Andi C. Buchanan

It is said that her ghost still haunts the Mount Victoria Tunnel. These are the stories she was denied. In 1931, seventeen-year-old Phyllis Symons was attacked by her lover and left to die in the construction site of the Mount Victoria Tunnel. From a Shadow Grave picks up the threads of history and explores three alternate ways Phyllis's story might have ended, weaving together historical fiction, urban fantasy and time travel. This is no ordinary ghost story its the story of a young woman reclaiming her life rather than letting her murder be her legacy.

From a Shadow Grave

Hope Lenzen

** spoiler alert **
           A home grown ghost story. The possible different endings to a young girls story with a paranormal twist. 

I loved the idea. Before reading this I got very excited to delve in but I’m very sad to say I was slightly disappointed. I feel as if the paranormal aspect was forced into a story that didn’t need it and it was almost as if it was an afterthought. It was also written in second person and I really felt increasingly badgered by the author as the story developed. I never grew to love Phyllis or Aroha or really any of the characters and the different possible endings, instead of feeling complete and standalone, felt disjointed and almost made the reading experience uncomfortable. I feel like this story spent way too much time telling me things I didn’t need to know and when it came to important moments they were glossed over with barely a second thought. The effects of time travel for example... there wasn’t enough for me to fully appreciate the consequences chosen by the character and I feel this really effected my reading experience.

From a Shadow Grave

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