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Spirits of the Dead
What would you do to save someone you loved? Husband and father Jon Levande has to ask himself that very question when his daughter is on the brink of death. But what if saving her means losing his own soul . . .
Death has followed successful restoration architect, unhappy husband and desperate father, Jonathan Levande, his whole life, but recently the curious incidents around him have surged. Killed deer, decapitated cheerleaders and a dead homeless man are only the beginning of this dark streak. Now it seems he'll lose his daughter as well. Marie is fatally ill, and the doctors are stumped.
Waiting for death to knock on his door again, Jon buries himself in his work and has an affair to escape his depressive life. Until one day his job of restoring old buildings leads him to St Cecelia cathedral - a haunted, old church in Delaware - and its sinister Rector . . . and to a proposition he can't a life for a life.
Jon doesn't believe in miracles or dark magic, but he knows that if he doesn't do something his daughter will die soon. Torn but determined, he chooses to save Marie, whatever it takes! But the bargain struck in hell hides dire consequences and Jon soon finds himself confronted with his dark past . . .
The new gripping standalone novel by PWA Award-winning author Keith Gilman will make you question your sense of reality! A great read for everyone who loves supernatural suspense with a fresh twist on classic horror elements.
Death has followed successful restoration architect, unhappy husband and desperate father, Jonathan Levande, his whole life, but recently the curious incidents around him have surged. Killed deer, decapitated cheerleaders and a dead homeless man are only the beginning of this dark streak. Now it seems he'll lose his daughter as well. Marie is fatally ill, and the doctors are stumped.
Waiting for death to knock on his door again, Jon buries himself in his work and has an affair to escape his depressive life. Until one day his job of restoring old buildings leads him to St Cecelia cathedral - a haunted, old church in Delaware - and its sinister Rector . . . and to a proposition he can't a life for a life.
Jon doesn't believe in miracles or dark magic, but he knows that if he doesn't do something his daughter will die soon. Torn but determined, he chooses to save Marie, whatever it takes! But the bargain struck in hell hides dire consequences and Jon soon finds himself confronted with his dark past . . .
The new gripping standalone novel by PWA Award-winning author Keith Gilman will make you question your sense of reality! A great read for everyone who loves supernatural suspense with a fresh twist on classic horror elements.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published October 3, 2023
2 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Keith Gilman
6 books9 followersSpirits of the Dead is my 4th book, a possession novel from Severn House, a moody, highly atmospheric tale with gothic elements, stark visual imagery and psychological depth. Readers will be scared. They will also be moved.
Father's Day is my debut novel and won the Best First Novel Award from the Private Eye Writers of America and St. Martin's Press. The publisher is Minotaur Books.
My second detective novel, My Brother's Keeper, followed Father's Day with the same hard-boiled detective on the mean streets of Philly.
My third book, Bad Habits, is a collection of crime stories from Down & Out Books, featuring the story, Devil's Pocket, originally published in the anthology Philadelphia Noir from Akashic Books and nominated for a Macavity Award.
Check out my website
www.keithgilman.com
Father's Day is my debut novel and won the Best First Novel Award from the Private Eye Writers of America and St. Martin's Press. The publisher is Minotaur Books.
My second detective novel, My Brother's Keeper, followed Father's Day with the same hard-boiled detective on the mean streets of Philly.
My third book, Bad Habits, is a collection of crime stories from Down & Out Books, featuring the story, Devil's Pocket, originally published in the anthology Philadelphia Noir from Akashic Books and nominated for a Macavity Award.
Check out my website
www.keithgilman.com
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 5, 2023
The first chapter of this book convinced me I was going to be making it rain stars in this review. Yet, here we are 👀
Question: Did I have a stroke?
Listen. This author can write, and there are some truly unforgettable parts. Maybe I blame the editor. Someone has to take responsibility for this mess - and I say that lovingly because this book could’ve been great.
I honestly don’t even know where to start or what to say? Maybe Sol is an OK character - meaning tolerable, but everyone else is just awful. There a lot of drawn out parts of exposition that I dont think added anything to the story. Then, there’s the ending that makes me question if I had a stroke 😩
Question: Did I have a stroke?
Listen. This author can write, and there are some truly unforgettable parts. Maybe I blame the editor. Someone has to take responsibility for this mess - and I say that lovingly because this book could’ve been great.
I honestly don’t even know where to start or what to say? Maybe Sol is an OK character - meaning tolerable, but everyone else is just awful. There a lot of drawn out parts of exposition that I dont think added anything to the story. Then, there’s the ending that makes me question if I had a stroke 😩
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November 8, 2023What would a man do to save his child? That’s Jon Levande’s dilemma. Jon is an architect who specializes in restoring ancient, dilapidated churches. Jon’s daughter, Marie, is in a coma, close to death, and there is nothing he or the doctors can do to save her. Then, on a job restoring the Cathedral at St. Cecelia, he encounters a nun who is not all that she appears to be. She offers Jon the means to save his precious daughter. Not quite a deal with the devil, more of a transaction: A life for a life. But who’s life?
The writing is razor sharp. There are moments that sneak up and grab the reader around the neck, like the deer who gives birth after Levande accidentally kills it with his Jaguar. I, for one, gasped several times and had to put the book down to recover from such moments. But the story is so compelling, I jumped right back in, and then POW, Gilman hits you with another startling image.
There’s an inevitability to the plot – much like the Greek Tragedies – but Gilman makes each moment fresh and alive. Not an easy task.
Five Stars for “Spirits of the Dead.” Extremely highly recommended...and damn scary.
The writing is razor sharp. There are moments that sneak up and grab the reader around the neck, like the deer who gives birth after Levande accidentally kills it with his Jaguar. I, for one, gasped several times and had to put the book down to recover from such moments. But the story is so compelling, I jumped right back in, and then POW, Gilman hits you with another startling image.
There’s an inevitability to the plot – much like the Greek Tragedies – but Gilman makes each moment fresh and alive. Not an easy task.
Five Stars for “Spirits of the Dead.” Extremely highly recommended...and damn scary.
July 22, 2023
I thought this book was OK to read. But it wasn't my favourite horror book as the pacing and plot of the story was slightly all over the place, and it was difficult to keep up with reading, especially into the second part of the novel.
I think the initial part one was good it was setting up the rest of the novel, but I wanted more from it, and i don't think it really delivered on that. This requires a certain type of reader, and it wasn't me, unfortunately.
This book is publishing in October 2023
I think the initial part one was good it was setting up the rest of the novel, but I wanted more from it, and i don't think it really delivered on that. This requires a certain type of reader, and it wasn't me, unfortunately.
This book is publishing in October 2023
October 10, 2023
First let me explain that for me a 3 Star review means that the story was solid and well written. It may not have been the best story I ever read, but it was good. I'm giving this story 2.5 Stars. I feel like this story had a lot of potential, but the execution fell flat. I feel like there was a lot of filler with unnecessary information. While key facts were lost. I believe at least 60 pages of fluff could have been removed and 10 pages of vital information could have changed this story drastically.
The actual story is about Jon. He's a piece of shit. His daughter is dying and instead of being there for her and supporting his wife he's out getting his peen wet. Not just sleeping around either, he's having a full-blown affair with the office bike.
This story is broken into three parts.
Part One: We learn that Jon is scum, his wife has been doing some questionable shit in regard to the care of their sick daughter, Jon's side piece may or may not be supernatural, we get an entire backstory on his friend, like pages of shit that could have been summarized in 3 paragraphs or less, and then Jon decides he's FINALLY going to step up and put his dying daughter before his dick.
Part Two: Surprise, surprise! There's something wrong with Marie. And the introduction of a new character and the very juicy tid bit that was suggested in part one NEVER gets explored. Like what?!
Part Three: At this point I just wanted this to be over. I could care less about Jon he's trash. He pretends to be a loving father and puts on his Captain Save a Hoe hat and runs off blindly to save the day. When he's faced with the consequences of his actions he still refuses to man up.
Epilogue: The BEST part of the entire book. No fluff just facts.
The actual story is about Jon. He's a piece of shit. His daughter is dying and instead of being there for her and supporting his wife he's out getting his peen wet. Not just sleeping around either, he's having a full-blown affair with the office bike.
This story is broken into three parts.
Part One: We learn that Jon is scum, his wife has been doing some questionable shit in regard to the care of their sick daughter, Jon's side piece may or may not be supernatural, we get an entire backstory on his friend, like pages of shit that could have been summarized in 3 paragraphs or less, and then Jon decides he's FINALLY going to step up and put his dying daughter before his dick.
Part Two: Surprise, surprise! There's something wrong with Marie. And the introduction of a new character and the very juicy tid bit that was suggested in part one NEVER gets explored. Like what?!
Part Three: At this point I just wanted this to be over. I could care less about Jon he's trash. He pretends to be a loving father and puts on his Captain Save a Hoe hat and runs off blindly to save the day. When he's faced with the consequences of his actions he still refuses to man up.
Epilogue: The BEST part of the entire book. No fluff just facts.
July 15, 2023
A thank you to Netgalley and Severn House for access to an early copy for review.
This was a very disappointing read for me. The plot seems all over the place, for one so many things happening that don’t really feel connected, no tension and no sense of purpose. And two in the end I felt super lost in what I was supposed to understand had happened.
And everyone in this book is super unlikeable I couldn’t really root for anyone. And normally I am all for morally grey characters but these people just suck. Also was way to much description of things and details that didn’t really add much, or certain people’s backgrounds that I couldn’t care about.
If I wasn’t reading this for a review I probably wouldn’t have finished it. Though I get the atmosphere that the author was going for, to me it fell very short of it.
This was a very disappointing read for me. The plot seems all over the place, for one so many things happening that don’t really feel connected, no tension and no sense of purpose. And two in the end I felt super lost in what I was supposed to understand had happened.
And everyone in this book is super unlikeable I couldn’t really root for anyone. And normally I am all for morally grey characters but these people just suck. Also was way to much description of things and details that didn’t really add much, or certain people’s backgrounds that I couldn’t care about.
If I wasn’t reading this for a review I probably wouldn’t have finished it. Though I get the atmosphere that the author was going for, to me it fell very short of it.
July 17, 2023
Jon is a father and husband but not good at either one. He's having an affair and neglecting to spend time with his sick daughter, Marie. He's on a work trip to a church that was damaged by unknown people. While there he is offered deal to heal his daughter if only he is willing to do one thing.
I enjoyed the first part of this book. Once the second part starts, there is so much going on that it's hard to keep track of it all. Not my favorite horror novel but I'm sure some people will enjoy it.
The only character I really liked was Sol. The rest were one dimensional. There wasn't enough about them to get to know them.
I enjoyed the first part of this book. Once the second part starts, there is so much going on that it's hard to keep track of it all. Not my favorite horror novel but I'm sure some people will enjoy it.
The only character I really liked was Sol. The rest were one dimensional. There wasn't enough about them to get to know them.
October 4, 2023
Gilman is a natural storyteller with an eye for the macabre. His prose is rich with description and lush with detail that creates images that leap off the page. I felt like I was inside the story alongside Jon, experiencing the hard decisions he was having to make and the dire situations he was put in. There was a sense of reality bending that I enjoyed. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good writing, being scared, and a moving story about the unbreakable bond one feels with their family.
August 9, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley & Severn House for the chance to read this book.
A faithless husband, a dying daughter, a slutty girlfriend, an evil church rector, & demonic nun all come together in this book. Unfortunately, it was not a great read.
The author often went on unnecessary tangents throughout the story & a lot of things just weren’t pertinent to the story. The ending of the book didn’t make much sense. The author is a very vivid storyteller but overall this book falls flat.
A faithless husband, a dying daughter, a slutty girlfriend, an evil church rector, & demonic nun all come together in this book. Unfortunately, it was not a great read.
The author often went on unnecessary tangents throughout the story & a lot of things just weren’t pertinent to the story. The ending of the book didn’t make much sense. The author is a very vivid storyteller but overall this book falls flat.
October 23, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for providing me with an eARC copy of Spirits of the Dead by Keith Gilman.
I don't even know how to process my feelings of this particular novel to put into words. Maybe disappointing? It was just such a mess, the plot was everywhere, there were pointless side roads and the characters were not likeable at all. It was a real struggle and I cannot say that I recommend this book.
I don't even know how to process my feelings of this particular novel to put into words. Maybe disappointing? It was just such a mess, the plot was everywhere, there were pointless side roads and the characters were not likeable at all. It was a real struggle and I cannot say that I recommend this book.
October 24, 2023
I liked this. It had some creepy moments and moved at a pace that kept my interest. Overall, this was an okay read and I would read other books by this author. Special Thank You to Keith Gilman, Severn House and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 8, 2023
An excellent and well plotted horror, one of the most original I read this year. Not a love-at-first-page but a book that grew on me and kept hooked.
Creepy, very dark and disturbing at times. Good character development and world building
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Creepy, very dark and disturbing at times. Good character development and world building
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
February 4, 2024
An absolutely terrifying thrill ride, like being on a rollercoaster when the brakes fail. Even folks that aren't parents will shudder at the audacious and hellbent main character. What would you do for your kid? This book pull punches like no other, even the most seasoned horror readers are going to be knocked out by this one.
August 9, 2023
I thought this book was good. But it wasn't my favourite horror book as the pacing and plot of the story was slightly all over the place, and it was difficult to keep up with reading, especially into the second part of the novel.
August 11, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for the opportunity to read rage and review this arc which is available Oct 3 2023.
I do not even know where to start. This was the most convoluted mess I have ever read. I do not recommend.
I do not even know where to start. This was the most convoluted mess I have ever read. I do not recommend.
December 23, 2023
Spirits of the Dead was kind of all over the place, and it doesn't help that it is also broken into three separate parts. The concept as a whole is really interesting, but this just fell flat for me.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
February 23, 2025
Started and finished date - 21.02.25 to 22.02.25.
My rating - Three Stars.
this book was okay but I think this book needed to flash out bit more and the cover of book was okay.
The atmosphere was pretty great and the world building was fine also the paced of plot was well structured. The ending of book was fine and I like the characters but I like them to flash out bit more.
My rating - Three Stars.
this book was okay but I think this book needed to flash out bit more and the cover of book was okay.
The atmosphere was pretty great and the world building was fine also the paced of plot was well structured. The ending of book was fine and I like the characters but I like them to flash out bit more.
August 22, 2023
I struggled to get through this book. The story didn’t capture my interest and the characters weren’t very likable. This isn’t a book I would recommend for purchase unfortunately.
November 1, 2023
I wanted to enjoy Spirits of the Dead but I found myself unable to get into the story - the story couldn't grab my attention or anything and left me disappointed.
May 2, 2024
The author paints each scene in vivid detail bringing the reader along for the ride as the story quickly moves along. It is a thoroughly enjoyable book and I give t 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews