Title: The Boys on the Mountain
Author Name: John Inman
Publication Date & Length: May 12, 2015 — 330 Pages
Jim Brandon has a new house, and boy, is it a pip. Built high on the side of the San Diego mountains by a legendary B-movie actor of the 1930s, Nigel Letters, the house is not only gorgeous, but supposedly haunted. As a writer of horror novels, Jim couldn’t be happier.
But after a string of ghostly events sets Jim’s teeth on edge and scares the bejesus out of his dog, Jim begins to dig into the house’s history. What he finds is enough to creep out anybody. Even Jim. It seems long dead Nigel Letters had a few nasty habits back in his day. And unhappily for Jim, the old bastard still has some tricks up his sleeve.
As Jim welcomes his ex, Michael, and a bevy of old friends for a two-week visit to help christen the new house, he soon realizes his old friends aren’t the only visitors who have come to call.
Part horror, part comedy, part murder investigation, this is a gory, terrifying ride. A writer buys the beautiful art-deco home of a Hollywood legend – only to discover that the stories surrounding his new home just might be true.
While Inman retains many traditional horror conventions, his cast is unconventional. James invites his best friends to stay with him in the house: a bitchy group of middle aged men from LA. They are joined by a flamingly camp seamstress and an octogenarian on day release from her care home. Between cocktails and poltergeists, James slow unravels his new home’s secrets.
This is the strangest, yet most compelling book I’ve read in a long time. I still can’t decide whether I enjoyed it – but I certainly couldn’t put it down. The plot dragged in parts, raced in others and time shifts didn’t always work – but the dialogue and characters were brilliant.
I will warn readers – if you can accept the ending, don’t read the epilogue!
~Sarah
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