A Disturbing Tale…
The Haunting of St. Xavier is a tale of the pain of justice delayed and love redeemed. There are three main characters in this story: Jason Bentley, Ryan Christopher, and St. Xavier Monastery. The monastery hovers over the love story between Jason and Ryan with its dark history of death and murder. Jason is a creative executive with exotic plans for the sprawling structure, while Ryan is a Catholic Church deacon trying to come to some conclusions about the path his life will take.
Both Lynne and Chase are skilled writers and fine storytellers; they set the stage in The Haunting of St. Xavier to scare. It’s easy to imagine looking over your shoulder as you walk down the halls of the forbidding structure of the monastery envisioning murdered nuns and priests. At the same time, the relationship between Jason and Ryan is sweet. Ryan makes a momentous decision about his life and the priesthood that set into play the revelation of the secrets of St. Xavier Monastery, as well as those of some current church leaders.
Together, Ryan and Jason share the danger to revealing those secrets. While Jason is no-nonsense executive, he has no trouble believing that his new lover, Ryan can see and hear the angry spirits inhabiting St. Xavier. They work hand-in-hand on making the monastery a safe place for Jason’s new resort.
Chase and Lynne handle the tension in The Haunting of St Xavier with much skill. They pull all the threads of the story together, except for one. Still, the romances between Jason and Ryan, as well as secondary characters Roland (Jason’s assistant) and Burt are nicely done. I was scared at some points, but not too scared. The Haunting is definitely worth 4 stars.
Stars:
Image courtesy: Total-E-Bound Publishing