Title: Smithy

Author: Amanda Desiree

Release date: April 27th, 2021

Honestly, this novel wasn’t even on my radar until Clay McLeod Chapman posted about it maybe a month or so ago? I’m not sure why I’d never seen it or heard about it, but when he posted that it was about a group of research students trying to teach a Chimpanzee sign language, only for the Chimpanzee to begin using the sign language to communicate with the ghost in the house, I was hooked. LIKE COME THE FREAKING HELL ON! HOW COOL IS THAT! I’m not sure (I suspect it has been done before) I’ve ever heard of this concept being put down on paper for a horror novel before! SIGN LANGUAGE! WITH A GHOST!!

Now, I will say, my biggest reservation about going into this novel is I am not a fan AT ALL of Epistolary story telling. For those who don’t know what that is – it’s a way of telling a story by only using letters/journals/diary entries and sometimes other mediums such as notes or descriptions of film footage and interviews. I always find it falls flat and isn’t as engaging. And the only reason I pushed through my trepidation over that aspect, was because recently I read AND LOVED Craig DiLouie’s newest novel ‘Episode Thirteen’ which was told through the Epistolary method.

What I liked: The story is set in the early 1970’s. A professor has secured funding to do a research experiment where they attempt to teach sign language to a primate to show they have the ability and intelligence to communicate. To do so, the research group moves into an old, neglected mansion, where they won’t have any outside interference and can freely work with Webster the Chimpanzee. Webster is very intelligent and because of his ability to pick up words, he’s been given the nickname Smithy.

Throughout the story, we get to see how the rational, science based students miss/ignore or mistake Smithy’s odd moments and unexpected interactions, until strange things begin to happen. Things go missing. Fires start. Smithy escapes from locked rooms. As all of this add up, Desiree does a great job of showcasing how those who don’t believe in the paranormal continue to find answers for what has happened, even if it doesn’t seem like a possibility. I loved the character of Smithy, even when things take a turn, Desiree does a great job of never anthropomorphizing him, even when the characters themselves do.

The story relies on building dread throughout the journal entries and memo’s between the characters and when a few of them have sightings of the ghost and learn more about who this haunting figure might be, Desiree continues to reel them back in and not let their rational mind completely go off the railings.

What I didn’t like: I didn’t like the means of how this story was told. This is a prime example of when Epistolary just doesn’t work. I wanted to love this one so much, but time and time again, the events fell flat because it was told through a journal entry or a random video and then it would simply end and we would move on to another entry. And the ending was the biggest bust for me because it alludes to something and literally just ends. I turned the page and flipped back, unsure if I’d actually got to the end or not. There was so much potential here to be a page-turning, compulsive story, but ultimately for me, the way it was told didn’t work.

Why you should buy this: Look, I fell hard for the hook. ASL, Chimpanzee, ghost communication. If that sounds like something you want to read, do it! Dive in! If you like or love Epistolary, then this one will absolutely be your cup of tea, it just didn’t get the job done for me.

3/5