Hell's Island
By William D. Hardy

     Calmer's Island was left to Benjamin Farrows by his father, but Benjamin had never even visited it. The island had been in the Farrows family since the Civil War. It was the furthest thing from Ben's mind when he learned that a chemical company had offered to purchase it. Benjamin was considering the offer when an old family friend, Hanley Rivers, warned Ben against selling it, or even visiting the Island.

     The prologue tells us about Everett Marlowe, who was granted eternal life and powers through "the spike of Satan" in the England of 1619. Marlowe and twelve followers ended up on Hell's Island, known also as Calmers Island. Marlowe was to guard the entrance to the underworld, which resided on the isle. A community of slave descendants lived in a primitive voo-doo society on the island, and when Ben learned of their existence, he became obsessed with it. That obsession led to horrible accidents to his family, and a threat to them all.

     When Ben and a colleague decide to visit Calmer's Island the action really cranks up, and Ben ends up a victim of amnesia in the care of swamp denizens, and his family is in grave danger.

     I was hooked solid by the end of the prologue and stayed up all night to finish this exciting, horrifying novel. His plot has break-neck speed with exciting characters. He even gives you an unprecedented peek at the Gullah-Geechee people and their customs in the Sea-Islands off the south-eastern coast of America, where ghost stories are the norm. I will certainly watch for more stories by William D. Hardy; he definitely has the touch.

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