Take a luxury resort, add a little bit of romance, a murder, some human suspects, a bunch of ghosts and you have the makings of California Ghosting. Never having read anything by author William Hill, it was this combination that drew me to his latest novel. I found his blending of all these facets created a storyline that would keep you in suspense up until the very end.
. . . Hill's characters have plenty of depth, personality and a quality of realism that makes it easy to visualize each one, including the ghosts.
. . .Hill writes to every detail so the reader is never left guessing about where they are in the story. He uses plenty of 'voice" in his descriptions, so the reader feels the character's pain, sorrow and even terror.
. . .The story will make you laugh, cry, cheer and even shudder, as you go California Ghosting. -- Carmen Biano, Mercury-Register Editor
Talk about a niche! A marketing manager's dream. Here's a smashing new resort hotel near the Marin headlands. Two hundred rooms, indoor pool, library, tennis. Minutes from San Francisco. And an instant appeal to two whole new segments of visitors. Ghosts who need some new haunts, and people who go in search of them. Ghosting trips, they were called, and Marin Shores was so successful, they soon called it Ghostal Shores.
Readers get an early introduction to intrigue with the mysterious gunshot murder of the resort's co-founder, a lady chaser called Mac. His heir, a handsome widower, gets introduced to things on the coast road. Mac's big city lady lawyer is driving the widower to Ghostal Shores when she slams on the brakes to avoid striking an old man and his mule. Both "passed through the hood, then the windshield." The ghostly prospector "was obviously angry, the pale beast overloaded with transparent boxes." Ghostly hitchhikers, right? "Believe it."
Hill thus begins a captivating tale that evolves a full investigation, with suspects among staff and guest, and quirky surreal involvement by the ghosts that call Ghostal Shores home. In what was believed to be a mistaken identity, Mac had been shot in the office of his co-owner Sean Heller, a contemptuous and pompous cad who quickly learned to enjoy the power that remained from Mac's death.
This is 500+ pages of bumbling and conniving, romance, jealousy, enigma, juicy characters (and let's not forget homicide) that front-loads this book and never lets up. The ghosts are everywhere, along with "the usual suspects," and the curiosity runs deep. A great whodunit! -- The Book Reader - 1999
From the Author
California Ghosting is a unique ghost story, blending intrigue, romance, subtle humor, and a murder mystery wrapped in a supernatural setting. Instead of the typical haunted house story, the Ghostal Shores Resort is staffed by spirits from ole West California and Nevada boom towns. Bellcaps, bartenders, whores, and gamblers benevolently populate the resort until the murder and a subsequent change in management, which attracts the foul presence of miners, rogues and gunslingers. This story was inspired by Disney's haunted house, bartending at a timeshare resort and visits to Point Reyes and the abandoned Goldfield Hotel.
