Stillwater - by Maynard Sims - A well-told, modern day ghost story

4 of 5 Stars     Review copy

This is my first time reading anything from Maynard Sims, so I thought I should check him out, turns out Maynard Sims is actually a "they."  Len Maynard and Michael Sims have been writing together for more than forty years.  In addition to supernatural thrillers, like Stillwater, they also write thrillers, mystery, and suspense.

Although, set in modern times, Stillwater, is an old-fashioned ghost story. This is not hit-you-over-the-head-until-you-bleed horror.  Instead, it's a rather quiet story of  a successful romance writer, wheel-chair bound after a terrible accident, who rents a somewhat secluded property to work on her next novel.  What she didn't expect was the ghost that came with the house.

I enjoyed the way Beth Alvarini, the writer in the story, didn't run screaming from the property, but instead tried to learn everything she could about the circumstances leading to the death of the teen-aged girl who now haunts Stillwater.

There are a lot of twists and turns in this nice diversion from the hard-core horror I've been reading of late.  Although, a bit slow out of the gate, Stillwater  picked up the pace and finished strong and is definitely a ghost story I can recommend.

Published by Samhaim Horror, Stillwater is available now, both in paperback and ebook formats.