Gothic Revival
Typically when a person finishes a stage in life, they completely move on. No matter how close they were with friends, oftentimes the friends do not move with them to the next stage in life.
While Chris and Anne married after college, the other three friends of the group went their ways and lost touch with one another. However, years later, Eric offers to fly the four friends out to San Francisco for four days of fun—or rather a remake of an iconic 1816 literary event.
Author Michael Mullin writes the book in the third person but writes each chapter from one of the four friends’ point of view. A chapter is not dedicated to Eric’s point of view until near the end of the book. However, even then, the chapter does not specify Eric, but rather his nickname, Gregor, leading this character to be portrayed as more mysterious.
Because the five friends were all pursuing creative writing degrees in college, Eric proposes they write ghost stories as a tribute to Frankenstein, but the events that come about during the four days make the friends questions events and their surroundings.
Because the friends have a lot of history from when they were in college, there is a lot of backstory in this novel. However, Michael Mullin intersperses it with the current action and uses the backstory to build the characters and make them more well-rounded.
Gothic Revival takes five people from their everyday lives and builds suspense by placing them in a remote lake villa. One of the friends, who is clairvoyant, begins hearing and seeing things. And the housekeeper and her husband seem to know more than they should.
This book will grab your attention and be difficult to put down!
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