The Wages of Sin, by Alex Beecroft (m/m fantasy, ghost, mystery)

Been without internet for three days due to storm and ice and repair people lacking critical analysis skills. Boy, is it ever weird to be cut off like that.

I enjoy Ms. Beecroft's stories so much, and I had just a little bitty bit left in the budget for February, and this looked good. Different. I'm not into paranormals (really, you want to have sex with a dead man?) (YKINMK.) but I do like ghost stories sometimes.

It took me three tries to read it. Not because it's poorly written. Oh, no, it's just as beautiful, poetic, and immediately engrossing as all her other works have been. I couldn't go on because my teeth were chattering and the shadows in the corner of the bedroom were moving, and I couldn't seem to wake Mr. Bat or the cat, so I'm all alone awake in the deep darkness of a moonless February night, with the sleet hitting the house and the north wind howling and

…it's very atmospheric. Very. Atmospheric. The book.

The second time I tried to read it was on a lovely sunny winter afternoon, but after three page-turns, it clouded up and the wind picked up and my teeth started chattering again. Mr. Bat was gone visiting and wasn't answering his cell phone and I couldn't find the cat and all the neighbors were mysteriously gone and

… I put Sgt Pepper on the stereo. I did pretty well until the furnace kicked on unexpectedly and we're still patching the dents my fingernails left in the living room ceiling. Old house, ten-foot ceilings, who says old ladies can't jump?

So I had a good talking to myself and read it. After all I was a night nurse at age 15 in this old nursing home that looked like Castle Dracula, the only person in the place healthy enough to be on my feet. I learned soon enough what to see and what to ignore. You don't go into nursing if your nerves aren't good.

This is a ghost-gothic mystery with m/m love interest. It is dark and deeply, deeply creepy. The opening scene is creepy but written in such a way that you're not sure whether you have an unreliable character here. There are two deaths right away, and we don't know if a person did it or if a malevolent spirit is behind it or both.

Charles is a second son, not a bad young man but rather aimless, not much to show for himself so far. Jasper is a priest living with the family for the time being. George is the older son, changeable as a chameleon. His wife is dying of TB. A grass-widowed sister waits the birth of her baby. There are a few servants, Cook, her helpers. Outdoor servants. That's about it. There's the cry of a baby that comes from everywhere and nowhere, and once you've heard it, you hear it continuously. There's … something … in the shadows.

It's short. Maybe 125 pages? Kindle formatting adequate, lost me when quoting things like a letter. Sometimes I wasn't sure who "he" was. Language lush and beautiful. Lots of description, and for once it was not too much for me. It's very Georgian, with the beauty patches and the full-skirted coats and the wigs -- I know it's accurate for the time, but it makes me think of Captain Hook every time. A little m/m sex, not a lot, very explicit; if you're into that, I think probably it would be considered hot. Engaging characters, complex, human. Pretty good mystery, too. Old sins casting long shadows. Satisfying resolution and consistent with the logic of the book. The author leaves the ending open, and I hope she does something with that.

The deaths have a fairly high ick factor, I'd say a 6 or so, but they are only briefly and factually described, no rolling in it. There's a little violence, not bad, but there are gunshot wounds and such. 

It's a good spooky read, and in the right company would be a good book to sit around and read aloud by the fire on Halloween, with the only light from the fireplace and a booklight, and everyone sipping hot cider and cuddling under afghans. It's good stuff, and it's a B-plus.

Amazon non-affiliate link, if you want to look at it: Amazon

ETA: Honest to goodness, I don't know why I'm practically nerveless IRL, and can gobble up the worst things that humankind has ever done to itself or the worst disease ever (horrific acts of war, rabies) in non-fiction, but rape or violence or ghosts in fiction make me cry for my mama. But there it is.

ETA further 3/2/13: I can't leave this alone. I'm still thinking about this book, and how much more I wanted to tell you. One of the things I liked is the way Charles starts to grow up over the course of the book, the sense of purpose that he finds. We see him begin to square his shoulders, point his chin up, and become a grownup - so satisfying. The other thing is the relationship between Charles and George. Clearly they're not very close - George is a bit of an enigma, wish I knew more - partly perhaps because of the great age difference, but at the end, when it counts, they draw courage from one another, the blood of brother calls to brother, sharing purpose and direction with no more than a look, and it actually made my eyes misty for a second.