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Chimneys: A Ghost Story
Jonah Fairchild is a 17-year-old high school senior who feels all alone in the world. His parents died when he was seven, his sister lives in New Orleans and his brother has been missing since he ran away from juvenile detention.
When his grandmother dies, he inherits Chimneys--a long abandoned mansion on the Gold Coast of Long Island. Besides being haunted by ghosts and other denizens, the mansion is in danger of foreclosure due to substantial unpaid taxes.
Who are the ghosts that inhabit Chimneys and what do they want? Can he come up with the money to save the mansion before an unscrupulous real estate developer takes the estate away from him?
Answers to these questions and other mysterious riddles lie on the pages within.
When his grandmother dies, he inherits Chimneys--a long abandoned mansion on the Gold Coast of Long Island. Besides being haunted by ghosts and other denizens, the mansion is in danger of foreclosure due to substantial unpaid taxes.
Who are the ghosts that inhabit Chimneys and what do they want? Can he come up with the money to save the mansion before an unscrupulous real estate developer takes the estate away from him?
Answers to these questions and other mysterious riddles lie on the pages within.
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 11, 2011
1 person is currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Christian Mollitor
3 books1 followerChristian Mollitor grew up in a haunted house and spent most of his childhood scared out of his wits by flying orbs of light, voices in the dark, and books that never stayed on his bookshelf. After college, he moved to New Orleans where he began to develop a greater understanding of the ghouls who crossed his path. Now, he has mastered the ability to gain deep wisdom from those beyond the aether.
Christian is an author, filmmaker, artist, social entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Besides authoring Chimneys, he wrote the New Funtopia autistic children's chapter book series, the upcoming Slug Harbor Internet television show, and numerous articles for the New Spirit Journal, Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG.COM, amongst others. He's a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Tulane Law School, and is currently earning a MBA at Western Washington University.
When not chatting with ghosts or architecting new universes in his imagination, he spends his time bicycle touring the country, flying small airplanes, playing guitar, climbing the rock wall, hiking up mountains with his two dogs, and spending time in the wilderness to witness Mother Nature's miracles.
Christian is an author, filmmaker, artist, social entrepreneur and motivational speaker. Besides authoring Chimneys, he wrote the New Funtopia autistic children's chapter book series, the upcoming Slug Harbor Internet television show, and numerous articles for the New Spirit Journal, Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG.COM, amongst others. He's a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Tulane Law School, and is currently earning a MBA at Western Washington University.
When not chatting with ghosts or architecting new universes in his imagination, he spends his time bicycle touring the country, flying small airplanes, playing guitar, climbing the rock wall, hiking up mountains with his two dogs, and spending time in the wilderness to witness Mother Nature's miracles.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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March 30, 2013Free on Amazon today. (3/28/13) Not sure for how long...
December 8, 2013
I love finding books the way I came across this one, the infamous needle in the haystack as we often refer to them. A reviewer had posted a review of my own book, and thanks to the joys of Amazon.com I was playing big brother and reading some of their other reviews. They had reviewed Chimneys: A Ghost Story by Christian Mollitor right before my book. I love a good ghost story so I clicked on it, read their review, read the synopsis, liked what I read and so I bought it.
Chimneys is the story of Jonah, a young teenager troubled by everyone leaving him. His parents died in a car crash. His brother ran away after some problems with drugs. His sister went away to college.
When his grandmother dies, Jonah inherits a decaying mansion called Chimneys that has been in his family for generations. But the massive property is in danger of foreclosure due to back taxes owed and a rich business man named J.P. Snodgrass has been eyeing the property for development.
Jonah has his sister return to help him with his grandmother's funeral and the two of them, aided by the family lawyer, set out to investigate the property. Soon, a series of accidents forces the siblings to take up residence in the old mansion.
When their missing brother also returns, numerous ghosts make themselves known to the kids and research on the extensive family history ensues in hopes of finding a family fortune to save the mansion and to put the restless ghosts at rest.
Mollitor does a magnificent job of handling an array of characters. We have Jonah and his two siblings, dead relatives, businessmen, lawyers, policemen, mayors, neighbors, and lets not forget the ghosts of numerous dead ancestors. Suddenly, Jonah doesn't feel so alone anymore! He even finds himself attracted to a young employee at the museum named Michael, who helps the gang learn more about the mansion and its inhabitants. Michael also happens to be the son of Jonah's lawyer.
Outside of a few editing mistakes that could be caught in another sweep, although there were very few at that, my one complaint is that Jonah's voice often comes off as being very passive. There are several asides that he says to the reader, or almost even to himself, which really slowed the story for me at times. Other than that minor detail, I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
It's a nice positive story about family, ghosts, and even politics with a good young adult gay character at the center of it. There's also no harsh language so this is a very upbeat read that will attract a wide audience. I'd highly suggest this for a questioning gay teen with esteem problems or for anyone, like me, who enjoys a good ghost story.
Chimneys is the story of Jonah, a young teenager troubled by everyone leaving him. His parents died in a car crash. His brother ran away after some problems with drugs. His sister went away to college.
When his grandmother dies, Jonah inherits a decaying mansion called Chimneys that has been in his family for generations. But the massive property is in danger of foreclosure due to back taxes owed and a rich business man named J.P. Snodgrass has been eyeing the property for development.
Jonah has his sister return to help him with his grandmother's funeral and the two of them, aided by the family lawyer, set out to investigate the property. Soon, a series of accidents forces the siblings to take up residence in the old mansion.
When their missing brother also returns, numerous ghosts make themselves known to the kids and research on the extensive family history ensues in hopes of finding a family fortune to save the mansion and to put the restless ghosts at rest.
Mollitor does a magnificent job of handling an array of characters. We have Jonah and his two siblings, dead relatives, businessmen, lawyers, policemen, mayors, neighbors, and lets not forget the ghosts of numerous dead ancestors. Suddenly, Jonah doesn't feel so alone anymore! He even finds himself attracted to a young employee at the museum named Michael, who helps the gang learn more about the mansion and its inhabitants. Michael also happens to be the son of Jonah's lawyer.
Outside of a few editing mistakes that could be caught in another sweep, although there were very few at that, my one complaint is that Jonah's voice often comes off as being very passive. There are several asides that he says to the reader, or almost even to himself, which really slowed the story for me at times. Other than that minor detail, I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
It's a nice positive story about family, ghosts, and even politics with a good young adult gay character at the center of it. There's also no harsh language so this is a very upbeat read that will attract a wide audience. I'd highly suggest this for a questioning gay teen with esteem problems or for anyone, like me, who enjoys a good ghost story.
December 16, 2012
I'll be honest; I was expecting a lot more from this book. Maybe that was my own mistake for getting excited to read a GLBTQ ghost story, but it is time to throw in the towel and admit it probably won’t get any better. (Note: this means I’ll only be covering my impression from the first few chapters)
The first thing that stood out was the lack of reaction from the characters. The story begins with the main character losing his grandmother and the height of his emotions is him wondering what will happen to his living situation. For someone who was essentially raised by her, he was pretty unaffected by her loss (I'll just hope the author has been lucky enough not to know what it is like to mourn someone). Then his sister's house catches on fire and they brush it off by going out and buying breakfast like this is just an everyday thing. Someone in the book comments on how terrible their luck is to have this all happen in one day (we will get back to this part in a bit, don't you worry) and they literally replied by shrugging it off. No. No human is like that! They would be a wreck. It is hard to care about the characters when they don't even care about what is happening. It kills the suspense... not that there was much to begin with. Every now and then a character would make an exclamation that they saw or heard something ghost-like. Yeah... very scary.
Now let's talk about the abundance of coincidences. Why did so much have to happen in one day? Why couldn't time be skipped for realism? Then they just so happen to find their missing brother outside their new abandoned house. What are the odds? It felt like the author was rushing through and pulling strings to run certain events and ended up killing the natural flow.
And then there is the pointless stuff. Why do I care what the characters order and how much it costs? How is this information relevant? It does not illustrate any defining character traits and it sure has no relation to the plot. I'd maybe forgive it if it was at least a little interesting.
Just to wrap things up, I officially quit after running into "OMG".
The first thing that stood out was the lack of reaction from the characters. The story begins with the main character losing his grandmother and the height of his emotions is him wondering what will happen to his living situation. For someone who was essentially raised by her, he was pretty unaffected by her loss (I'll just hope the author has been lucky enough not to know what it is like to mourn someone). Then his sister's house catches on fire and they brush it off by going out and buying breakfast like this is just an everyday thing. Someone in the book comments on how terrible their luck is to have this all happen in one day (we will get back to this part in a bit, don't you worry) and they literally replied by shrugging it off. No. No human is like that! They would be a wreck. It is hard to care about the characters when they don't even care about what is happening. It kills the suspense... not that there was much to begin with. Every now and then a character would make an exclamation that they saw or heard something ghost-like. Yeah... very scary.
Now let's talk about the abundance of coincidences. Why did so much have to happen in one day? Why couldn't time be skipped for realism? Then they just so happen to find their missing brother outside their new abandoned house. What are the odds? It felt like the author was rushing through and pulling strings to run certain events and ended up killing the natural flow.
And then there is the pointless stuff. Why do I care what the characters order and how much it costs? How is this information relevant? It does not illustrate any defining character traits and it sure has no relation to the plot. I'd maybe forgive it if it was at least a little interesting.
Just to wrap things up, I officially quit after running into "OMG".
April 16, 2012
This was such an awesome book and was such a page turner that I stayed up until 6am to finish reading it. I had to know what happened at the end! I also read this book twice, which I don't usually do.
What I really liked: the colorful description of the haunted mansion, the history and mystery behind the story (was it real or not?), the PFLAG lady at the hospital was funny!, the clever plot twists, the adventures, how the ghosts and reincarnation are tied together, and the ending (not at all what you'd expect!!).
What I didn't like: I thought the book should have been longer. I didn't want it to end!!
Merged review:
This was such an awesome book and was such a page turner that I stayed up until 6am to finish reading it. I had to know what happened at the end! I also read this book twice, which I don't usually do.
What I really liked: the colorful description of the haunted mansion, the history and mystery behind the story (was it real or not?), the PFLAG lady at the hospital was funny!, the clever plot twists, the adventures, how the ghosts and reincarnation are tied together, and the ending (not at all what you'd expect!!).
What I didn't like: I thought the book should have been longer. I didn't want it to end!!
What I really liked: the colorful description of the haunted mansion, the history and mystery behind the story (was it real or not?), the PFLAG lady at the hospital was funny!, the clever plot twists, the adventures, how the ghosts and reincarnation are tied together, and the ending (not at all what you'd expect!!).
What I didn't like: I thought the book should have been longer. I didn't want it to end!!
Merged review:
This was such an awesome book and was such a page turner that I stayed up until 6am to finish reading it. I had to know what happened at the end! I also read this book twice, which I don't usually do.
What I really liked: the colorful description of the haunted mansion, the history and mystery behind the story (was it real or not?), the PFLAG lady at the hospital was funny!, the clever plot twists, the adventures, how the ghosts and reincarnation are tied together, and the ending (not at all what you'd expect!!).
What I didn't like: I thought the book should have been longer. I didn't want it to end!!
November 1, 2016
Believable characters, well-paced storytelling, convincing dialogue and a compelling plot: all these and more are missing from Chimneys: a Ghost Story. This is, literally, the worst novel I have ever read in my life. That said, I found it to be unintentionally hilarious and thoroughly enjoyed it, but probably not for any reason the author might have hoped for. I would describe this book as the literary equivalent of TV shows Dante's Cove and The Lair (ridiculous, nonsensical plots, paper-thin characterisations, and clunky genre-shifts between supernatural bunkum and dodgy erotica).
I'm giving this book one star in my review because although I haven't stopped laughing all the way through, I was expecting a well-told ghost story and had been hoping for some element of suspense or fear. On the basis that if you're thinking about buying this book, it's probably because you're also looking for these qualities, this review is to warn you that you won't find them here. On the other hand, if you're a lover of camp, accidental-genius inadvertent comedy, you'll probably enjoy this book as much as I did.
I'm giving this book one star in my review because although I haven't stopped laughing all the way through, I was expecting a well-told ghost story and had been hoping for some element of suspense or fear. On the basis that if you're thinking about buying this book, it's probably because you're also looking for these qualities, this review is to warn you that you won't find them here. On the other hand, if you're a lover of camp, accidental-genius inadvertent comedy, you'll probably enjoy this book as much as I did.
June 28, 2012
The main character in this has the emotions of a wall. That could work if the author had made it work, but he just read as unfeeling and obtuse. I mean, he and his siblings walk out of their grandmother's funeral laughing. This is the woman he claims to love and who raised him since he was seven. He also gets distracted by junk in the basement while everyone is frantically searching for his brother who disappeared, with indications that a malevolent ghost kidnapped him. But, no, checking out some dusty stuff was more important. Again, could have worked if the author had worked it in, but didn't.
The other characters aren't drawn any better. When the characters watched the news "live" and saw themselves from ten minutes ago, it gave a simple example of the shoddy story telling, as well.
It's a shame, because this book started out with a lot of promise. It still could have promise if the main character has a major overhaul and gets a heart put in.
The other characters aren't drawn any better. When the characters watched the news "live" and saw themselves from ten minutes ago, it gave a simple example of the shoddy story telling, as well.
It's a shame, because this book started out with a lot of promise. It still could have promise if the main character has a major overhaul and gets a heart put in.
August 6, 2012
Enjoyed the book. The development of Jonah (the lead character) into a mature strong gay young man is enviable for all LGBT teens. I hope they all have a chance to become as comfortable in their own skin as Jonah did.
Overall I would say Chimneys: A Ghost Story is a fun enjoyable read that you won't want to put down until you are done. What more could you ask for; Ghosts, twists and turns, a little bit of gay romance, and a few things you may not expect. Think anyone of any age would enjoy this book.
Overall I would say Chimneys: A Ghost Story is a fun enjoyable read that you won't want to put down until you are done. What more could you ask for; Ghosts, twists and turns, a little bit of gay romance, and a few things you may not expect. Think anyone of any age would enjoy this book.
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June 1, 2012kindle freebie 6.1.12
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews