From Library Journal
Haunted by the memory of only being able to save one twin girl from drowning, Dave Quinn abandons surfing for a safe life in Earl Dalton's theater-props company in Huntington Beach, California. When Canadian artist Anne Morris is drawn back to the town where twin sister Elinor drowned 15 years before, she and Dave find themselves shadowed by Elinor's malevolent spirit. Earl's son Edmund believes that Elinor's spirit is Anne's dark side and obsessively pursues her. Blaylock's (All the Bells on Earth, LJ 11/15/95) vivid descriptions and deft characterizations place ordinary flawed people in escalating horrific situations. This contemporary ghost story exposes the underbelly of human nature and belongs in most fantasy and horror collections.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
More contemporary supernatural horror from the author of All the Bells on Earth (1995), etc. When surfer Dave Quinn saved a young girl from the sea, her twin sister eluded him and drowned. Now, 15 years later, Dave still lives in Huntington Beach, Calif., where he builds scenery for a theater warehouse owned by the rich Earl Dalton--this despite frequent clashes with Earl's creepy eldest son Edmund, whose interests include black magic, snuff movies, and defrauding Earl of various properties. The warehouse's latest employee is artist Anne Morris, whom Dave recognizes as the girl he saved. Anne's dead sister Elinor--a ghostly presence ever since she drowned--crafted a disturbing set of dolls and paintings, which Anne has kept. Edmund discovers the paintings and dolls and assumes they're Anne's; later, he's possessed by Elinor, discovers a secret entrance into Anne's apartment, and uses Elinor's dolls to set fires. Eventually, enraged by the growing closeness between Anne and Dave, and inspired by the evil Elinor, Edmund embarks on a campaign of arson, murder, kidnapping, and torture. A lovingly evoked ocean/beachscape, along with Blaylock's usual hardworking characters--but the drama never quite coheres, and the ending just dangles. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Nearly fifteen years ago, on a deserted southern California beach, Dave Quinn swam out into the winter ocean to save two drowning girls - identical twin sisters. He was only able to save one. Still haunted by the memory of his half-failed heroism, Dave immerses himself in the reality and illusion of a theater props company. When he meets Anne, a struggling artist from Canada, he has no idea that she is the child he saved so many years ago. Pursued by the threatening and jealous specter of her long-dead sister Elinor, Anne has been drawn back to the scene of her childhood tragedy. The truth will bring Dave and Anne together - and trap them in the swirling undercurrents of Elinor's hatred. To destroy their happiness, Elinor will find a man whose own dark passions match her own. And once in possession of his soul, she will be able to avenge her own missed chances and lost dreams - and live again. In the wake of Elinor's rage, Dave and Anne fight to stay afloat - and are given a second chance to survive the storms of the past and find redemption.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

As in The Paper Grail (1992), Blaylock combines the supernatural with a deep understanding of contemporary California and human nature, producing a book with appeal for both fantasy fans and readers of realistic fiction. The Pacific Coast landscape haunts this tale, which is more literally haunted by the ghost of Elinor Morris, the adolescent girl whom Dave Quinn failed to save from drowningthough Dave did rescue her twin, Anne. Years later, Dave works for a company making theater props and sets, as does Anne. Though Anne helps Dave overcome his guilt over Elinor's death, the two must fight both Elinor's ghost and Edmund Dalton, the deranged son of the company's boss, who is cheating his own brother, Casey, and has a taste for arson and murder. This story of good and evil siblings examines how we all learn to live with who we are, and does so through supple writing and a tense and carefully executed plot. (Aug.)

VOYA - Ann Bouricius

Blaylock tells two stories, one of Edmund, who likes to make porn films-sometimes with women who are unconsenting; the other of Dave and Anne, whose lives first touched fifteen years ago when Dave tried but failed to save Anne's twin sister Elinor from drowning in the ocean. Now Elinor's ghost has returned, working through Edmund, whose mind is sufficiently twisted, to exact her revenge on Anne for living, and on Dave for failing to save her. This is a slow-moving piece filled with disturbing images of sexual perversions and acts of violence both implicit and implied. One subplot concerns Edmund's embezzling money from his wealthy father and attempting to murder his younger brother, who is Dave's best friend. Another subplot shows Edmund trying to destroy the relationship between an elderly man and his young granddaughter. While the book is skillfully written, it is difficult to imagine it holding much appeal for young people. For those who want horror stories, a better choice would be books by Annette Curtis Klause or Patricia Windsor. VOYA Codes: 3Q 2P S (Readable without serious defects, For the YA with a special interest in the subject, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Library Journal

Haunted by the memory of only being able to save one twin girl from drowning, Dave Quinn abandons surfing for a safe life in Earl Dalton's theater-props company in Huntington Beach, California. When Canadian artist Anne Morris is drawn back to the town where twin sister Elinor drowned 15 years before, she and Dave find themselves shadowed by Elinor's malevolent spirit. Earl's son Edmund believes that Elinor's spirit is Anne's dark side and obsessively pursues her. Blaylock's (All the Bells on Earth, LJ 11/15/95) vivid descriptions and deft characterizations place ordinary flawed people in escalating horrific situations. This contemporary ghost story exposes the underbelly of human nature and belongs in most fantasy and horror collections.

Kirkus Reviews

More contemporary supernatural horror from the author of All the Bells on Earth (1995), etc. When surfer Dave Quinn saved a young girl from the sea, her twin sister eluded him and drowned. Now, 15 years later, Dave still lives in Huntington Beach, Calif., where he builds scenery for a theater warehouse owned by the rich Earl Dalton—this despite frequent clashes with Earl's creepy eldest son Edmund, whose interests include black magic, snuff movies, and defrauding Earl of various properties. The warehouse's latest employee is artist Anne Morris, whom Dave recognizes as the girl he saved. Anne's dead sister Elinor—a ghostly presence ever since she drowned—crafted a disturbing set of dolls and paintings, which Anne has kept. Edmund discovers the paintings and dolls and assumes they're Anne's; later, he's possessed by Elinor, discovers a secret entrance into Anne's apartment, and uses Elinor's dolls to set fires. Eventually, enraged by the growing closeness between Anne and Dave, and inspired by the evil Elinor, Edmund embarks on a campaign of arson, murder, kidnapping, and torture.

A lovingly evoked ocean/beachscape, along with Blaylock's usual hardworking characters—but the drama never quite coheres, and the ending just dangles.