Private investigator Daniel Carter is haunted by the case that ended his detective career. He and his partner had cornered a serial killer conducting primitive brain surgery on children. When he went to rescue the latest victim, Carter left his partner alone with the dying suspect in a room covered by indecipherable symbols. He returned in less than five minutes, just in time to watch his partner commit suicide.
Months later, a visitor jolts Carter out of a low-key life of adultery investigations and background checks. The man is an attorney, delivering the news that Carter has inherited real estate from a complete stranger. Carter discovers the property is actually a working bookstore in Providence, R.I., run by Emily Lovecraft, descendant of cosmic horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. A series of seemingly supernatural murders turn Carter and Lovecraft into reluctant partners on the hunt for a suspect whose terrifying powers connect to Carter's old child-killer case.
In Carter & Lovecraft, Jonathan L. Howard (the Brothers Cabal series) crafts a creepy mystery in which the mythos of H.P. Lovecraft is more fact than fiction. Carter is an endearing protagonist with a dark sense of humor and distaste for private eye clichés. Emily Lovecraft resents her famous literary roots but becomes a spirited sidekick when her great-great-uncle's creations come to life. Together they make a formidable team and the solid foundation for a new series promised by Carter & Lovecraft's twist ending. Supernatural mystery and thrilling horror offer something to love for genre fans of all stripes. --Tobias Mutter, freelance reviewer