The Secret Deaths of Arthur Lowe

by U.L. Harper

One man's struggle to accept his wife's death, and the cost of bringing her back to life.

While in the process of bringing his wife, Sandra, back to the living, Arthur journals about moments from his past that changed him.

During the journal writing, he rediscovers how, as an orphan, his ability to animate objects and people to life may have ultimately destroyed the lives of the few who grew close to him. The old stuffed teddy bear that helped him assemble puzzles when he was a child might have been too much of a secret for his adoptive mother to keep. His friend Quincy, who had abilities similar to his, might have been scared away by Arthur’s abilities. And his grade school teacher is still harboring a secret about his biological father that she can only hope to be true.

Once Sandra is alive again, things become more complicated. She claims Arthur is not who or what he thinks he is. Her ire shines a spotlight on the insidious but most likely true, unspoken nature of their relationship.

In the meantime, a mysterious smell envelopes the community—a stench so heinous it can be fatal. As the number of deaths from the stench mounts, Arthur must decide who to animate back to life and who remains dead.

Genres: Horror

210 pages, Paperback

Published April 6, 2017

About the author

U.L. Harper writes literary fiction on the edge of fantasy and horror.

Originally from Long Beach, California, he now makes his home in Tacoma, Washington with his wife and daughter.

Keep in touch by joining The World of U.L. at ulharper1.com

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, I had to take a moment to digest everything I had just read (in a good way). This book will stick with you for a while after you have put it down. Although, in the beginning; there was a moment where I was not sure this book was going to be a fit for me. I was intrigued but at the same time not sure what to feel about the story. Yet, after a few chapters, I really got into the story and Arthur's abilities.

What I really enjoyed the most about this book was the journal entries Arthur wrote to his wife, Sandra. They helped tell share Arthur's story growing up to his present life including how he met Sandra. The events in his childhood did shape the way Arthur acted and his outlook on life. The author did a very nice job of bringing together only a handful of main characters but making their voices strong.

The first half of the book was more about Arthur sharing his story and his abilities. The second half is where the story picked up even more and Arthur had to really make the difficult choices about who lived and died; while exposing himself to the world. Finally, I have to comment by saying that this story ended well. There is nothing worse then to read a whole book only to have a weak ending.

[Gayle Pace · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY THOUGHTS
Is this a possible look into the future? At least through the imagination? This story is out there on the edge and ever so up front and personal. I didn't get the idea of it being hallucination, but a dream, a fantasy of sorts. He takes the things that can't happen in the real world and makes them happen in the imagination. He makes it feel real, not imagined. That must be a difficult task for an author. To imagine and make it real at the same time. Not real in the here and now, but in the mind. We often need that. To take away pain and hurt, to imagine it's real just for a moment. The story isn't a horror story but it is on the edge of eerie. What if you could bring back a dead loved one? Would you really want to? Would it bring peace or would things go wrong and it end up being something you wish you never had let enter your mind? SO much could go wrong, be wrong and keep going wrong? Would things be the same before that person left us? Possibly and possibly not. I enjoyed the way we say the point of views of Arthur as a child and Arthur as an adult. We went through the discovery of his powers to bring the dead back. The author broke the seriousness by putting in some humor which I enjoyed. This is like no other book I've ever read and I read a lot. It's an ORIGINAL!

I was given a copy of this book from the author and Pump Up Your Book and voluntarily decided to review it.

[Will Lahaie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book begins with a bang. Literally. The protagonist’s wife dies by suicide in the first paragraph. Then we meet Arthur, a man with a very strange ability – he can animate things, giving life to them. So he begins the process of bringing his dead wife back to life, but the neighbors start asking questions. And there’s a sickening smell in the air. The story follows an unconventional narrative structure, and alternates between scenes from Arthur’s childhood, present time, and letters that he writes to his dead wife.
Where does Arthur’s power come from? An orphan, he doesn’t know. What is the cause of that smell that is making everyone across town sick? The mystery is explained one step at a time, and Arthur must confront the fact that the people he brings back are not grateful, and sometimes wish they had remained dead.
This was a fascinating read, with a really creative storyline that borders on horror at times, and at other times downright humorous. It’s not an adventure story, it’s a story about the characters and their relations with one another and the mysterious nature of Arthur’s ability. I’ll be recommending this to everyone I know.

[Diane Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book isn't perfect, the author excels at creating a well rounded and complex main character. You feel sorry for Arthur in the beginning as his unique abilities leave him feeling outcast and isolated. But then the author flips the script in a way that makes the reader feel like maybe their sympathy was misplaced. This is a great example of a well rounded and flawed character, and Harper makes you think about the dichotomies within on a deeper level.

[Rhonda Gilmour · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightfully creepy story is not quite horror, but definitely speculative fiction. Arthur Lowe has the superpower so many of us have dreamed of: the ability to bring the dead back to life. Imagine all the ways that could go wrong. U.L. Harper has imagined even more ways, trust me. I really enjoyed this suspenseful tale which switches back and forth from the point of view of adult Arthur to little-kid Arthur, first discovering his powers. Harper has a particularly deft way of describing events from a child's point of view--there were some laugh-out-loud moments in these sections, despite the overall dark tone of the story. A good read.

[Ian Welke · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his first book, In Blackness, and in its sequel, The Reinvention of Man, Harper took us on an amazing hallucinatory scifi Odyssey. In The Secret Deaths of Arthur Lowe he takes us on a narrower journey, but every bit as personable and wonderfully insane. Harper’s writing conveys not just the effect of hallucination, but also translates the feeling of the experience. His writing makes the unreal feel true, and through the warped lens of the unreal explores the essential truths about our lives.