REVIEW: RED SHADOWS AT SAUGATUCK by Randy Overbeck
Fiction, Paranormal Mystery
5*****
Blurb: Darrell Henshaw hoped he was past it all. After all, no ghosts had visited him for years. Instead, he learns his five-year-old-son, Leo, has inherited his gift. Now, they both can see ghosts. Upon his parents insistence, Darrell drives his young family 800 miles to celebrate his aunt Gertrude s 80th birthday. But, once they arrive in the resort town of Saugatuck, Michigan, their participation gets derailed by the spirit of a Native teen who went missing weeks earlier. When he and Leo inquire about the girl, the locals dismiss their concerns “Those girls run away all the time. Still, as questions pile up and threats grow, Darrell senses they may have stumbled onto something far worse and even more evil than one missing teen. Can Darrell continue to pursue justice for the girl if it places his wife and son in danger?
THOUGHTS: This is the fourth book in the author’s Haunted Shores Mysteries. In this one, the main character, Darrell, his wife and 5-year-old son, Leo, drive from Maryland to Michigan to help his aunt celebrate her eightieth birthday. Along the way, Darrell discovers that his son has inherited his “gift” of being able to see ghosts. At a stop outside of Pittsburg, they visit a historical site of the Monogahela tribes. While there, an old Native man tells Darrell that he must help the Michigan tribes find the lost ones. At another stop, Leo sees a “missing” poster for a young Native American woman and Darrell realizes that this is what the old man was tasking him with. But helping out these ghosts is the last thing Darrell wants to get involved with. Unfortunately, the fates have different plans for him as both he and Leo see the ghost of the missing Sheila and learn that she is not the only one to have gone missing recently. While trying to enjoy family time, they discover there are darker things going on in the small town of Saugatuck and the surrounding area.
I enjoyed the settings that are based on the actual town of Saugatuck and area and the historical and cultural descriptions of the area. Yes, there are some “fictional” areas, but a lot of the story takes place in real places. And the plight of missing Native American women and girls is very real and tragic. The story is entertaining while still touching on reality and has a (mostly) satisfying ending in that they get justice for Sheila…but what about the real ones who are actually missing?
Recommended.
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