Warning: This title contains explicit material.

A new job and a new life await Sam Raintree as he drives to his next assignment, Oleander House just outside of Gautier, Mississippi.  This large home is the latest job for his new employer, Bay City Paranormal Investigations. Sam cannot wait to get started investigating the mysterious deaths in the house, which have occurred over several different periods in time. He is also looking forward to meeting his coworkers and boss.

Co-owner and boss of Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Dr. “Bo” Broussard looks forward to their latest challenge of documenting real psychic or other unknown phenomenon at Oleander House. Their group was hoping to find some explanation for the grisly murders that have occurred intermittently over time since the house was first built.  Bo and his colleagues look forward to finding and documenting answers to the killings, which are believed to have been committed by unknown forces.

While Sam is “out of the closet” he doesn’t advertise the fact that he is gay and plans to downplay his orientation to his colleagues. Then he meets Bo and finds himself instantly attracted.  For his part, Bo considers himself hetero. He is married, has children and other than a weekend encounter with another man many years ago, he hasn’t been attracted to a man—until he is introduced to Sam. Neither man wants to feel something for the other because of the chaos it would bring to their lives. 

In the meantime, something very strange is happening at Oleander House. Their equipment shows odd readings, and Sam and two others experience strange feelings of malevolence. Whether it is spirits, an entity or some thing from another plane of existence, the odd happenings are becoming more frequent. Lives could very well be in danger if someone doesn’t figure out how to stop history from repeating itself yet again.

Oleander House is a gothic, creepy tale with a secondary story concerning a relationship between two consenting adult men. Sam knows who and what he is, and while not blatant, he’s not willing to hide in the corner. Bo is a successful businessman whose personal life is a mess while he needs to figure out exactly who he is and what he really wants out of life. With explicit language, Ally Blue writes a frank exploration of unfolding love between two men intertwined with a chilling story of paranormal mayhem and murder.

Reviewed by Lisa Guest
10/25/2006

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