REVIEW: Into the Thinnest of Air

Into the Thinnest of Air
Author: Simon R. Green

Ishmael Jones and his partner Penny are back in their 5th adventure, Into the Thinnest of Air. Penny wants a relaxing weekend with her love....a nice, relaxing break at a country inn run by friends of her father. She hasn't seen Albert & Olivia Calvert for 20 years. They wanted to invite Penny's father to the grand opening of their restored period inn in Cornwall. When they discover her father has died, they invite Penny to join in the pre-opening private dinner. The Calverts are banking on the rather sordid history of the inn as a smuggler's den and the site of strange disappearances and multiple murders. They know tourists will love the dark history of the building, so they've put all their savings into restoring it. Strange things start happening almost immediately though.....it appears the inn's deadly past isn't going to let Ishmael and Penny have their relaxing weekend. One by one, the dinner guests start disappearing into thin air...even from locked rooms with no apparent other exits. Are the stories of an unleashed demon, a gate to hell and evil voices true??

The Nightside series made me a huge Simon R. Green fan. When I first heard about this strange supernatural investigator series, I jumped right on the Ishmael Jones bandwagon. After five great creepy tales so far,  I'm so glad I did. The stories are always creepy-cool reads with weird twists, gruesome legends and frightening creatures. This story is a dark, scary locked room mystery. There's not a lot of fluff here.....the action moves relatively quickly, twisting this way and that, until the awesome conclusion. I find it funny that the one person in the room adamantly against believing in the supernatural is the one who is almost supernatural himself. Ishmael Jones is actually an alien being. He crashed onto the earth decades before. His ship changed his physical makeup to appear human in order for him to be safe on the planet until he could be found and rescued. He doesn't know much about his prior life -- where he is from, where the ship is, who might be coming to get him.....he can't remember. But he does have some cool skills that come with being an alien. That's why The Organization retains him as an investigator. Mad, mad skills. But his true nature has to remain secret. It's a bit like the X-Files might be if Fox Mulder were an alien and Dana Scully his human girlfriend. If there's something slightly weird going on.....it's a good bet that Ishmael and Penny will be sent to check it out. I felt a bit sorry for Penny this time.....she just wanted a weekend of peace. And they ended up chin-deep in weirdness anyway. I guess it comes with the territory.

Another winning story in the creepy-cool Ishmael Jones series. It's a quick read with lots of dark goings on....a secluded inn, tales of smugglers and demons, and disappearing guests. Poof....gone. Wicked! Loved it!

For more information on the author and his books, check out his website: http://simonrgreen.co.uk/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Severn House via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own....like this one....~Simon R. Green Rocks!~**