Dead of Wynter by Spencer Seidel
A riveting beginning set the tone as
Chris Wynter races to elude a ghost from twenty-five years ago. His twin
sister, Alice Dunn, has managed to escape her dismal origins in Redding, Maine,
but the mysterious death of the father she's never loved draws her back to
Maine from her upscale life in
Chatham, New Jersey.
All is not rosy for Alice, even before
her trip, however. Her husband, Gerald, growing more and more distant, has
recently introduced Alice to Tiffany, his purported administrative assistant.
Tiffany is in her late 20s, with big, perky boobs, a white smile, and long
legs. The works, is what Alice thinks, with bitterness.
Alice's mother wakes her up with a call
to tell her that her father has died. When Alice asks if Chris can stay with
her mother until Alice arrives, her mother tells her that Chris's drinking has
gotten worse. But, as Alice discovers when she gets there, Chris is completely
missing--and suspected of killing his father.
The past begins to haunt Alice,
beginning with thoughts of Ray, whom she and Chris knew as a teenager. In fact,
she thinks she sees his ghost. She also seems to sense that her twin brother
isn't dead. But she doesn't know whether or not he killed the father they both
despised. Over the years, Chris has become more and more like Papa Wynter, their
father, a mean drunk. Alice thinks maybe she should have kept in closer touch
over the years, maybe she could have saved her brother.
The old flame she runs across adds an
unwanted wrinkle to her feelings about her marriage. More and more of the past
unravels and it becomes apparent that what has happened to Papa has roots in
the dark, evil past, a past Alice would rather forget.
This is a haunting mystery told in
lyrical style with unforgettable characters.
Reviewed by Kaye George, Author of Choke, for Suspense Magazine
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