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CANDLES BURNING
by Tabitha King and Michael McDowell
Berkley, May 2006
432 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 0425210286


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Michael McDowell is not a commonly-known name in the mystery/horror novel genre field. However if you are an avid movie fan you might know one of his most famous creations, an unassuming (yeah, right) ghostly guide who goes by the name of Beetlejuice. Yes, that Beetlejuice, the classic movie directed by Tim Burton. McDowell also collaborated with Stephen King in adapting some of his works for film and television. McDowell was a writer in his own right who published a series of novels before his death in 1999. CANDLES BURNING would have been his final novel -- alas it remained unfinished until now.

Tabitha King, who is best known for her psychological thriller SURVIVOR, came to the task of finishing the novel with the blessing and assistance of the McDowell estate. CANDLES BURNING is a Southern gothic horror novel where restless ghosts and spirits have only one thing on their mind and that is pure vengeance.

Overall even though I have a great respect for King's work, I could not find myself liking this book as much as I would have liked to. The story is told through the point-of-view of a seven-year-old who appears to be wiser than her years but that is all a facade.

Calliope 'Calley' Dakin is a young girl with a troubled family life who suffers verbal abuse from her mother. Calley is a fairly unreliable narrator as she describes what she thought was a good life with her supposedly well-to-do dad who overcame adversity to be the most successful Dakin in his family. When he is brutally murdered under mysterious circumstances, her father's secrets are slowly revealed, forcing the family to move from their nice home to an unusual home in Florida. Roberta Anne Carroll Dakins was a social climber who felt that her marriage to a Dakin was beneath her, but at least she married the most successful one in the family.

Events have been set in motion to have the family move into this house with a history. Calley hears the voices of the dead, each revealing something about her life and her family's history. She reveals to readers the inevitable showdown with tragic consequences.

Calley's take on the story is completely unreliable as she survives the experiences in the story and grows up. And yet, she is able to remember her childish naivete and is able to describe it in detail. It was unconvincing. She does not come across as likeable or sympathetic and neither do any of the other characters. CANDLES BURNING is too dark and too depressing to entertain regardless of how the book ends. If you're looking for a cozy, this ain't it.

Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, June 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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