Reviewed by Dan

TITLE: Borderland

AUTHOR: F.E. Feeley Jr & Jamie Fessenden

PUBLISHER: Beaten Track Publishing

LENGTH: 230 Pages

RELEASE DATE:  June 1, 2020

BLURB:

They were young.

In the prime of life and recently married.

And then the diagnosis came.

Cancer.

George and Jason make arrangements to travel back to George’s home state of Vermont so he may pass away in the town where he grew up, but a terrible storm diverts the couple into the gates of an out-of-the-way hotel called Borderland.

Sure, the employees are well dressed and polite. Sure, the food and entertainment are old-time fare. But it’s all a schtick, right?

Or is there something far more sinister at work here?

Welcome to the Borderland Hotel, where you may check in, but you’ll never, ever leave.

REVIEW:

Wow. I loved this story. These guys brought us a captivating tale of a gay couple, one with a terminal illness, caught up in a century plus old mystery. When George and Jason have a blow out on a rainy night in northern Vermont, they seek shelter in an old Edwardian hotel that just happens to be right by where they had their accident. But why is everything so old fashioned? Why is there no phone?

I knew from chapter one that I was going to love this book. As a brain cancer survivor myself, the conversations with the doctor and the interplay between George and Jason could very well have been the same conversation that my husband and I had with my doctor. The authors caught the emotions and feels perfectly. I’ll admit I proceeded to chapter two with slightly teary eyes. And those weren’t the only tears I had while reading this book. There are some happy moments, but there are also some sad vignettes like one about a gay civil war era couple. I hate giving spoilers, so I’m going to stop right there with details of the story. You’ll have to read it yourself.

The book was very well written, pulling me along and right through to the last page. I read it in one sitting, and restarted it again last night for a second go through, not that I needed to, but because I was disappointed with myself for not taking more time to savor it.

I very highly recommend this ghost story. It is one of my favorite reads in a long time. If you have Amazon, one-click it now. You won’t be sorry.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Beaten Track Publishing

Amazon