A Tale of Horror and the Occult
I could not categorize this book into just one category. Its a psychological thriller and a mystery with a paranormal twist. I think it will appeal to quite a wide range of readers. It also has quite a dark tone that I found to be the most exciting part of the book.
The beginning of the story starts off kind of slow, but if you can get through the first two chapters, you wont be let down. Eventually you will be sucked in by intrigue and thought provoking. Smiraldi paints a great picture in my head with his creative use of words.
The story is a complicated twist of events, but you definitely had to make sure you were paying attention to all the small details, because they eventually come back around later in the book. The whole book is full of twists and turns that were all very unexpected, but enjoyable.

Richard Smiraldi has a great imagination that I found to be the aspect to keep me hooked on the book. He develops the characters in a strong and realistic way. They are all relatable and I felt like I knew each and every one, on a personal level. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the mystery, suspense, thriller, or paranormal books and give this book a 5/5. ( )

“Death and Disappearances,” is truly a captivating and highly artistic tale. I love the images that the author was able to conjure up in my head. The images that were particularly strong were the author’s descriptions of Petula and the scenery throughout the novel. I enjoyed the storyline between Mont and Pet. I also loved the part where Mont exhausts himself in searching for his loved one, Petula. The author succeeds in describing the temperaments, fashion, and, fears of the story’s characters. Overall, I highly recommend this novel. It’s a quick read yet it packed with a powerful suspenseful and thrilling plot.

OMG! Talk about a story with twists and turns. It starts out with this guy, Montgomery Clark (luv that name) and his young wife, Petula Beaujolais – a French Barnard girl. Then she’s suddenly gone and we’re with his snobby friend Bea, who I thought was a drag queen – to tell you the truth -but she’s had five husbands, and then we’re with Peter, his roommate from college – British, athletic, wimpy..I dunno. So there I am with all these rich kids…and I don’t know what the author is up to. But then, wham, like a crow bar to the friggin’ head, he’s with this Greek diva, Draza (a sort of love interest) detective. He wakes up with a bump on the head, his wife’s painting gone and a letter in his own writing that he’s gonna get killed and the dead bird in the drawer. Then there’s time travel and an oracle lady and a twist with the wife and the twin sister…and the end shocked the bejesus out of me! I’m not kidding. Once I got through the first three chapters, I couldn’t put the darn thing down – and had to go in to work sleepy. This book kills. Ask my husband. I’ve been exhausted for days. But I’ve picked up a copy of his first book, and I am looking forward to the next story he writes. Good job, I loved it – and this is coming from somebody that don’t love much. ( )