Book Review: Carter and Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard

Daniel Carter is an ex-homicide detective, now a private investigator, who inherits a bookstore in Providence from someone he’s never heard of. Then people start dying in mysterious ways, and while Carter doesn’t want to be involved, he’s beginning to suspect that someone else wants him to be.

“He couldn’t see how you could share the shit out of somebody with math, but it seemed you could.”

Holy moly! This was the exact kind of read that I needed after finishing The Alchemist. Going back to my horror roots and my love for Lovecraftian fiction (although I guess I wouldn’t specifically categorise this as horror, more weird fiction with some creepy parts)

But anyway... this was a hell of a lot of fun! I feel like Howard handles a lot of the Lovecraft’s mythology and themes and tropes very well. You can tell he knows his shit! And he gives us a kickass character in the form of Lovecraft’s descendant - his great-great (I don’t know how many greats and frankly don’t care) granddaughter, Emily Lovecraft. The relationship and interactions between her and our main character are really entertaining and full of witty banter!

It’s surprisingly funny at times and there are lots of pop culture references, which I always enjoy. AND there’s a bookstore that features a lot in the story! Although I’m not quite sure how a non-Lovecraft fan would find this one? A lot of the plot relies on references or tie-ins to Lovecraft’s work and although it is explained I can’t really say how confusing it might be for someone who hasn’t read his work. And I do believe a lot of my enjoyment was tied to me nerding out over the Lovecraft connections.

The ending in particular had me SHOOK and I’ll certainly be ordering the second book in the series. Overall, really well-written and a lot of fun! I would highly recommend to all Lovecraft fans! 4 stars.

Johann

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