Paranormal Fiction Written in the North Country

Plattsburgh State professor brings supernatural fiction to the North Country

Story by Sunshine D. Sheltray

Few authors from the North Country write books about the supernatural. However, Justin Gustainis, a professor at SUNY Plattsburgh, has written a novel called Black Magic Woman: A Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigation. This novel is a delightful blend of Bram Stoker and Carolyn Keene.

In fact, one of Gustainis' main characters is Quincey Morris. This name may sound familiar, and to readers of Stoker's Dracula, it should. In Dracula, Quincey Morris is one of the three men competing for the attention of Lucy Westenra, Mina Harker's friend, and her hand in marriage.

The Quincey Morris in Black Magic Woman isn't the same person as in Stoker's tale, but he's the original Quincey Morris' great-grandson, and Quincey has continued his ancestor's legacy of hunting down supernatural creatures. While this book contains vampires and werewolves, however, it isn't the main focus.

Introduced in this novel are characters who will appear in future mysteries: Quincey Morris, a private investigator whose specialty is in the paranormal, and Elizabeth "Libby" Chastain, a white witch who aids others by revealing frauds trying to embezzle money from the innocents who believe in them.

After being hired to stop a woman using black magic to torment and terrorize a Wisconsin family, Quincey decides to bring Libby in on the case, and that's when the real dangers begin for the two characters.

The search for the person behind the attacks takes Quincey and Libby all across the United States, from the east coast to the west and back again. The partners narrowly escape many attempts on their lives, but the woman performing the black magic won't quit until the family her ancestor cursed and the duo trying to stop her are defeated.

This book throws readers into the action from the beginning, telling the history between the Wisconsin family's ancestors and the black witch's ancestors in the prologue, and continues to pull them along until the end. Gustainis develops each of his characters throughout the story until you can predict what the characters will do as the scenes unfold, though some actions may surprise the readers.

The end of the novel seems to be a bit rushed, with a couple scenes happening too fast, but the story is tightly wrapped up. This is a must-read for fans of the supernatural fiction genre.

Gustainis' next bookin the Quincey Morris Supernatural Investigation set, Evil Ways, is scheduled to hit bookstore shelves in January 2009.

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