City of Masks: A Cree Black Thriller

by Daniel Hecht Narrated by Anna Fields

Overview

Introducing Cree Black, a parapsychologist with a haunted past.

When Lila Beauforte takes up residence in her ancestral home, the 150-year-old Beauforte House in the Garden District of New Orleans, she is terrified by ghostly apparitions. The family reluctantly calls Cree Black for help. Based out of Seattle, Cree, a parapsychologist with a degree from Harvard, is a “ghost buster.” But as Cree gets closer to the truth, the proverbial skeletons in the closet of the prestigious Beauforte family come crashing down on her, and she must struggle to keep her own ghosts at bay.

Daniel Hecht has created a plausible, heart-stopping ghost thriller. Relying on the science of parapsychology to spine-tingling effect, he brings to life a remarkably compelling character in Cree Black-as well as the ghosts she confronts.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Hecht's New Age ghost story introduces Cree Black, a psychologist of renown transformed years ago into a hyper-empathic ghostbuster by a spectral visit from her beloved husband. Lured from her upscale Seattle offices to a spirit-infested mansion in the heart of decadent New Orleans, she immediately identifies with the haunted socialite Lila Beauforte. This allows reader Fields to showcase her skills, as Cree's somewhat brusque, unaccented speech subtly shifts into a quavering southern drawl. The actress also uses an impressive variety of bayou accents to distinguish the other New Orleanians-from the good ol' boy gruffness of Lila's worried husband to the cultured, iron magnolia locutions of her aristocratic mother. The novel has its share of spooky suspense-courtesy of anthropomorphic furniture, disappearing snakes and a pig-faced man-ghost with rape on its mind-and is filled with enough scientific rationale to make these sinister shades seem surprisingly credible. But the source of the ghosts isn't difficult to discern, and the many repeat analyses of the case elements will lead restless listeners to agree with Cree's assistant Joyce Wu when she complains (in Fields's amusingly on-target Long Island accent), "The metaphysics he-ah are a complete no-brain-ah, and I'm sick `a goin' over it and over it." Based on the Bloomsbury hardcover (Forecasts, Jan. 6). (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Hecht, the author of two suspense thrillers (The Babel Effect and Skull Session), incorporates a supernatural theme in his latest novel. Cree Black is a trained psychologist, but having experienced an unexplained incident immediately after the death of her husband, she has learned to use her empathic skills to aid people haunted by spirits. When she comes to New Orleans to help Lila Beauforte, who is experiencing terrifying events of her own after moving into her ancestral home, Cree must deal with Beauforte's skeptical husband and relatives while trying to cope with her own tragedy. Cree and her associates use scientific methods as part of their investigations, and Hecht does a fine job of adding a realistic tone to the story. The novel also works well as a mystery since Cree must try to unlock many secrets to explain the haunting. The characters are well drawn, and the descriptions of New Orleans add exotic color. An excellent start to an intriguing series, this is highly recommended for most libraries.-Joel W. Tscherne, Cleveland P.L. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The first in a series featuring an intrepid ghostbuster who uncovers the mystery behind a haunted house, by the thriller author of, most recently, The Babel Effect, 2001). If there's one place where a ghostbuster shouldn't have to scrounge for work, it's New Orleans. Old, atmospheric, irremediably corrupt, it's the sort of town where the closets have so many skeletons that grave-robbers can work without spades. In the 150-year-old Beauforte House, Lila Beauforte Warren claims that a ghost with the head of a pig is regularly attacking her in her sleep. The Beaufortes think Lila is just crazy, but Paul Fitzpatrick (the psychiatrist they brought in to examine her) suggests that they retain a parapsychologist. Enter Lucretia ("Cree") Black, a Seattle ghostbuster. Cree believes that powerful emotions set off electromagnetic "broadcasts" that can appear as ghosts, and she researches the history of the house to find out what outrages from the past could be responsible for such present disturbances. Working with Paul, she digs up the usual New Orleans stuff (masters who abused slaves, etc.) but can't detect any of the typical broadcasts she finds in true hauntings. There had been an unsolved murder in the Beauforte House some years earlier, but the victim (a local newscaster) didn't in any way resemble the apparition now tormenting Lila. Is it possible Lila is seeing something real? Or can we be dealing with a case of suppressed memory, something that happened, not in the house, but in Lila's past? One clue comes to Cree on Mardi Gras, when she notices costumed marchers wearing pig heads similar to the one described by Lila. New Orleans is a city of masks, after all, and they can cover up somevery ugly realities. Sharp, fast, and deft, a gripping story that with the skill of a Wallenda walks the tightrope between the real and the supernatural.

Booklist

The authentic, supernatural locale contributes the requisite spooky atmosphere—think Anne Rice at her least histrionic—and the eccentric characters are well drawn and believable.”

Kliatt

Reader Fields’ fully voiced performance is so strong that it’s easy to forget that this is a work of fiction.”

AudioFile

Anna Fields performs this plunge into a closet of family skeletons with conviction. As ghosts terrorize Lila and Cree, Anna Fields keeps the listener in thrall. Her characterizations are original, ranging from masked Mardi Gras monsters and juju women to hysterical victims and diabolical connivers…Fields is top-notch.”

Cleveland Plain Dealer

A superb thriller…Because the author deliberately downplays sensationalism, the book’s premise—that ghosts really do exist—seems, even to this confirmed skeptic, surprisingly, uneasily possible.”

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169580150
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	06/25/2005
Series:	Cree Black , #1
Edition description:	Unabridged

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