Reviewed by Dan
TITLE: Uninvited Guest
AUTHOR: Brian Lancaster
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 188 Pages
BLURB:
Fate is conspiring against lawyer Anton Swann. First his grandmother dies, then he hits the worst traffic of his life on the way home from her funeral, keeping him from friends in London—and possibly a much longed-for sighting of his ex. And finally the detour he thought would save him time ends with the electrics failing on his car, leaving Anton to trudge through heavy rain back to an old cottage he’d passed along the way, hoping to find help.
What he finds instead is the mysterious Dr. Stephen Miller, a man fighting his own battles. Anton is invited inside to join the tail end of an all-male dinner party, but this is no chance encounter. What Anton thought was fate is actually a spirit at work making sure he ends up at the cottage—and stays there until unfinished business is resolved for both Anton and Stephen.
REVIEW:
When this book showed up on our available to review list, I was instantly intrigued by the “spirit at work” words in the blurb. I’m always up for a ghostie in the story somewhere! Unfortunately, I was to be disappointed with that part. While there were some vague references to the spirit, it was mainly inferred and pretty much a very minor part of the storyline. As I read along though, I didn’t mind as much. The story was good as it was written.
I loved when the book began in Newquay, Cornwall. I was stationed there from 1982 to 1984 on the RAF base that used to be where Newquay airport is today, and I have always had a fondness for any story set in and around Newquay, because of the memories they instill in me of Cornwall.
Anton Swann is an out of work lawyer. His life has spiraled out of control. In the last year, his partner of three years told him he was boring (although in much harsher words) and left him; he was made redundant at work; and now his grandmother has passed away and he is in Newquay for the funeral. Against his sister’s advice, he leaves to head back to London earlier than planned.
When heavy traffic causes him to leave the motorway and detour onto narrow hedgerow bordered lanes, in the dark, in the rain, and with a defective GPS, his adventures are only beginning. When Anton crashes his car and has to walk back to the house he had just passed, he doesn’t know that his life is about to get far less boring.
What are the chances a gay man will crash his car, wander through the rain, and then find a dinner party of gay men at a remote windswept cottage somewhere in Cornwall or Devon? Well, the chances are good when there is a spirit working on getting you there…of course no one knows it is the spirit until late in the book, and then only Anton knows. I was disappointed, as I mentioned, with the spirit part. I think it could have made a better book if the spirit had gotten more storyline time.
I enjoyed this book. It is the first work I’ve read by this author, but I’ll be looking for more! I’m rating it as “Liked it / Above Average”, or 3.5 out of 5.0 stars, because I really liked the writer’s voice, as well as the story. If you are a fan of second chances and HEAs, this would be a book you would enjoy. Give Mr. Lancaster’s book a read. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
RATING: 
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