Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780843956481
ISBN number: 0843956488
Label: Leisure Books
Manufacturer: Leisure Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 372
Printing Date: January 03, 2006
Publishing house: Leisure Books
Sale Popularity Level: 419976
Studio: Leisure Books
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Rated by buyers 
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It all begins with Josh, the Keller's beloved son, and his agonizing death. Filled with grief and an unending suffering, distraught over memories of their son's short life, the Keller's move from their small apartment into a dilapidated old house seeking an escape from the memories they can no longer bear. Here, they shall have a new start and thus escape the tormenting memories of a son that is lost to them. Here, in this dismal house, neglected and in need of repair they see only hope and happiness for their future. That is, until they see them. Alone in her home, awaiting the return of her husband and remaining son, Jenna Keller glances up the darkened upstairs corridor to see a young toddler, clothed in the shadows soundlessly running toward her. An apparition sent from beyond the grave as a messenger of hope or a conveyor of peril? Later, her husband hears the haunting laughter of children in the back yard, children that soundlessly elude him as they fade into the darkened night. Miles, the Keller's remaining son, is woken from a fitful slumber to suddenly witness the apparition of a man as he phases through the floor uttering the chilling words, "Be a good puppy." Jenna's feisty mother, Martha, also witnesses disquieting apparitions as she awakens nightly to the images of children long dead writhing along her bedroom wall wailing in agony throughout all eternity. What can it all mean? This house of hope, this dream of peace, this desire for life, shall it all be shattered by the children's mournful requiem and the secret of what happened to them in that house so long ago. Will the Keller's survive or shall their sorrowing phantasms be added to the legion of the dead stalking the shadows of 2204 Starfish Drive, forever engulfed in waves of unending sorrow? This is the story of the loveliest dead and their haunting requiem.
As the reader is introduced to the Keller's in the initial prologue, the waves of foreboding and eloquent foreshadowing instantly engulf the stunned reader leading them deep into the chasm of despair enshrouding the haunting world of the Loveliest Dead. The atmosphere of the novel truly gained its own life to the extent that I was actually terrified whilst reading this novel and lost several nights sleep as I peered into the shadows, some part of my mind still entangled with the Keller's and their new home, silently reverberating with the mournful dirge of the dead. Despite logic, I discovered myself becoming increasingly frightened and thus I had to quit reading this novel before bed. Still, even during the daylight hours, the heavy aura of the novel weighted upon my conscious clothing everything in a dingy aura of unwholesome despair.
Added to the fearful emotions induced by this woebegone tale, the revelations as to the nature of the fitful spirits, especially the large man who wanted children to be "good puppies", was most disquieting and despite my continual sojourns into the fascinatingly fearful world of horror, I feel that such a disturbing and ultimately disgusting topic should not have been pursued in the name of mere entertainment. Simply stated, I feel that it went too far and that the causes for the young children's disturbed peace and their relation to the male phantasm were far too emotionally upsetting to the general reader. This tale should certainly not be pursued by children as they would find the content extremely upsetting.
The characterization was extremely well developed and I felt a certain emotional attachment to all the characters. Each character, including secondary characters, was attributed with a distinct personality causing the disturbing aura of realism to gain epic proportions. I discovered myself being drawn into the world of the Loveliest Dead, by the protagonists' strong emotions and well detailed personalities. The author presented each character through their own words, occasionally allowing the narration to switch to another character thus imbuing the tale with several distinct personalities and adding depth and meaning to each of the protagonists' actions. This style of narration was exceedingly effecting and amplified the aura of horror causing the suspense and terror to become almost unbearable in its intensity.
The writing style flowed smoothly never allowing the story to loose its distinct aura of chilling realism. The writing was eloquent, yet simple, and this chosen style greatly complimented the general tone and feel of the novel yet again amplifying the paralyzing horror.
The story never suffered from inactivity and the continual action, paranoia, and foreboding caused this to be a quick read despite its hefty 372 pages. The sequences of phantasmagoric peril and merciless mayhem were well enacted and produced in abundant supply without exhausting the reader emotionally by interjecting occasional respites in which the reader's foreboding only increased, anticipating the momentary ... Read More
Rated by buyers -
This book was one of the best ghost stories I have ever read. The title caught my attention one day and I got it. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I got through it on about 3 days! This is the 1st book I've read by Ray Garton. It is very well written, and I just may read another book by him.
Rated by buyers -
This is a rather standard ghost story. However, I give Mr. Garton 5 stars for writing the Ed & Lorraine Warren based characters into the story. Mr. Garton wrote In a Dark Place for the Warrens. He found the Warrens so fake he posted the true tale of In a Dark Place on Usenet in 1999 & 2000. In Loveliest Dead, he reinterates the tale for all to see.
Bravo for that alone!
Rated by buyers 
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2 and 1/2 stars
Ray Garton is usually known for his more adult, disturbing horror. The Loveliest Dead unfortunately, is like Ray Garton-lite, a PG-13 type ghost story that felt very familiar and run-of-the-mill. This has exactly what all the other supernatural novels have - mysteriously disappearing children, unexplained noises in an empty house, strange voices in the basement, and the always predictable chill that passes through the room. There were a few real moments of terror, but not enough for the amount of buildup that came before it. It seemed that Mr. Garton was uninspired in writing this latest story.
The thing that kept me reading was Garton's writing. The story was the same, standard ghost story as most other books, but Garton's strong point is his clear, fluid writing style. His characters are nicely defined and the dialogue feels real. There are a few typos (shame, shame, Leisure!) that unfortunately appear near the climax and my only other problem seems to be Garton's dislike for Catholics. I'm not a Catholic, but his writing not only dismisses the religion, but makes the only priest in the story a pedophile. This clich� annoyed me, but was only a minor complaint. Other than that, I'd recommend the A.J. Matthews/Rick Hautala or T.M. Wright ghost novels if the supernatural is your preference.
Rated by buyers -
This is a pretty decent read about a haunted house and its dark past. There are negatives and positives to the book that seem to cancel each other out and force me to give it a 3 star rating.
The Postives:
1) Well written. Smooth easy prose that moves quite fast. Not bogged down, not too literary, but well thought out.
2) Nice, fleshed out characters. They are believable (most of the time), and you actually do feel sorry for what they are going through
3) A good story throughout, if not a bit cliché.
The Negatives:
1) The horrors are few and far between, and when they do appear, they are repetitive and redundant. Okay, so there are spooky kids on the swings. Tell me once, maybe twice, not five times. This happens a lot.
2) Some dis-believable items peppered throughout, ie, a character complains of a nauseous stomach, then stops into a Burger King for a double whopper with cheese. A cop tells someone that he doesn't know the person in question very well...but happens to have a photo of the person in question on their desk.
3) Some characters are placed into the plot for no use other than to prove the development of other characters-ie, bad psychic written in to prove the talent of good psychic.
All in all, a fairly decent read, and worthy of my looking into another Garton title.
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