The Haunting of Cambria

by Richard Taylor

Book Overview

"Lily died the day we signed the escrow papers," Theo Parker writes of his bride and the bed-and-breakfast they'd just bought in the picturesque coastal town of Cambria. He was driving the day they... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765317052
• ISBN13: 9780765317056
• Release Date: June 2007
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 303 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Sheer terror!

Theo Parker's wife, Lily, dies on the same day they sign the escrow paper for Monroe House. Parker never even saw the SUV cross over the lines, into his lane, and hit his vehicle. His coma lasts six weeks. Parker blames himself for Lily's death. Lily's grandmother, Lillith DeMay, blames him too; and she is determined to keep Parker from getting his hands on any of Lily's assets. Eleanor Glacy (her last name is misspelled on the dust jacket's blurb) is hired by the court-appointed conservator to manage the Monroe House property, a bed-and-breakfast. Parker and Eleanor experience odd happenings. It actually seems as though a ghost is trying to take Eleanor's virginity. Believing there to be safety in numbers, the two share a bedroom. But that does not stop whatever is in the house. Using Lily's image, it entices parker out of the room and attacks Eleanor. At times the entity can even take corporeal form to do harm. A lawyer, a professor of the paranormal, and even a physic enter the picture in hope of figuring out what is going on. But what if the answer is too horrible to even image? ***** Be warned, readers, that there are graphic scenes within this story. But few horror stories do not contain them, right? Okay, so you are warned. I found the story to be engrossing, in some sort of twisted way. As the progresses the author slowly reveals what is really going on, how the evil can take solid form, and (most chillingly) exactly what is happening to those within the bed-and-breakfast. If you read this on a late stormy night, you are inviting some frightening dreams. (You will have to trust me on that one.) Fantastic! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Come visit Cambria! BOO!

THE HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA is a different kind of tourist travel guide. The eateries, shops, cemeteries, streets and beaches are real...will you also rub shoulders with Theo, Eleanor, Tim Coake or Alice Champlain on Cambria's boardwalk? Be prepared to laugh, blush and be terrified. If you visit Cambria, don't forget your flashlight.

A Hell of a Ride

Richard Taylor's novel, "The Haunting of Cambria" intrigues, amuses and entertains ... then ends with a depth charge in the subconscious that stays with you long after the reading is done. Walking a tightrope between whimsy and disturbing darkness, Taylor is a master storyteller who lets his wounded, sympathetic characters guide you into the dark places where a truly horrifying evil lurks. Starting off in L.A., the book quickly moves to Cambria, an idyllic village on California's central coast. Theo Parker and his new bride Lily are an immensely likable couple who trade quips and repartee like 1930s urbanites. Their dialogue is one of the great joys of the book and would be enough to make it worth reading ... but that's just the beginning. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to reveal that Taylor kills Lily off early on. This devastates Theo who undergoes a lengthy hospitalization, then hibernates at Monroe House: a deteriorating wreck of a place that Lily and Theo had hoped to turn into a quaint bed-and-breakfast inn. Grief-stricken and wracked with guilt for causing the accident that took his beautiful Lily's life, Theo is nursed back to health by Eleanor Glacy, the no-nonsense property manager who has been appointed by the court to watch over the place. Eleanor's fearlessness and pragmatism serve as an anchor when it becomes apparent that an unspeakably unwholesome presence is also an inhabitant of Monroe House. Is it Lily? Eleanor's repressed sexuality? The psychic remnants of a long-forgotten murder? As Taylor reminds us, every ghost story is a mystery and "The Haunting of Cambria" is a terrific one. Loaded with character, humor, sensuality and horror, this book is one hell-of-a ride. It's a one-sitting kind of book that keeps pulling you back to read "just one more chapter". Highly recommended.

GHOSTLY GOOD!

When I began reading The Haunting of Cambria I expected to be scared, and I wasn't disappointed. But I was surprised to find myself laughing hysterically. This novel is just what is says it is -- one of "horror & humor". The frightening things that haunt a bed & breakfast in the small (but real) Central Coast town of Cambria, California will keep you looking over your shoulder or under the bed in your own home. The characters are so real and do such real things that it's easy to relate to them, although sometimes they do & say things that I, for one, just wish I had the courage to do & say. That's were the laughter comes in. And if that's not enough, this story is also very sweet and romantic, but by no means not mushy. The main character's bride dies on their wedding day in the first sentence of the story. [...] The writing in this scary, funny, sexy novel is right up there with the best of the best. It's not cluttered with things you don't care about, but has the fast-paced style that keeps you reading far too late into the night -- but by then you're a bit timid about turning out the light. I look forward to reading more from this author. He knows how to keep the reader slightly on edge yet happily surprised. (Probably with a wicked smile on his own face.) I highly recommend THE HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA by Richard Taylor. It's ghostly good!

Loved the book!

Just finished reading my copy of Haunting Of Cambria & I have it say it is one of the best, well written stories I have read in a very long time! Its one of those books that you read & hate to have it end! Good work Mr. Taylor...very good work indeed!