Ghost Light

by Rick Hautala

Cindy Toland knows that her sister's violent death was no accident. She knows her abusive brother-in-law too well... knows the dark, brutal things he's capable of doing. That's why she took her niece and nephew away into the night—away from a dangerous and twisted madness called home.But ten-year-old Billy and his kid sister Krissy know something their Aunt Cindy doesn't. It's about the blue lady who comes late at night and whispers strange things. Billy and Krissy aren't scared of the lady. Even though she lives beyond the grave. But there's something else out there. Something much more terrifying. It's daddy. And he's coming to get them.

Genres: Horror

490 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1993

About the author

AKA A.J. Matthews

Rick Hautala has more than thirty published books to his credit, including the million copy, international best-seller Nightstone, as well as Twilight Time, Little Brothers, Cold Whisper, Impulse, and The Wildman. He has also published four novels—The White Room, Looking Glass, Unbroken, and Follow—using the pseudonym A. J. Matthews. His more than sixty published short stories have appeared in national and international anthologies and magazines. His short story collection Bedbugs was selected as one of the best horror books of the year in 2003.

A novella titled Reunion was published by PS Publications in December, 2009; and Occasional Demons, a short story collection, is due in 2010 from CD Publications. He wrote the screenplays for several short films, including the multiple award-winning The Ugly Film, based on the short story by Ed Gorman, as well as Peekers, based on a short story by Kealan Patrick Burke, and Dead @ 17, based on the graphic novel by Josh Howard.

A graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Art in English Literature (Renaissance and Medieval Literature), Hautala lives in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. His three sons have all grown up and (mostly) moved out of the house. He served terms as Vice President and Trustee for the Horror Writers Association.

Sadly, Rick died on March 21, 2013.

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best from Hautala, but still a decent read. GL was published by Zebra in 1993; it seems Hautala moved to Warner books in the late 80s, but was sent back to the minor leagues after his efforts there. In any case, GL centers on two main POVs-- Alex, a nasty, abusive husband and his wife's sister Cindy. One day after returning home drunk as usual, Alex's wife tells him she is leaving him with the kids (10 year old boy and 5 year old daughter) and Alex 'accidentally' kills her. Surprisingly, his wife left a will that stated that the kids should go to her sister Cindy in case of her death. Alex is royally pissed, and vows she will never take his kids away. After a month or so, Cindy gets her gander up and kidnaps the kids to flee to a camp in Maine that one of her husband's relatives owns...

The plot is very straight forward here-- violent and aggrieved Alex sets off to 'teach Cindy a lesson' leaving dead bodies in his wake while Cindy lays low, worrying about cops and the FBI tracking her for kidnapping. You know they will clash somewhere along the line. The only thing that makes this vaguely horror is the strange 'blue lady' that the young daughter keeps seeing, appearing occasionally to give timely warnings.

I like Hautala, but he can veer into too much melodrama and he does so here with Cindy. Besides an undue amount of exclamation points, Cindy seems something out of a Victorian romance or horror story-- breathless, high strung, wild emotions, etc. She reminded me of the heroine from Dead Voices, who I did not like at all. Alex is suitably amoral and sociopathic for a villain, but all and all, meh. 2.5 stars rounding up.

[KAggie97 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. A fun, easy-to-follow and, at times, tense novel of revenge. From the begining, this one grabs you and doesn't let go. The story starts with the antagonist-- a drunk, masochistic (jerk)-- murdering his wife Debbie. Cindy, his sister-in-law and Debbie's sister, is granted custody via a will that the wife drew up without her husband's knowledge. Of course, Alex (antagonist) has objections. Cindy 'kidnaps' her nephew and niece and takes them to Maine to hide out. Of course, Alex finds them. The rest is a tour-de-force of madness, violence, and suspense.

One thing: This novel purports itself to be a 'ghost story.' Based on what I read, I found the ghost angle to be more of a side note. But, it does have an important part to play later in the book.

The author's style keeps the story going full steam ahead-- especially at the end. A book that is worth your time.

Note: This author used (he's passed) TOO. MANY. EXCLAMATION. MARKS. To me, that was distracting. But other than that, a very entertaining book.

[Cassandra Glissadevil · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars! Rounded up because its superb horror novel.
Welcome addition to any serious horror collection.