Ghosts of November by Christopher B. Mines

This review first appeared on Reader Views. Read the Reader Views version here.

Karl Novak hasn’t been to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in some time. But now, both of his grandparents are dead—his grandfather having died recently—and even though he missed both of their funerals, he feels compelled to help tidy up and settle the estate. Unsure why he feels this way, Karl shrugs it off as feeling the onus of being the only grandchild. While cleaning up his grandparents’ cabin, Karl finds hints to a mystery connected to a woman, a history of shipwrecks, and his grandfather’s family.

Shortly after Karl’s arrival, a massive solar storm and blizzard move in wreaking havoc on land, sea, and, so it would seem, the very boundary between our world and the next. Meanwhile, on the water, Captain Taylor is just trying to keep his crew and ship safe, but when he encounters a confused man who has, against all odds and reason, survived a shipwreck, a mystery begins to unfold in front of him. Yet how these two stories are tied together can only be revealed by reading Ghosts of November by Christopher B. Mines.

Mr. Mines deftly weaves an eerie tale, combining classic ghostly elements with feelings of familial duty, aspects of a compelling real-life mystery starring realistic characters, as well as the intricacies of an insular and remote community. The different perspectives from which the story is told help keep the various threads of the story clear, even when they weave together. This prevents the story from becoming a tangled knot, instead making it a beautiful tapestry.

While Ghosts of November is a short novella, nothing feels missing or out of place with this book. Nooks and crannies are explored and explained, and what is not is perfectly left for the readers to wonder and piece together themselves. The pace of the book also does not feel rushed despite its short nature. Rather, it feels perfectly in keeping with the timing of the storms.

Christopher B. Mines’ Ghosts of November is a tale of eerie connections and has many compelling elements that readers will enjoy putting together. It will best be enjoyed by those looking for a bit of a chill and thrill.

Ghosts of November by Christopher B. Mines, Independently Published