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A review by justinkhchen
Last Case at a Baggage Auction by Eric J. Guignard
4.0
4 stars
Last Case at a Baggage Auction is a very engrossing mystery/horror novella in the 'haunted object' sub-genre. In this tale the object in question is an antique gramophone accompanied by records of unknown content; the story follows Charlie, an eager vintage collector, and the outlandish effects this object has on the tenants within his hotel-converted apartment building.
Think Japanese horror film Ringu crosses with Indiana Jones—the novels takes its time staging the artifact's disease-like influence with characters' small behavioral peculiarities, until it reaches its sinister climax in the book's last act, which is expertly executed by Eric J. Guignard with his cinematic, out-of-this-world vision. I'm also pleasantly surprised by the revelation of actual historical figure/fact, which grounds the story to reality, and intensifies the horror (also brought me down a rabbit hole Googling more on this subject matter afterward).
At 8 short chapters, I wish we have gotten a little bit more story, particularly between Ch.7 and Ch.8, where the outcome of several characters (and location) remains unresolved. Also due to the condensed novella format, some plot points seem overly convenient: such as the protagonist getting all the useful information through a single resource. Lastly, while the story clearly states it took place in the 60s, during reading it constantly felt like it's set in earlier decades, closer to the 30s-40s. Perhaps this is due to the immediate issue at hand and the prime location (the gramophone and the hotel) being remnants from the earlier time, but I do wonder if there are ways to further solidifies its 1960s time period.
In the end, Last Case at a Baggage Auction was a blast, with an imaginative fact-based hook, and a cast of well-rounded classic mystery characters.
***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***
Last Case at a Baggage Auction is a very engrossing mystery/horror novella in the 'haunted object' sub-genre. In this tale the object in question is an antique gramophone accompanied by records of unknown content; the story follows Charlie, an eager vintage collector, and the outlandish effects this object has on the tenants within his hotel-converted apartment building.
Think Japanese horror film Ringu crosses with Indiana Jones—the novels takes its time staging the artifact's disease-like influence with characters' small behavioral peculiarities, until it reaches its sinister climax in the book's last act, which is expertly executed by Eric J. Guignard with his cinematic, out-of-this-world vision. I'm also pleasantly surprised by the revelation of actual historical figure/fact, which grounds the story to reality, and intensifies the horror (also brought me down a rabbit hole Googling more on this subject matter afterward).
At 8 short chapters, I wish we have gotten a little bit more story, particularly between Ch.7 and Ch.8, where the outcome of several characters (and location) remains unresolved. Also due to the condensed novella format, some plot points seem overly convenient: such as the protagonist getting all the useful information through a single resource. Lastly, while the story clearly states it took place in the 60s, during reading it constantly felt like it's set in earlier decades, closer to the 30s-40s. Perhaps this is due to the immediate issue at hand and the prime location (the gramophone and the hotel) being remnants from the earlier time, but I do wonder if there are ways to further solidifies its 1960s time period.
In the end, Last Case at a Baggage Auction was a blast, with an imaginative fact-based hook, and a cast of well-rounded classic mystery characters.
***This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!***