Review: CURSES by Calvin Dean

Martin Gallagher is a middle-aged bachelor, who recently moved into a house that seems to be haunted. But that’s ridiculous, right? It all started with a sudden appearance of a mysterious boy in his backyard. Then came the advice from the town’s clairvoyant, Madame Z. Help the boy? What could that possibly mean? And where were those noises coming from? Something’s obviously wrong with this house.

Suddenly, Martin gets tossed into the whirlwind of Stone’s Curse, and he must convince a ghost to kill another ghost. What in the world? How does one go about doing this?

But it turns out this was just the beginning. “A family of four ghosts occupied my home when the exorcism started. Three passed to the afterlife. One lingers.” (119) Odd thing is that Agnes (the ghost) is a spiritual seductress who is only tempting Martin to his weakest point. And, hey, the guy’s only human—unlike Agnes. I so enjoyed the comedic torture brought on by Agnes. It wouldn’t be so bad being haunted by Agnes, except for one thing... “One minute Agnes wants to seduce me. The next she tries to kill me. The woman is schizo. Psychotic.” (230)

Written in three-part sections, this book captivates the reader with its intellectual prose, avant-garde style, and dark irony. Author infused his character with a kooky sense of humor and witty dialogue, while exploring the sinister recess of a mysterious terror.  The best part about Martin is that he had virtually no clue how to get rid of a ghost. Hey, we’re not all ghost busters here. But he approaches it in a way that is both sensible and tactical while also carrying on with wry, unequivocal humor.

Curses is a riveting compilation of one ghost-hunt after another.

Very entertaining!

My rating: 5 stars