Grace has never gotten over the loss of her sister who disappeared all those years ago. She believes Carl Feldman is responsible for her murder. Carl has after all been on trial for murder before. These days Carl is in a halfway house, supposedly with dementia, but Grace is not so sure he isn't faking. She hatches a plan to pose as his daughter, visiting him often so that it won't seem suspicious when she wants to take dear old dad on a road trip one last time. Grace finds out more than she ever expected to, and we find out that there is far more to Grace than just a grieving sister.
There were lots of twists and surprises to this suspenseful story
I received an advance copy for review. ( )

Lost in Texas

Heaberlin’s Paper Ghosts (which admittedly is a terrifically intriguing title) is part murder mystery and part travelogue, with your creepiest old uncle riding shotgun. Unfortunately, for some, this novel will require a bit more belief suspension than usual and for others the journey will just be too tedious. Maybe if the trip had been a hundred pages shorter, then at least you wouldn’t be tempted to nap, you know, like an old creepy uncle, from time to time.

Carl Feldman was a documentary photographer who may or may not have been a serial killer who roamed Texas murdering young girls, then documenting their deaths in his photography. He also may or may not be suffering from dementia in a halfway home, where he claims to have no knowledge of killing anybody. Grace doesn’t buy it. She suspects he murdered her older sister, Rachel, when she was seventeen and Grace was eight. Not only does she suspect him, she obsesses on the idea to the point of undergoing training against the day she finally comes up again Feldman.

That day arrives, when she executes her plan. She finagles him out of his halfway home by pretending to be his daughter, there to learn more about him, to see if she possesses any of his traits. Her plan calls for them to visit ten murder sites throughout Texas, her hope being any of these, but especially that of her sister, will issue an admission from him. What happens is that the whole affair devolves into a drive around, with Grace constantly expressing how afraid of him she is, of him being a sort of know-it-all creepy uncle, and of the pair being chased by mysterious bad dudes, all ushered along by some pretty dull writing.

It’s never a good sign when you resist the idea of giving up several times and when you fight off sleep while debating if you’re going to give up. There are better of this genre out there. ( )

Lost in Texas

Heaberlin’s Paper Ghosts (which admittedly is a terrifically intriguing title) is part murder mystery and part travelogue, with your creepiest old uncle riding shotgun. Unfortunately, for some, this novel will require a bit more belief suspension than usual and for others the journey will just be too tedious. Maybe if the trip had been a hundred pages shorter, then at least you wouldn’t be tempted to nap, you know, like an old creepy uncle, from time to time.

Carl Feldman was a documentary photographer who may or may not have been a serial killer who roamed Texas murdering young girls, then documenting their deaths in his photography. He also may or may not be suffering from dementia in a halfway home, where he claims to have no knowledge of killing anybody. Grace doesn’t buy it. She suspects he murdered her older sister, Rachel, when she was seventeen and Grace was eight. Not only does she suspect him, she obsesses on the idea to the point of undergoing training against the day she finally comes up again Feldman.

That day arrives, when she executes her plan. She finagles him out of his halfway home by pretending to be his daughter, there to learn more about him, to see if she possesses any of his traits. Her plan calls for them to visit ten murder sites throughout Texas, her hope being any of these, but especially that of her sister, will issue an admission from him. What happens is that the whole affair devolves into a drive around, with Grace constantly expressing how afraid of him she is, of him being a sort of know-it-all creepy uncle, and of the pair being chased by mysterious bad dudes, all ushered along by some pretty dull writing.

It’s never a good sign when you resist the idea of giving up several times and when you fight off sleep while debating if you’re going to give up. There are better of this genre out there. ( )

Grace is obsessed with her sisters’ disappearance and now she believes that she has found the man responsible…Louis Feldman. Problem is he’s been down this road before. Carl gained fame for having published a bestselling book of photographs some years previously…. and achieved notoriety as the suspected serial killer of several women. He was tried…but not convicted for one murder…then he went off the grid for a few years. Now he back and he claims to have dementia. Now here’s where the story begins to fall apart for me. Grace removes Carl from his care home where he is currently living and has decided that she can get him to confess to her sister’s abduction by taking him on a 10-day road trip through Texas. Really??? I kept waiting for someone to yell ”APRIL FOOL”. I’ll give it 3 stars for the writing style and a very creative idea... but it just didn’t seem in the realm of possibility to carry this theme out convincingly. ( )

I was drawn to this book by the amazing cover and that the setting was Texas. This book started out really good to me but as it went on I got a bit bored with it. I did however listen partly to the audiobook so I don't know if that affected my opinion. I did like the original storyline but I think I just didn't really care much for any of the characters.

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