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introducing Retro Saturday!

Past books we love that should get a second look.

On Saturdays, we like to reflect on past books written at least a year ago. We’ll be posting books we love or new to us books we’ve just read and include the original review – either one we’ve written or from one of our fellow reviewers.

Reviewed by Donna

 

TITLE: Objects in the Rearview Mirror

SERIES: Memoirs of the Human Wraiths #2

AUTHOR: F.E. Feeley Jr

PUBLISHER: Beaten Track Publishing

LENGTH: 222 Pages

RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2018

BLURB:

Their new home on Frederick Street in Clay Center, Kansas, was supposed to give writer Jonathan David and his husband, clinical psychologist Dr. Eddie Dorman, an opportunity to enjoy married life. Jonathan has just released his first major bestseller, and he hopes to finally escape his traumatic past and find the quiet existence he has always craved. Eddie has taken a job at the Kansas State University psychology department, and they intend to begin anew.
They have barely settled in when the nightmare begins. Noises, disembodied voices, and mysterious apparitions make Jonathan’s life hell. Part of the house has decided to bare its teeth, show its jagged edges, and bring back the worst of Jonathan’s past. At first, Eddie cannot perceive the spectral events and fears for his husband’s sanity. When he’s also affected by the haunting, he’s unsure of what to do but refuses to be beaten.
Together, they seek a way to fight the forces trying to tear them apart. The world is a frightening place, but confronting their fears plunges Jonathan and Eddie into absolute horror.

 

RETRO REVIEW:

I read and reviewed this book four years ago when it was released through a different publisher. It’s always stuck in my head as an example of the kind of gems I can find when I decide to take a chance on a story I wouldn’t normally read. I’ve found some of my very favourite books that way. It was recently re-released with this creepy new cover. Objects in the Rearview Mirror remains one of the best ghost stories I’ve read. I hope this retro review brings it to the attention of some readers who might have missed it the first time.

 

REVIEW:

I’m frantically scribbling this review down with pen and paper because I’m terrible at typing and my head and my heart are just overflowing with what this book made me think and feel. I know I’m going to forget something important, this isn’t the first time I’ve had the thought that I should really take notes. I have a tissue clutched in my non-scribbling hand, my eyes are sore and puffy and I have what feels like a rather maniacal grin on my face. This book has totally messed me up!

Jonathan and Eddie have just moved to Kansas and bought their first home. Together since college they are married, happily, yet they still struggle. These two characters are so in love they made my heart ache yet they know that this move is their last stand in their unvoiced battle to save their relationship from the demons in Jonathan’s past. (Demons as in memories, no ghosts are involved yet.) Just a hint that such a beautiful couple are struggling to stay together would have had me getting misty eyed, but that isn’t where the story begins.

No, the author had me reaching for the Kleenex before I’d even finished the prologue, where we are given a glimpse into the life and death of one of the previous occupants of Jonathan and Eddie’s new house. An occupant who isn’t as “previous” as the two men would prefer.

Jonathan begins having strange dreams and blackouts and Eddie becomes concerned for his husband’s sanity. Poor frightened Jonathan, trying to convince his husband that he isn’t crazy. And Eddie, yes, he lets Jonathan down by believing he’s unstable, but he’s just as frightened and desperate to make this a problem he can fix.

Jonathan stood silent for a moment, considering. His eyes were wild. “Rearview-mirror stuff, babe. I went through it. I went through the mirror, and I got lost.”

Ermm, I may have (definitely did) cry again at this point.

Just to be clear, this isn’t a romance. I have no idea what genre label to slap on it. It is a ghost story. Some of the creepy, scary, freak you right out supernatural shit that goes on is like something out of Paranormal Activity. Especially once they set up the cameras to film at night. Tracking a ghost’s movements through the house and listening to it head towards the room you’re standing in? With a night vision camera? No goddamn way! I’ve seen how those movies end. I sent up a big prayer of thanks that although I was alone when I read this book, it was at least full daylight. At one point I’m pretty sure a cat jumped onto my roof and I think my heart attempted to launch out of my chest to hide beneath the couch.

This is also a story about child abuse and Jonathan, as a survivor of such, was able to connect with a spirit who’d similarly suffered. We see how the fear Jonathan learnt at the hands of his parents has affected his adult life, including his marriage. And the fear experienced by trapped spirit, Alan, has followed him into death and won’t release him even there. This is the primary message of the story. Fear wont just release you, there’s no running away from something that is inside of you. You need to face it and beat it, then look forward and move on with your life.

“Stop looking backward. Life isn’t lived in that direction. Your future isn’t in that direction. It’s forward, out into the horizon ahead of you.”

Alan’s father, Mark, the man who physically abused him, is also a character in the story. Through some very confronting flashbacks we witness the abuse suffered by both Jonathan, at the hands of his parents, and Alan, at the hands of Mark, but we’re also privy to the remorse Mark feels over his treatment of his son.

These are my sins against you: I hit you. I screamed at you. I called you names. I blamed you for the death of your mother. I blamed you for my own misery. I made you cry. I made you afraid of me. I made you hate me. 

Every time I read those words I get teary, feeling Alan’s pain, yet also Mark’s.

I don’t think I’ve ever been made to see a person who had abused their child as a sympathetic character before and I really appreciated that the author was able to make me do so. We’re always told that we need to forgive but, if you’re anything like me, that comes with conditions. Conditions such as – child abusers are exempt from my forgiveness. However, while I appreciated it, I don’t know how somebody who had actually been a victim of child abuse would react to Mark’s character and the level of sympathy he receives.

Now I have some confessions to make. I peeked (more than peeked) at the ending when I was halfway through. See, thing is, I knew going in that this wasn’t classified as a romance and the reason I read romances is I like to be assured of a happy ending. Not knowing for certain was too much pressure for my HEA trained brain to handle. So this is what happened. The last couple of chapters are so emotional, I had my lengthy very brief peek and already knew the characters enough to become engrossed and cry my eyes out. Then I went back to my place in the middle of the story, read through to the end and bawled all over again. Which I found hilarious in my highly emotional state, so I was laughing and crying and snorting and snotting and that to me is an indicator of a brilliant book. I’m so glad I was alone.

Second confession, I didn’t want to read this book. I read the blurb and thought, nooo thank you, sounds like a gay Dean Koontz. I haven’t read one of those books in a long time (happy ending requirement remember). Honestly, I only read this book as a favor to Dani and I cannot believe how close I came to missing out on this.

Usually when I recommend books I worry because I know enjoyment of a story can be a personal thing. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Objects In The Rearview Mirror to everybody. Every single person reading this review I’m urging you to read this book whether ghost stories are your thing or not. This story is so much more than just a ghost story. And no, it may not be a romance but the love Eddie and Jonathan have for each other shines through all the elements of fear and horror to provide light and hope to everybody they come into contact with.

With this book F.E. Feeley Jr has created something beyond what one normally expects from the m/m genre and I can only hope that the last paragraph means we can expect more from Jonathan and Eddie in the future.

 

RATING: 

BUY LINK: 

Amazon