My Book Review> "The Soul Keeper", by Bibiana Krall

A beautiful (and scary) ghost story.

Bibiana Krall is a talented writer. She makes things happen in the reader's mind and brings the story to life: you can indeed feel the psychedelic atmosphere that reigned in San Francisco in the late 60s early 70s; you ‘see’ the presence of hippie-like people all around; you feel the scent of patchouli; you can see the ghostlike silhouettes wandering under the mist covering the beach… well, except that some of them might be ‘real’ ghosts!

Everything started that day when, while they were wandering in Chinatown, Dutch suddenly went into a gloomy store to buy Willow an old and odd ring for her birthday. From that moment on, Willow’s life would never be the same!... She immediately noticed something weird: there was a dedication carved inside the sterling band: ‘To my beloved Heinrich, departed 1898, but not forgotten, we shall meet again, C.’ Willow got a creepy feeling reading this, and her feeling of anxiety became increasingly intense after she was told that ‘her’ ring was given a name: ‘the soul keeper’.

Few weeks later, asleep on the beach, Willow dreamed of her late mother; when she woke up she saw something… no, somebody… like a specter, staring at her… in a hostile way. The next evening, she joined her roommates to play Ouija. After a while, the planchette moved and stopped before eight letters to form a short sentence: ‘ReLEASE Me’! Willow’s heart raced; she broke the circle and fled to the window. On the sidewalk, a dark eyed man wearing a black top hat was staring at her from bellow. Terrified, she wondered whether she was becoming insane. She was like immersed in a total nightmare…

What will happen to Willow? Will she survive this ordeal and the terror that now inhabits her heart? Well, I won’t tell you… However, I’d like to add one last thing: Heinrich, the man whose name was carved on Willow’s ring, could actually be a real life historical figure: namely Adolf Heinrich Sutro, 24th mayor of San Francisco, who married and later divorced a lovely young lady named Clara (remember the ‘C’ on the ring?)…

Yes, indeed, ‘The soul keeper’ is a compelling ghost story: very well written, subtle, without or little over exaggeration but still creepy and, trust me, it will give you the goosebumps. It’s definitely a must read! Congratulation Bibiana!!