Review 244: Banshee Fires of Revenge by Billy Young

Banshee Fires of Revenge
by Billy Young
Lulu.com
Copyright © April 2011
ISBN: 978-1447525899
232 Pages
$15.95 Paperback

There are many misspelled words and left out words in this book, but the bones of the story are very good and it was an interesting read despite that.

The whole story centers around a haunted cottage in the woods that has sat abandoned since the 1960’s when an unsolved murder took place there.  But the stories of it being haunted persisted way before that.  There was one girl who escaped the murders by jumping from an upstairs window.  When she’s found on the street the next day she claims amnesia and soon after leaves town only to return when her nephew is murdered in the same cottage thirty years later.

After the funeral she confesses to her sister she has been plagued by nightmares and knew she must come back to put an end to the banshee that lives in the cottage.  At first no one believes her until the banshee decides to leave the woods after a hundred years and venture into town on some evenings.

The inspector on the case finds it hard to let it go because even though he doesn’t believe in ghosts he still has a niggling feeling there is something there that they are all missing.  However, his boss tells him the case is closed and so his hands are tied until the nephew is murdered.

Add to this a nosey reporter trying to make a name for herself at the local paper by coming up with the big story.  She seems to turn up where the inspector is and is doing a behind-the-scenes investigation of her own by talking to the local historian and questioning the gossipy neighbors.

The book is a bit predictable in places, but still interesting enough to keep reading with new action happening throughout.

This is a haunting story with a surprise conclusion that would make a good Halloween read.