The Riverhouse
by Lippert, G. Norman
In the wake of his
divorce and the loss of his New York art job, Shane Bellamy is bereft
and directionless. The remote cottage on the Missouri river provides the
perfect escape: small, picturesque, and lonely. There, Shane becomes
fascinated with the history of the cottage, and that of its larger
sister property, the Riverhouse, now demolished. Inspired, he embarks on
an unusual art project, one that almost seems to have a life of its
own. As the painting develops, surprising Shane both with its style and
its strange, silent strength, he finds that the image is a sort of
portal, inviting him into the Riverhouse's past. He learns of it owners,
portrait artist Gustav Wilhelm, known for his arrogance as much for his
genius, and of Wilhelm's wife, the beautiful but ignored Marlena. His
painting progress, and the story blooms in Shane's mind like a dark
rose, full of deepening mystery and harrowing secrets…Gradually,
Shane comes to realize that the decades' old drama isn't yet finished.
Ghosts haunt the cottage, particularly the intriguing Marlena, and Shane
cannot help being inexplicably drawn to her, despite her obvious
dangers. As a result, Shane finds himself caught in the spiraling
collision course of his own life and that of the Riverhouse. He knows he
should escape, and yet he cannot seem to walk away. After all, he thinks, ghosts can't harm the living. Can they?In
the end, the power of the story draws Shane into its embrace, like a
man walking right up to a cliff's edge, believing he can stop anytime,
not knowing that there is someone behind him, sneaking up, waiting for
just the right moment, the perfect moment, to give one…little…push.
divorce and the loss of his New York art job, Shane Bellamy is bereft
and directionless. The remote cottage on the Missouri river provides the
perfect escape: small, picturesque, and lonely. There, Shane becomes
fascinated with the history of the cottage, and that of its larger
sister property, the Riverhouse, now demolished. Inspired, he embarks on
an unusual art project, one that almost seems to have a life of its
own. As the painting develops, surprising Shane both with its style and
its strange, silent strength, he finds that the image is a sort of
portal, inviting him into the Riverhouse's past. He learns of it owners,
portrait artist Gustav Wilhelm, known for his arrogance as much for his
genius, and of Wilhelm's wife, the beautiful but ignored Marlena. His
painting progress, and the story blooms in Shane's mind like a dark
rose, full of deepening mystery and harrowing secrets…Gradually,
Shane comes to realize that the decades' old drama isn't yet finished.
Ghosts haunt the cottage, particularly the intriguing Marlena, and Shane
cannot help being inexplicably drawn to her, despite her obvious
dangers. As a result, Shane finds himself caught in the spiraling
collision course of his own life and that of the Riverhouse. He knows he
should escape, and yet he cannot seem to walk away. After all, he thinks, ghosts can't harm the living. Can they?In
the end, the power of the story draws Shane into its embrace, like a
man walking right up to a cliff's edge, believing he can stop anytime,
not knowing that there is someone behind him, sneaking up, waiting for
just the right moment, the perfect moment, to give one…little…push.