Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings

SERIES: Black and Blue

AUTHOR:  Lily Morton

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 301 pages

RELEASE DATE: November 14, 2019

BLURB:

Levi Black is at a crossroads. After suffering a loss and breaking up a long-term relationship, he’s looking for a change. When he receives the news he’s inherited a house in York, he seizes the opportunity to begin a new chapter in his life.

However, when he gets there, he finds a house that has never kept its occupants for very long. Either through death or disinclination, no one stays there, and after a few days of living in the place, Levi can understand why. Strange noises can be heard at all hours of the day and night, and disturbing and scary things begin to happen to him. He never believed in ghosts before, but when events take a sinister turn, he knows he must look for help. He finds it in the unlikely form of the blue-haired leader of a ghost tour.

Blue Billings is edgy, beautiful, and lost. Utterly lost. He conceals so many secrets that some days it’s a miracle he remembers his own name. He knows that he should ignore Levi because he threatens the tenuous grip Blue has on survival. But there’s something about the kind-eyed man that draws Blue to him. Something that demands he stay and fight for him when he would normally run in the opposite direction.

As the two men investigate the shocking truth behind Levi’s house, they also discover a deep connection that defies the short length of time they’ve known each other. But when events escalate and his life is on the line, Levi has to wonder if it was wise to trust the Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings.

REVIEW:

Levi has recently lost his mother, discovered his long term boyfriend has been cheating on him and inherited a house.  That’s quite a lot to manage all on its own.  But then things go even more sideways as he takes possession of his house in York.  Frankly it’s in a shambles and while he’s determined to stay there during the rehab, it’s made clear to him, both by the solicitor handling the estate as well as the contractor that would be a very bad idea.  There are strange noises, footsteps, lights gong out, doors slamming – and he hasn’t the faintest idea what it’s about.

After spending the summer in a nearby hotel, the house is finally ready and he moves in.  One of the local construction crew is still in the house when he arrives and is unhappy about the state of the cellar which was a mess – not how the crew had left it.  But it seems Levi has a ghost that is most unhappy.  Levi laughs it off, but immediately things start happening.  Like overpowering scents, cold air, door slamming open, doors not opening at all, windows open that had been closed, etc.  He’s not sure what is happening, but he knows it’s he’s not imagining it.

As luck would have it, the beautiful blue-haired ghost tour operator that he’s notice around town happens to be outside his house and Levi hears him call it the “Murder House” so of course he has to find out more.  He joins the tour and manages to convince Blue to go for a drink with him after to get more information.  Blue tells him what he knows about the murder-suicide that happened in the house.  Levi can tell that something else is going on with Blue, but he’s not sure exactly what.  Blue seems a bit put out with him and he leaves.

When they run into each other again, Blue seems like he’s over whatever had him irritated and he has a meal with Levi, but Levi is worried about Blue and what is going on with him.  It seems like he knows a lot more than he is saying, but he keeps holding back.  When things begin to look dangerous, Blue knows he’s got to protect Levi from the dark forces.  I’ll not divulge anything else, because that would ruin the surprises and the reader needs to experience the mystery without prejudice.

Well this was quite the ride!  While I’m usually not a fan of ghost stories – particularly somewhat violent ones – I really really liked this one.  Honestly, if it wasn’t Lily Morton, I might have passed this one by, but she’s an autobuy for me.  Levi is such a good guy.  Blue is such a scrappy and prickly character, as should be expected given the events of his life.  Their story is very unconventional to say the least.  It’s also a pretty slow burn from the attraction to the physical contact stage.  Blue has many walls built around himself which have kept him alive, but he’s committed to seeing this through with Levi.  Levi, for his part, is so gentle and tender with Blue and also amazed by him 🙂 While there are some funny moments and some of Lily Morton’s trademark banter, this is a bit more solemn in some ways than her other works.  The humor is a bit darker and is used to deflect the dire circumstances in some cases.  But her dialogue and ability to build the suspense in the scary moments are spot on.  The main characters really take center stage in this one, although the supporting characters of Tom and Will add a lot to the story – having Blue’s back and trying to keep him safe.  This is definitely a HFN ending, but I’m really very interested to see where this goes!  While one mystery is solved, it seems the ghosts of York may lead to other adventures for our heroes 🙂

RATING:

BUY LINK:

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