What begins as a clever, gothic ghost story soon evolves into a wickedly twisted treasure hunt in The Supernatural Enhancements, Edgar Cantero’s wholly original, modern-day adventure.
When twentysomething A., the unexpected European relative of the Wells family, and his companion, Niamh, a mute teenage girl with shockingly dyed hair, inherit the beautiful but eerie estate of Axton House, deep in the woods of Point Bless, Virginia, it comes as a surprise to everyone—including A. himself. After all, he never even knew he had a “second cousin, twice removed” in America, much less that the eccentric gentleman had recently committed suicide by jumping out of the third floor bedroom window—at the same age and in the same way as his father had before him . . .
Together, A. and Niamh quickly come to feel as if they have inherited much more than just a rambling home and a cushy lifestyle. Axton House is haunted, they know it, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the secrets they slowly but surely uncover. Why all the suicides? What became of the Axton House butler who fled shortly after his master died? What lurks in the garden maze and what does the basement vault keep? And what of the rumors in town about a mysterious gathering at Axton House on the night of the winter solstice?
Told vividly through a series of journal entries, scrawled notes, recovered security footage, letters to Aunt Liza, audio recordings, complicated ciphers, and even advertisements, Edgar Cantero has written a dazzling and original supernatural adventure featuring classic horror elements with a Neil Gaiman-ish twist.
Even as I’m writing this review I’m still thinking about how I feel about this book. It was recommended to me because I like mixed media format books and I enjoyed Meddling Kids by the same author, so I was happy to pick it up. There were definitely some twists and turns that surprised me, especially towards the end, but I really loved the way the puzzle pieces slowly fall into place as you read – even though you are often left with more questions than answers. Also, I will always appreciate appropriate uses of the word ‘defenestrate’ which is a favorite of mine.
I love how the story pieces together through mostly diary entries, letters and video transcriptions – it made it a super fast read and kept my attention the whole time.
Happy reading!
The Wandering Wordsmith 