REVIEW: The Phantom of Forest Lawn: Romance and Redemption in the City of the Dead by Robert Brighton
Sometimes death is not the end.
From acclaimed author Robert Brighton comes a sweeping saga of mystery, love, and intrigue in “an epic in miniature.” This “achingly beautiful story” with compelling clues and buried secrets will prove irresistible to uncover.
Smuggler King George Eberly faces a dilemma—his shipments of whiskey, opium, and French photographs are being intercepted somewhere near the sprawling Forest Lawn Cemetery. And neither he nor his most trusted henchmen can devise a solution.
Until, that is, young Mary Carkriff arrives from Canada, eager to seek her fortune in the big city. George is immediately drawn to Mary—and to her expertise with codes and ciphers—and the new arrival soon becomes his indispensable First Mate.
Meanwhile, heiress Georgia Moffatt and her devoted right-hand man Christian Schamber watch powerlessly as the land that was once the Moffatt Orchards is slowly eaten up, an acre at a time, by progress—and profit.
Before long, a much bigger problem confronts both couples, when a band of resurrectionists—men who disinter freshly buried corpses to sell to medical schools—sets up operations in Forest Lawn. And they will stop at nothing, including murder, to achieve their unholy aim.
Soon nothing is safe in Forest Lawn—not even its dead—and these four unlikely friends are set on a collision course with ghouls for whom nothing is sacred.
The Phantom of Forest Lawn will keep you guessing until its unforgettable ending in this eternal story with mystery, romance, and a bit of humor that is “in a league of its own.”
Dear Mr. Brighton,
True love, resurrectionists, smuggling, and set in a historical cemetery was a blurb that I couldn’t resist. The book turned out to be most of what I hoped for even if bits and parts were crude. But then we are talking about men who steal fresh corpses and who think this is a step up from how they’ve had to survive up until that time.
“Will you stop?” Fermin said. “I knew your grandfather, and he didn’t look a thing like this geezer. Now come on and let’s drag him out of the hole.”
So if reading the above exchange is something a reader can stomach and might even find a little amusing, this book might be for them. If not, then probably best to move on to something else. As there are several bodies snatched and the process as well as the state of the corpses are described, I figured it was better to separate the “yes’s” from the “no’s” straight off.
I like that so much of the plot is driven by historical events. Medical schools in that day were desperate for dead bodies for dissection while most people felt that at the sound of the last trumpet, when hopefully they would rise incorruptible, they needed to be in one piece and hence were not willing to will their bodies after death to become a means of gathering anatomical knowledge as is done today. The money that schools would pay proved enough incentive to get people to do such grisly work. Underpaid and put-upon coroners and such were also willing to facilitate and/or turn a blind eye where needed.
In a way, I couldn’t blame Doland and Fermin, the two Irish immigrants, for seizing on this job as a means of avoiding the (awful conditions in the) poorhouse. ::shuddering:: and yet, they were also a bit lazy in not doing a hand’s turn at anything else up to that point. Tough times have turned them into hardened people. Barney Brennan, though, was a stone-cold thug no matter the times as he’d done at least one turn in jail for murder.
As for the smuggling, the leader saw during the war that the sutlers were the ones who made the money and after the war the government began exorbitantly taxing such goods in order to help pay for veterans support. Being right across the river from Canada, why not step in and provide the opium, whiskey, and French photographs that were in demand? As Buffalo was a bustling post-war city, a young woman of ambition and intelligence would quite naturally look to better herself there even if it took her a few job changes to find her niche.
George Eberly immediately noticed smart Mary Carkriff and realized that she could be the means of continuing his smuggling empire and indeed expanding it. She’s also a smart negotiator and whips George into shape about how much her services will be worth, getting him to gladly agree to pay her that. Their romance and relationship is started very quickly – very quickly – but as this is an intrical part of the plot, okay, I’ll go with it. Mary is also a go-getter in the marital bed so, yay Mary.
The part of the blurb that I feel was pushed a bit to the side for much of the book centers on the former owner of much of the new land that has become the cemetery as well as the man who has loved her from afar for years. Georgia and Christ(opher) are delightful characters and play a large role in the last third of the book but for a long time, they were missing in action. It’s a bit hard to believe that Georgia could be as oblivious to Christ’s feelings and for as long as she is but also fine.
The set up of the Major Event of the book takes a while and attention must be paid to the details scattered along the way. I will say that this Event took me completely by surprise. It is also why I’ve tagged this review with historical fiction rather than romance although the book does have one HEA. Discovering who carried out the Event and watching justice being meted out also requires a bit of setting up and the revelation of clues. Some are interesting although ultimately one of them is something that I don’t see how one particular person would know. Another clue that is solved depends on an action that takes place later on. A third is one I was delighted that a woman figured it out. The means of delivering the Final Justice was something I saw coming but which is too perfectly awful and well deserved. So there, call me bloodthirsty.
Most of the historical details are delightful and well used even if, at times, repugnant to modern senses. The characterization of most of the characters is deft while a few tertiary ones are merely sketched in. The humor is subtle and just where needed to lighten a dark scene. I inhaled the book over two days and probably could have pushed myself to finish it in one. It’s a book I will remember for quite a while. B
~Jayne
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This sounds good and a bit different. Thank you for your review. I will definitely chase down a copy.
@LML: You’re welcome. It was one of those books that I just had to read.