Gideon Lake is a musician who writes commercial jingles. He has just moved into a new apartment and looking forward to starting his life when he meets Kate Solway. It’s love at first sight, with the only problem being Kate’s husband. Kate invites Gideon on a European vacation where things start to go slightly off kilter. Gideon is slowly drawn in to Kate’s life and her plans for revenge on her husband. I have a soft spot for a chilling ghost story and this was one of the best I’ve read since HEART SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill. ( )

Moving into a new and very expensive apartment, Gideon Lake (known as Lalo), glimpses his neighbor leaving the building with her husband and is immediately smitten. Upon meeting her face to face he invites her to lunch in his apartment and their affair begins, quickly moving onto a trip to Europe together. And this is where it all started to get a bit unreal for me. I’m sure there are some fools in the world that would just jaunt off to Europe (alone, they don’t travel together) and go straight to a random address and let themselves in, but most of us just wouldn’t.

Whether it is the author’s intention or not, right from the beginning I knew what Gideon didn’t – and it made me want to reach through the pages and throttle him. And when he finally ‘got it’ in the middle section of the book, he didn’t exactly react in the way I thought he should.

That said, Ghost Music is a well written book - Gideon as a character is well-drawn even if he is a little slow on the uptake and the events that Gideon sees are spooky and more than a little disturbing. The dialogue is convincing and the story kept my attention the whole way through the book.

The ending of Ghost Music may not be to everyone’s tastes, it is quite quick and may feel a little rushed to some readers but if you’ve already guessed all the twists and how it’s going to end there’s no need to have it drawn out further, so perhaps that was the author’s intention all along. A good, solid read. ( )

I think it is extremely hard to write a ghost story that doesn't seem completely inane especially since by its very nature you are asking the reader to expend a measure of disbelief. Masterson has managed to do just that, once the reader manages to get over the fact that Gideon would have an affair with someone who he believes is his neighbors wife and than after only 2 meetings decide to fly to Switzerland with her, the rest of the book is scary and entertaining. Loved the premise, the characters and the search by the dead for justice, the scenery and the spooky screams. ( )

Is she a ghost? Isn't she a ghost? Is it a plot twist or just Gideon Lake's blindness to the situation? Once you get past the fact that the Sixth Sense type ghost story isn't actually all about such matters you realise that this tale of horror, suspense, terror and love is a very well written and plotted tale. Those initial questions won't be answered until the end, however if you get tied up in them - you've missed the point. Masterton has been here before, and recently too, yet the aim here is not to produce just a horror story, it's a clever and intricate love story, with some well defined scenes that will make your skin crawl. The balance is well maintained, if a little forced at times (the requirement of novels which do not answer the questions until the end, unfortunately). Masterton is great at putting supernatural elements on to paper and Ghost Music is an excellent example - captivating and haunting - a must read. ( )

Gideon Lake is a successful composer who purchases a new apartment in New York. The day he moves in he notices a woman, Kate, who he very quickly falls in love with. Strange things start to happen to Gideon when he takes a trip with Kate to meet friends in Stockholm, London and then Vienna. When Gideon questions Kate on the occurrences, Kate is unable to help him understand what is happening and tells him that he must discover this for himself, all she can give him is clues.

It was a fast moving book that gripped me from the first page. ( )