David R. Horwitz (1964–2004)

Interesting mix of history and mystery as a DC cop sets up offices in a haunted building. Better at the history than the mystery but a good first effort in a new series.

First let me say there are some stunningly good things about this book. The history of both periods covered is brought alive through great detail (I especially loved the research Ben must do in a pre-Internet world). The writing is very good, with few small errors to interrupt the flow. The story is compelling. Why did it not get 5 stars from me? There are a few construction elements that prevented it from shining as it could.

Far too much explaining, which slows the pace and tends to pull show more the reader out of the story (thus the famous writers' dictum: "Show, don't tell"). The mystery is spoiled a good deal because we already know what Ben is looking for. The excellent Civil War battlefield scene that opens the book could be retained as a prologue (up to the amputation in Trinity Church), but then if the remainder held tight to Ben's point of view (whether a close third or even first person), we would enjoy being mystified along with him. So much of the history was wonderful, it was a jar to find the old documents included writing that was much too modern in tone. And while it is basically a great ghost story, the murder of Crawford pushes believability right over the edge.

Still, this is one of the few stories I've read that I would gladly read again if the author did a rewrite. Nothing essential would be lost seeing everything from Ben's point of view (even if much of what he sees/intuits/dreams is beyond his explanation). It would perhaps also give the author a better chance to show us the friendship Ben shares with Crawford, the sad acceptance of his failed marriage, his challenges at work, and the tender fragility of his new relationship (and if this was written to parallel the doomed historical relationship, both would become more poignant). (One last niggle: a phone call to announce a spouse's death?!) show less

LOVED this book. This is definitely one of those books that you can't put down and that you don't even realize you're reading...it's that good. I think Horwitz did a fantastic job intertwining the two stories set nearly one hundred years apart. The twists and turns kept me guessing throughout the whole book...a nice change from a mystery book. I'll definitely be looking into more of the Ben Carey mysteries!