#Spooktober ‘The After House’ by Michael Phillip Cash

About the book…

Remy Galway and her daughter Olivia are rebuilding their life after a failed marriage in a 300 year old cottage in historic Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island.

Little do they know, another occupant is lurking in the haven of their own home.

Will the After House be their shelter or their tomb?

Published in 2014 by Chelshire Publishing, ‘The After House’ by Michael Phillip Cash is an atmospheric paranormal ghost story…or is it?

Set in the once whaling town of Cold Spring Harbour, Remy finds herself starting her life over, as a single parent to the adorably tenacious 6 year old, Olivia, building her yoga business up from scratch whilst fending off her parents attempts to match make.

Having finally saved up enough money to move out of her old bedroom, and into a historical cottage, she is soon disturbed by bumps in the night. Olivia, when she is there, is finding it hard to settle, and it seems like she will have an uphill struggle to be taken seriously.

In addition to this, she is being stalked, literally, by the cottage’s previous inhabitant, a whale boat captain, Eli, who is far from happy about these female interlopers. He and the old man who used to live there had come to an understanding, and lived in relative calm whereas these two looked to him like trouble. So he sets to, knocking things over, causing all sorts of shenanigans, only for his efforts to be usurped by someone who wants Remy hurt. An attempted arson attack on her yoga studio, nearly being run off the road whilst driving home, are very real dangers, but who is after her?

Eli can only be seen by Olivia, which makes things even more complex, and whilst Eli and she are at a mutual standstill, there are 2 characters which neither ghost nor human can see. They are there to assist Eli to move on, but until he comes to terms with the fatal last voyage which scuppered his whole crew, he can’t.

So, in essence, you have this mystery about what happened to Eli and his family, why he is so attached to the cottage and won’t ascend to join his family, whilst Remy is under threat from a very human direction. It is gentle, heart warming and very readable, a gentle romance with a whaling background which is explored through Eli’s history and made me want to go back and read ‘Moby Dick’ and ‘Ahab’s Wife’!

A love story that crosses the centuries, a reminder of the historical importance of remembering a past whilst establishing a future, and very engaging ghost, all combine to create a book which I thoroughly enjoyed. I definitely want to read more by this author!

About the author…

Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning and best-selling author and screenwriter of horror, paranormal, and science fiction novels.

Michael’s resides on the North Shore of Long Island.

Michael Phillip Cash also writes as Michael Okon.

Links-http://www.michaelphillipcash.com/

Twitter @IAmMichaelOkon