time.
Frank O'Hara, a huge Sinatra fan, and detective, is called to a horrible crime scene. The MO was exactly the same as a string of murders that took place several years back. The problem is that it can't be the same perp, because he has been executed. So, this sends O'Hara back to the old crimes for another look.
Frank is also having a few personal problems. His drinking has gotten out of hand, and he has found himself visiting the house shrink. He is also seeing ghost.
The story reads like a true crime novel with a paranormal twist. The book was published during the 90's but other than a few dated references, it's not all that dated. It's part detective story, part supernatural ghost story. Frank struggles with his career, his personal life and being haunted by a case where he may have sent an innocent man to the electric chair. The last 100 pages or so are really creepy and keep you guessing as to what is real and who is real.
An above average supernatural thriller. Over all A B+
Frank O'Hara, a huge Sinatra fan, and detective, is called to a horrible crime scene. The MO was exactly the same as a string of murders that took place several years back. The problem is that it can't be the same perp, because he has been executed. So, this sends O'Hara back to the old crimes for another look.
Frank is also having a few personal problems. His drinking has gotten out of hand, and he has found himself visiting the house shrink. He is also seeing ghost.
The story reads like a true crime novel with a paranormal twist. The book was published during the 90's but other than a few dated references, it's not all that dated. It's part detective story, part supernatural ghost story. Frank struggles with his career, his personal life and being haunted by a case where he may have sent an innocent man to the electric chair. The last 100 pages or so are really creepy and keep you guessing as to what is real and who is real.
An above average supernatural thriller. Over all A B+
July 28, 2013
The thought of a police procedural mixed in with a ghost story, sounded promising. Some good moments with Det. O'Hara, wondering if he was really going crazy. One in particular, when he wondered if he was dead....can people see me? Bad thought...maybe he is losing it.
About the best atmosphere in the story was the author's telling of the frigid New Hampshire winter that was going on. Will try another of Mr. Hynd's novels.
About the best atmosphere in the story was the author's telling of the frigid New Hampshire winter that was going on. Will try another of Mr. Hynd's novels.
January 17, 2016
A gripping, suspenseful, intriguing story that keeps you reading until the end!
March 3, 2022
75 pages in and I’m bored. LOL!
December 22, 2019
Great read
It was interesting how he chose his characters. In some ways, I wanted to know how he died, but the mystery of not know, kept you guessing. It is worth the read. This is my third book by Mr. Hynd. I will read more
It was interesting how he chose his characters. In some ways, I wanted to know how he died, but the mystery of not know, kept you guessing. It is worth the read. This is my third book by Mr. Hynd. I will read more
September 23, 2019
Really enjoyed this book. It was a great read. A tantalizing ghost story.
November 7, 2019
Like this author alot..but this was way too long..
October 26, 2024
Noel Hynd does it again
I love Noel Hynds ghost stories. They make the perfect Halloween reads. Spooky, eerie, sometimes frightening to the point of goose bumps. Just a great read.
I love Noel Hynds ghost stories. They make the perfect Halloween reads. Spooky, eerie, sometimes frightening to the point of goose bumps. Just a great read.
March 15, 2012
I had great hopes for this book. Don't ask me why. Maybe it was because I wanted to give the story a chance and decided it was an undiscovered masterpiece. :-/
This is one of those stories that I almost feel anger that I wasted my time finishing. Almost. There were good passages. Times when I almost got caught up in the story. Then it would start dragging, or there's be a passage that seemed to have very little to do with the storyline. The plot drug on and on. There was never really much anticipation; no exciting build up to the conclusion. The story was, at the least, 75% over before there was any hint (tiny though it was) about the mystery of who-dun-it. Oh, finally! I was amped, just absolutely certain that the final battle was going to be worth it. Um. No. It was basically done and over with in one paragraph; and even the way it was concluded was a jumbo let-down.
Also, I am a bit anal about grammatical errors, typos and any other boo boo that the author himself, the editor, or at the least, the proof readers should have caught.
I'll share a few with you.
"As nondescript as the man itself." (really? ITself?)
"......or even from where the dick head was coming from." (firstly, this was a question. I'm irritated with the misuse of punctuation. Also........ending the sentence in 'from'? First, it is incorrect. It also is, in my opinion, redundantly repeated.)
"There he found he could both give orders and dish them out." (hmm, wonder if he can take them?)
Those are just an example of errors throughout the book. By no means do I always use the correct punctuation, I sometimes misspell words & I'm sure I make many other mistakes. However, I do not claim to be an author, and at the age of 40 I have forgotten many of the rules of grammer. Call me a hypocrite. But there it is.
Detective Sgt. Frank O'Hara has seen it all in his twenty years as a state cop in New Hampshire: convenience store stick-ups that erupted in violence.........family abuse...backwoods axe murders....serial killings...sexual psychopathy. Now, with only a few months to go before his well-earned retirement, O'Hara is confronted with the greatest challenge of his career.
It is the winter of 1993. His marriage over, his nerves shot from too much booze and death. O'Hara finds himself facing an impossible enemy-a killer who can't possibly exist......not in this world anyway. An angelic, blue eyed psychopath and white-trash Adonis who could kill as easily as smile. Gary Ledbetter is doing it again-his grisly signature clear on a string of fresh murders that sicken even veteran cops. But Ledbetter can't be the killer: O'Hara personally arrested him and helped send him to the electric chair years ago.
But if it isn't Ledbetter, then who is the crazed madman stalking innocent victims in what is fast becoming the bloodiest spree in serial killing history? Is it someone from beyond the grave-a demon from hell, come to exact a chilling retribution against his own executioners?
Or is it Frank O'Hara who is losing his mind, his sanity slipping beneath the grueling pressure and the burden of guilt and rage carried by every good cop? Is he in an agonizing fight to the death with vengeful spirits-or fighting even more terrifying demons of his own making?
This is one of those stories that I almost feel anger that I wasted my time finishing. Almost. There were good passages. Times when I almost got caught up in the story. Then it would start dragging, or there's be a passage that seemed to have very little to do with the storyline. The plot drug on and on. There was never really much anticipation; no exciting build up to the conclusion. The story was, at the least, 75% over before there was any hint (tiny though it was) about the mystery of who-dun-it. Oh, finally! I was amped, just absolutely certain that the final battle was going to be worth it. Um. No. It was basically done and over with in one paragraph; and even the way it was concluded was a jumbo let-down.
Also, I am a bit anal about grammatical errors, typos and any other boo boo that the author himself, the editor, or at the least, the proof readers should have caught.
I'll share a few with you.
"As nondescript as the man itself." (really? ITself?)
"......or even from where the dick head was coming from." (firstly, this was a question. I'm irritated with the misuse of punctuation. Also........ending the sentence in 'from'? First, it is incorrect. It also is, in my opinion, redundantly repeated.)
"There he found he could both give orders and dish them out." (hmm, wonder if he can take them?)
Those are just an example of errors throughout the book. By no means do I always use the correct punctuation, I sometimes misspell words & I'm sure I make many other mistakes. However, I do not claim to be an author, and at the age of 40 I have forgotten many of the rules of grammer. Call me a hypocrite. But there it is.
Detective Sgt. Frank O'Hara has seen it all in his twenty years as a state cop in New Hampshire: convenience store stick-ups that erupted in violence.........family abuse...backwoods axe murders....serial killings...sexual psychopathy. Now, with only a few months to go before his well-earned retirement, O'Hara is confronted with the greatest challenge of his career.
It is the winter of 1993. His marriage over, his nerves shot from too much booze and death. O'Hara finds himself facing an impossible enemy-a killer who can't possibly exist......not in this world anyway. An angelic, blue eyed psychopath and white-trash Adonis who could kill as easily as smile. Gary Ledbetter is doing it again-his grisly signature clear on a string of fresh murders that sicken even veteran cops. But Ledbetter can't be the killer: O'Hara personally arrested him and helped send him to the electric chair years ago.
But if it isn't Ledbetter, then who is the crazed madman stalking innocent victims in what is fast becoming the bloodiest spree in serial killing history? Is it someone from beyond the grave-a demon from hell, come to exact a chilling retribution against his own executioners?
Or is it Frank O'Hara who is losing his mind, his sanity slipping beneath the grueling pressure and the burden of guilt and rage carried by every good cop? Is he in an agonizing fight to the death with vengeful spirits-or fighting even more terrifying demons of his own making?
October 22, 2012
I'm not really a fan of ghost type stories, but if they're handled well and don't cross the line into 'hokey', I find them very interesting and even frightening. But this one, however, I was disappointed with. It begins very well, with the ghost element handled well. It's subtle and intriguing and the story flows well. Then, it gets to the point where it hits its height, and you can't wait to read further because you know something very exciting and sinister is about to begin to unfold. Sadly, it does not. It isn't very long before this story too crosses that line into 'hokey' and the ghost element borders on the ridiculous.
The main character, Frank O'Hara is a terrific one, but he ends up being quite the let-down. His character could have carried the story, but he was turned into something just as silly and immaterial as the ghosts. All stories have peripheral type side stories and characters and that's fine because in the big picture, they are just as necessary as peripheral people and events in real life. But these are never fed into the main story enough and they basically just amount to wasted pages in the book.
I do not like to be critical when a genre or a story are not to my liking because everyone doesn't enjoy reading dark crime fiction and noir as I do. But I don't believe that even ghost story fans would take too well to this one. It builds up and builds up and goes where you hope it won't, but still there's a chance it will redeem itself, so you read on. You get to what appears to be the climax and it's one big disappointment. Of course, there's more, the ending, and that's even a bigger disappointment.
I cannot really recommend this book, except maybe to those who enjoy very mild stuff and aren't really looking for something scary, because this is not.
The main character, Frank O'Hara is a terrific one, but he ends up being quite the let-down. His character could have carried the story, but he was turned into something just as silly and immaterial as the ghosts. All stories have peripheral type side stories and characters and that's fine because in the big picture, they are just as necessary as peripheral people and events in real life. But these are never fed into the main story enough and they basically just amount to wasted pages in the book.
I do not like to be critical when a genre or a story are not to my liking because everyone doesn't enjoy reading dark crime fiction and noir as I do. But I don't believe that even ghost story fans would take too well to this one. It builds up and builds up and goes where you hope it won't, but still there's a chance it will redeem itself, so you read on. You get to what appears to be the climax and it's one big disappointment. Of course, there's more, the ending, and that's even a bigger disappointment.
I cannot really recommend this book, except maybe to those who enjoy very mild stuff and aren't really looking for something scary, because this is not.
July 19, 2011
I was really disappointed in this book, especially as I had gotten it right on the heels of "Ghosts", a book by the same author that I couldn't put down. It's as if the author, trying to duplicate his ghost story success with the previous title, was rushing to get something out on the shelves again.
To be fair, the base storyline is a good one, a police officer being haunted by the spirit of someone he helped send to the electric chair. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get into the cop's character b/c although we should have been able to sympathize with him, he was really not all that likeable. And, although, there were many characters in the book that the author DID go into depth with, I never really connected with any of them, good or bad, which is an odd occurrence for me as a quite active reader.
The other thing that surprised me is that even though this book should have been a quick beach/paperback-type read, it took me days to get through it. The beginning 60 pages are so read like they are by a TOTALLY different author than "Ghosts" and in fact read a little different than the rest of the book as well, in that it seems sloppier. There are also a lot of cliche descriptions that are used overmuch, such as describing the killer REPEATEDLY as a "dirtball Adonis" and other cops as "harness bulls". (maybe that was 90's slang?? I just worked 5 1/2 years in a police department and NEVER heard that phrase).
However, it got an almost consistent 4 stars on another site so maybe it IS just me. I would say that taste is individual and perhaps someone would like this for an airplane or beach read, but if you have read "Ghosts" and are expecting the same quality, I wouln't recommend it based on that factor.
To be fair, the base storyline is a good one, a police officer being haunted by the spirit of someone he helped send to the electric chair. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get into the cop's character b/c although we should have been able to sympathize with him, he was really not all that likeable. And, although, there were many characters in the book that the author DID go into depth with, I never really connected with any of them, good or bad, which is an odd occurrence for me as a quite active reader.
The other thing that surprised me is that even though this book should have been a quick beach/paperback-type read, it took me days to get through it. The beginning 60 pages are so read like they are by a TOTALLY different author than "Ghosts" and in fact read a little different than the rest of the book as well, in that it seems sloppier. There are also a lot of cliche descriptions that are used overmuch, such as describing the killer REPEATEDLY as a "dirtball Adonis" and other cops as "harness bulls". (maybe that was 90's slang?? I just worked 5 1/2 years in a police department and NEVER heard that phrase).
However, it got an almost consistent 4 stars on another site so maybe it IS just me. I would say that taste is individual and perhaps someone would like this for an airplane or beach read, but if you have read "Ghosts" and are expecting the same quality, I wouln't recommend it based on that factor.
September 19, 2015
This is the 4th book by Noel Hynd that I have read in the last few weeks, and again I am not disappointed. I feel as though I have just "discovered" him, although he has been around for a very long time. How did I miss him? I am a true lover of spooker stories, as well as crime and mystery stories. Well, Mr. Hynd can expertly combine a police procedural crime story and mystery with a ghost story, and even add a love story. Wow, and it is amazing. His characters seem so very real, including the ghosts. I would find myself waking in the middle of the night just to grab the book and read some more. He has a way of making you wonder if the ghosts are real, or if they are a product of internal haunting of the main character. In this case, Det. Frank O'Hara is investigating a series of gruesome murders that appear to have been committed by Gary Ledbetter who had recently been executed for murders committed years earlier. O'Hara had been instrumental in the original investigation which lead to the arrest, and ultimate conviction and execution of Gary. When O'Hara starts seeing visions of Gary Ledbetter he starts wondering if the wrong person was executed, or if Gary has come back from the dead. Are the visions actual, or is he being haunted by feelings of guilt? The author handles it all so well, leaving the reader wondering what is real and what is not. I am looking forward to reading more by Noel Hynd!
October 15, 2015
How Many Ghosts in the Room?
Noel Hynd is an established author who writes in several different genres. In A Room For The Dead he delivers a solid ghost/ supernatural/ police mystery. He handles each aspect with a voice that makes me believe each world is possible.
Frank O' Hara has spent all his working days as a policeman and is nearing retirement as his fiftieth birthday approaches. Frank has been in the "death squad" and has investigated more than his fair share of homicides over the years. None stayed with him like the suspected serial killer Gary Ledbetter. Ledbetter professed his innocence right up to the day of his execution.
Several years later Frank is assigned as the lead investigator in a brutal killing of a young woman found in an abandoned shack. Frank is visibly shaken when he sees the victim. This body is mutilated in the exact same way as Gary Ledbetter's victims. This is impossible. He's dead, isn't he?
I enjoyed most of the book. There were parts where the story dragged a bit. I was intrigued with the possibility that Gary may be communicating with Frank, but how could that be? Was this a ghost or was it caused by Frank's drinking?
Who was /is Carolyn Hart? Why did Frank feel so much better when he is with her? I think a good book will keep the questions circulating in my head and this book achieves that.
Noel Hynd is an established author who writes in several different genres. In A Room For The Dead he delivers a solid ghost/ supernatural/ police mystery. He handles each aspect with a voice that makes me believe each world is possible.
Frank O' Hara has spent all his working days as a policeman and is nearing retirement as his fiftieth birthday approaches. Frank has been in the "death squad" and has investigated more than his fair share of homicides over the years. None stayed with him like the suspected serial killer Gary Ledbetter. Ledbetter professed his innocence right up to the day of his execution.
Several years later Frank is assigned as the lead investigator in a brutal killing of a young woman found in an abandoned shack. Frank is visibly shaken when he sees the victim. This body is mutilated in the exact same way as Gary Ledbetter's victims. This is impossible. He's dead, isn't he?
I enjoyed most of the book. There were parts where the story dragged a bit. I was intrigued with the possibility that Gary may be communicating with Frank, but how could that be? Was this a ghost or was it caused by Frank's drinking?
Who was /is Carolyn Hart? Why did Frank feel so much better when he is with her? I think a good book will keep the questions circulating in my head and this book achieves that.
January 19, 2016
I was really getting into the whole story line and the whole who done it. I like crime novels and copy cat serial killer, back from the dead? As a tagline, sure thing! But then just the way it was brought into the plot, and the back and forth of the Detective questioning it how he did. Then the sister... no, just no. The ending is just as important as the start and all that is between, it can make or break my book experience and this time it definitely broke it. Very disappointing, I was hoping for better.
December 16, 2014
I didn't mind this book, it was interesting enough, a good, easy summer read perhaps, but there was nothing about it that really stood out. I also wasn't a huge fan of the ending, though I couldn't say exactly why, it just didn't sit right with me. As something to read when you just want something to read, it does the job, but I probably won't read it again.
October 17, 2024
I liked the story pretty well but hated the virtual voice narration. Between mispronunciations and lack of affect and emotion in the narration it just fell flat. Then throughout the book the AI would actually say the words comma or apostrophe inserting the word into the story which really takes the reader out of the narrative flow.
October 15, 2015
Having read good reviews about this author I started reading this with high expectations and was not let down. Started gut wrenching well and continued to the end. plenty of action and soul searching well worth reading. 5 stars.
April 21, 2009
I just couldn't put this book down. One of the best written ghost stories, and mysteries, I've read in a long, long time.
May 31, 2011
A combination ghost story-cop mystery that started out pretty good but then began to lose my interest about a third of the way through. It did pick up again towards the end. Good finish to the story.
September 16, 2012
Entertaining supernatural thriller.
Read
December 6, 2012stupid, supernatural and crazy
July 16, 2015
Awesome story
I couldn't put this story down. Very good. I recommend if you like scared stories. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
I couldn't put this story down. Very good. I recommend if you like scared stories. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
March 12, 2014
very interesting. never read a ghost book before. was slow to get going though.
May 20, 2015
Wow!!! I love Noel Hynd, no one writes a ghost story like he does!!!
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