Book Review: Five Mile House

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Five Mile House     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Karen Novak
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Bloomsbury, Oct 2000, $23.95, 288 pp.

Tense police detective Leslie Stone relaxes in a comfortable marriage raising two precocious daughters. However, the homicide beat is tearing her apart, especially the killing of children. One day, Leslie snaps after another murder of a child. Leslie enters the cage where the suspect is detained and shoots him to death. Her sympathetic peers arrest her. She is acquitted based on temporary insanity, but is remitted to an institution to heal before returning home to her family.

Leslie’s spouse believes a change in environment will help Leslie recover. He accepts a restoration job in the small New England town of Wellington. The home, FIVE MILE HOUSE, is the place where a century ago, Eleanor killed her seven children before jumping from the tower. Leslie quickly hears of the local legend and some time afterward that a coven battles the Wellington family. Eleanor, a ghost haunting FIVE MILE HOUSE, believes her doppelganger Leslie will prove her savior when the war openly erupts between the Wiccan and the Wellington clan.

Leslie and Eleanor narrate the story line until their lives converge at the surreal climax. The story line combines a mystery with a supernatural intrigue that works because the key players come across as actual individuals. The humans and even the ghost intermingle in a realistic manner with authentic motives (not that this reviewer can confirm what entails a genuine spirit). The unique tale will remind readers of The Sentinel (the movie not the comic book) while challenging the audience’s beliefs on several planes. Karen Novak proves she is a terrific storyteller whose voice provides a fascinating cross-genre appeal.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner