The Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings is a charming, spooky and often funny horror/humor/romance
hybrid. It's got two fellas, Levi Black, recovering from a bad break-up, and
Blue Billings, the other, who runs a Ghost Walk in York. Morton succeeds at establishing a haunting
vibe, a gothic supernatural feel, plentiful humour, character rapport and sexy
steaminess. Oh - and the novel includes Ghost Walks and Jack the Ripper Walks,
of course.
It is my understanding that this is Lily
Morton's first kick at horror (my partner highly recommended this book to me,
being familiar with Morton's other romance titles) and I consider it a fine
start. Morton avails well of herself in her heartbreak-and-horror debut,
drawing on York's local history and architecture and colour, but it is her
comic-strip-drawing Levi and the homeless rogue Blue who woo the reader and win
over our sympathy. Morton's sensitivity in her portrayal-from describing Levi
scratching the top of his head when he is thinking to Blue playing with his lip
ring to depicting the pain and loss they have each experienced
separately-imbues the protagonists with life.
As a horror author myself, I found many
passages inspirational to my own work involving the spectral and the rapport
between two characters (LGBTQ+ or otherwise) who just might become more than
acquaintances. Horror is all about pitting loveable or sympathetic protagonists
against the unknown and ensuring that they endure the human condition so that
they are not mere ciphers for the author. This Morton seems to know
instinctively, and demonstrate throughout The
Mysterious and Amazing Blue Billings.
Morton has plenty of breathing room to
turn this into the Black and Blue series, which I would eagerly follow.
Highly recommended.
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