A Little In Love With Death
Haunted Harlem
by Anna M. Taylor
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Pub Date Oct 31 2020 | Archive Date Nov 30 2020
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Description
Only love can face down those things not dreamt of in our philosophies
Ten years ago no one -- not even the man who said he loved her -- believed Sankofa Lawford's claim she had been brutally attacked by a ghost. Ten years later an assault on a new victim brings her back to Harlem to a mother going mad, a brother at his wits’ end and a former love who wants a second chance. Sankofa longs for her family to be whole again, for love to be hers again, but not if she must relive the emotional pain created by memories of that night.
Mitchell Emerson is convinced science and reason can account for the ghostly happenings at Umoja House. He resolves to find an explanation that will not only satisfy him but earn back Sankofa’s trust and love. Instead, his own beliefs are shaken when he sees the ghost for himself.
Now reluctant allies, Mitchell and Sankofa learn her family was more than a little in love with death. Their search for the ghost draws them together but discovering sixty years of lies and secrets pulls them apart. As their hopes for happily ever after and dispersing the evil stalking Umoja House slip beyond their grasp, Mitchell and Sankofa find an unexpected source of help: the ghost itself.
Hamlet had it right: there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies. A Little In Love With Death is a romance that wrestles with what they might be and the role love plays not only in understanding, but conquering them. If philosophical musings, encounters with the supernatural and second chance romances make your day, this is your next must read story.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 000B08JD5FD16 |
| PRICE | $2.99 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Jodi M, Reviewer
A Harlem Ghost Story
Review: A Little in Love with Death by Anna M. Taylor
r/suggestmeabook: I want a novella about a deadly haunted house that came between lovers.
Movie rating: R
Pages: 97
Publisher: Self
Series: Haunted Harlem 2
This is the story of a couple haunted by the past—more literally than most. Sankofa and Mitchell were the loves of each other’s lives until the incident in haunted Umoja, the house Sankofa grew up in. Reunited at Sankofa’s mother’s bedside, they have to decide how to confront the past, which includes confronting some ghosts.
The pain of the separated lovers provokes any pain of separation in your heart, as Anna M. Taylor’s skillful descriptions burrow in past your defenses. It’s hard not to root for the couple to reunite, even though you can feel the frustration of each side’s point of view.
The shifts of point of view from Sankofa to Mitchell were occasionally a little abrupt, but overall served the story well. The atmosphere of the haunted house is evocative. However, despite the fact that the characters fear the house, I never was afraid; there’s more of a sense of uncovering mysteries than facing unknown terror.
Themes of faith and rationalism are deftly explored with an apparent attempt to reconcile them. I’m not convinced by the recitations of faith, but I can respect them. The notion of family secrets and who should be told the truth is more intriguing to me; a refrain through the book is the saying, “Them that tell don’t know, and them that know don’t tell.”
Mental health issues are also explored, in particular the stigma it creates. Can someone who has mental health issues be trusted? The novella raises the question through the mouths of various characters, most notably Sankofa’s brother, but never quite resolves the question.
Overall, this novella tells an engaging ghost story and how ghosts, both figurative and literal, affect the people that live with them.
