#BookReview-‘The Incident Of The Mysterious Priest and Other Stories’ by Raymond Fenech

About the book…

“The spiritual part of my body had taken over the rest of my mortal self…My whole perception of life was totally changed. I felt detached from all material things and was thinking only of the long voyage ahead, a voyage from which no one has ever returned. Even my sleep had been disturbed by dreams of family members who had passed away. They were beckoning me to join them. The scene was like a huge jigsaw puzzle falling into place, it was the picture of my life on earth at its end.”

The writing style, the flow of the stories, introduction and development of the complex characters, intense and multilayered plots with exciting twists and turns, original setting of each of the stories – everything about this collection of short stories and essays is a compliment to a wordsmith’s craft- Stevan V. Nikolic, Editor, Adelaide Literary Magazine.

I was approached by the publicist for Ray Fenech to review this book for my blog, as I was told it would ‘scare the hell out of me’

This intrigued me-although a sceptic about supernatural things, ghosts, mediums and life after death, my scepticism remains healthy and prepared to be challenged.

Alas, my pants stayed firmly in place-however, this is still a really worthwhile collection of writings from Ray, whose experiences with the paranormal involved his best friend and Malta’s top vet,alongside recipes, photos and much more.

It is a wide ranging book, covering his diagnosis with cancer, alongside his family history and investigations into the supernatural with-and without-psychic pets (hence the involvement of the vet)

He has a journalists skill at drawing you into a story, whether it’s about Jack the Ripper or fish soup, and makes both equally readable.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to read this book, I know very little about Malta and by the time I finished I felt as if I had visited there. I had no idea about the political situations there or what happens in a live exorcism.

My scepticism remains healthy and unpersuaded, however, I absolutely recommend this book.

As for the Mysterious Priest? Read the book and find out what happened…

About the author…

Ray commenced his writing career as a journalist, but never stopped writing poetry, short stories, articles and literary essays.

Nor did he stop trying to market his work abroad at a time when in those early days, submitting work to so many countries turned up to be ‘a very expensive hobby’ and an arduous task, as every submission sent to an editor meant using snail mail.

The submission procedures also included adding international reply coupons (return postage for replies by the editors) and self-addressed envelopes. The time span for replies then meant long waits, sometimes extending between three months up to even a year. His first attempts brought many a disappointing reply and many rejections slips, but he never lost hope and kept submitting until the replies started turning into acceptance letters.

Links-https://rayfenech.com/

Interview with Dr Ray Fenech-https://chapterbreak.net/2018/10/08/interview-with-raymond-fenech-author-of-the-incident-of-the-mysterious-priest/