Northern Light by E.J. Russell

To be released on 30th September…

Northern Light by E.J. Russell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Blurb…

Nothing gives art fraud investigator Luke Morganstern a bigger rush than busting forgers, the low-life criminals who dare victimize true artists. But when his latest job sends him to a remote cabin in the Oregon Coast Range, he’s stunned to discover the alleged forger is his former lover, Stefan Cobbe, the most gifted painter Luke has ever known.

Stefan, left homeless and destitute after the death of his wealthy partner, doesn’t exactly deny the forgery — he claims he doesn’t remember, an excuse Luke can’t accept.

But Luke’s elderly client suggests Stefan may be telling the truth and presents another possibility – a dark presence in the woods, a supernatural fury simmering for decades. Luke must face down his fear of the uncanny – and admit his feelings for Stefan – if either of them is to survive.

So what did I think?

This short book was a nice blend of romance with a ghostly element. It was a nice way to spend an hour tonight when I knew I didn’t have time to do a lot of reading.

For it’s length the story packs in quite a bit. It’s a story about art forgeries, about lost love, second chances and about ghosts.

The tales starts with Luke on the trail of an art forger who turns out to be the man he loved and left many years ago. Of course Luke still has feelings for Stefan which Stefan returns.

I liked the style of the storytelling and how Luke and Stefan respond to one another, their history colouring their reactions. There was a bit of mystery and some drama. I must admit that I do not usually read too many stories about ghosts but I like the way this one was done. I think the ghostly elements blended really nicely with the focus on Luke and Stefan’s rekindled love – a good balance which suited me fine.

The only downfall for this story was the length. There was so much packed into it, that it just skimmed on the surface of many things. There was opportunity to provide so much more background into Luke and Stefan’s past together but also their lives apart – the tragedy that befell Stefan and the accident that maimed Luke. I would have even enjoyed seeing more about the relationship between Edward and Arcoletti.

All-in-all, a nice way to spend an hour.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Buy/Pre-order Northern Light from Amazon.

The pre-order from Amazon is only $1.99 which is good value – an hour of escape for less than the cost of a cup of coffee!