When a down-on-his-luck composer retreats to a private Irish beach to clear his head, a lightning strike quickly changes the way he sees things.
Peter Harper is, for the most part, an average guy. He’s been going through some personal struggles as of late, most of them stemming from a messy divorce, which has impacted him greatly. It’s even affected his work performance as a classical music composer. So, in order to regain his perspective and to hopefully get his creative juices flowing, Peter travels to Tremore Beach.
Tremore is a remote beach, tucked away off the little town of Clenhburran. It’s nice and secluded and, other than Leo and Marie Kogan, an elderly couple who reside near where Peter is staying, it’s both private and quiet. Initially hoping to leave his troubles behind as he settled into paradise, the only real concern Peter had, at the present moment, was Lucifer.
Lucifer, as a local weatherman had taken to calling it, was a massive storm. It was predicted that Lucifer would be a harsh, dangerous storm capable of blowing the shingles right off the roof of any house with its fifty-five mile per hour winds. On top of that, flash flooding and lightning were to be expected. Those in the area were getting prepared, including Peter, who never could have predicted just how powerfully the storm would affect him.
After mulling over a potential job offer his agent had called to tell him about, Peter shrugged off his own internal conflict and decided to take up the Kogans on their offer to get together. But later, while returning home from their house, Peter was struck by lightning when he briefly exited his car to clear debris from the road.
Amazingly, Peter survived with little more than a scratch, or so he thought. But soon after his body was jolted by the lightning strike, he began to develop headaches. As the headaches intensified, Peter started having vivid visions. Unsure whether he was hallucinating or just dreaming, Peter’s yoga-teaching lady friend, Judie, advises him to see a doctor.
Things suddenly worsen, though, when Peter’s children visit from Amsterdam. After their arrival, Peter starts to believe an attack on his home–or a crime of some sort–is imminent. As paranoia sets in, he must find a way to sort out whether the lighting scrambled his brain and is causing him to see things that aren’t there or if it’s somehow given him the ability to glimpse into the future.
While the story itself is well-written, the main character tends to come across as unlikable at times. While this may have been the author’s intention, at least in the beginning, readers who still struggle to find Peter’s redeeming qualities towards the end will find the final act unfulfilling. On the flip side, those who work hard enough to understand what makes Peter tick won’t be able to race through The Last Night At Tremore Beach fast enough.
Landing somewhere between a psychological and a paranormal thriller, Mikel Santiago’s The Last Night At Tremore Beach combines a spooky plot with lightning-quick pacing that fans of eerie, page-turning mysteries will enjoy.
Book Details
Author: Mikel Santiago
Pages: 320 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 1501102249
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: February 14, 2017 (Order Now!)