Genre: Paranormal, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Bi, Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Zeke Hanson hunts things that go bump in the night. He grew up traveling the country with his dad, who taught Zeke everything he knew. Until his murder forced Zeke into foster care for his remaining teenage years. Outgoing and with an easy charm, Zeke keeps his emotions safely hidden. Especially his ever-deepening love for his foster brother/bestie.
Ian Clark is a smart, intuitive young man with his own tragic past. He’s adored Zeke from their first night as roommates. Zeke’s warmth and kindness made the foster home feel safe. But his feelings for Zeke have grown from admiration and friendship into intense physical yearning.
When Ian witnesses the murder of their foster sister, his plans for community college go on indefinite hold. Instead, he joins Zeke on his hunting travels. They may not be able to stop human monsters, but they can fight the supernatural ones. Spending time together and dealing with dangerous situations deepens their bond, making their secret feelings nearly impossible to contain. The risk of rejection and abandonment is scarier than any monster. But when Zeke’s life is at risk, Ian must make a choice.
Will they admit their love to one another or will it—and Zeke—perish?
The Review
Zeke Hanson, now twenty-three, has not only traveled to lots of places, but he’s seen a lot too in his short life. No matter how wonderful those places were, he’s seen evil, crime, cruelty, death and darkness. He experienced that evil at a very young age with his father, who traveled from place to place investigating ghosts. At the age of nine, his father was killed and he went into the foster system. Once he aged out of the system, he had plans of his own.
Ian Clarke, now twenty-one, is Zeke’s best friend. They’ve known each other since Zeke was sixteen, when they met at the foster home. Ian had entered the system when he was much younger, and wasn’t treated very well. He and Zeke hit it off quickly, and they stayed friends when Zeke aged out. Zeke had plans to make sure he had a place for Ian when he also aged out. He’d always thought Ian was brilliant, and felt he had a special sensitivity about him. They enjoyed each others company. But Zeke hid his feelings for Ian.
What Zeke learned by traveling with his father leads him down the path of ghost hunting. He takes Ian under his wing and shows him what he knows. They find themselves on the way to Greenville, West Virginia, in the foothills of the Appalachians, a picture-perfect town. On the “Local Happenings” website they find a haunted house. It should be easy – just find the bones and burn them.
Zeke and Ian are about to find out it’s not that easy as burning bones of a ghost. Are they ready to lose what they just found?
Colton shares a dark and scary story with The Case of Thistledown House. Even though it’s a quick read, the author packs it with information about Zeke and Ian and how they became friends. They both share in telling about the past, and this leads to some terrifying events. The flashbacks fit very well into the structure of the story. Not only is it a suspenseful mystery, but there are some very frightening scenes that will catch readers off guard.
I highly recommend The Case of Thistledown House – it has the just right amount of surprise and terror, and promises to be the start of a good paranormal series. It’s the first time I’ve read something by Ellis Colton, and I was not disappointed.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.