Love is Strong as Death [Kindle Edition]

Carolyn Nash (Author)

Book Description

Rachel Elliot is a smart and cynical investigative journalist with a passion for exposing the truth behind every story. But when her editor asks her to look into a controversial real-estate deal involving an elusive tech billionaire and a supposedly haunted house, she unexpectedly uncovers dark secrets about her own past. With a beautiful pharmaceutical heiress, a relentless colleague, and one of the world’s most famous Internet innovators all staking a claim on her past and her future, it’s up to Rachel to figure out what binds this group together before fate overtakes them.

Episode List
This book was initially released in episodes as a Kindle Serial. All episodes are now available for immediate download as a complete book. Learn more about Kindle Serials

Episode 1: Released on September 6, 2012. 102 pages. When a new assignment takes Rachel Elliot into the upper reaches of power and the lower reaches of terror, it isn't clear how much of her perfectly self-contained identity will survive the shock.
Episode 2: Released on October 4, 2012. 72 pages. Rachel struggles to determine who to trust in a world growing less rational by the second.
Episode 3: Released on November 1, 2012. 73 pages. Rachel makes a shocking decision – and sets off a dangerous chain of events.
Episode 4: Released on November 29, 2012 (Final Episode). 45 pages. The past and present blur, and it isn’t clear who will survive when the boundaries clear.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The story starts firmly in contemporary thriller territory… but by the time Rachel first enters the fog-shrouded mansion at the end of the first installment, Nash's story has more in common with Wilkie Collins' "The Woman In White" and Anne Rice's recent werewolf tale "The Wolf Gift." - San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Carolyn Nash is the author the thriller The Trunk Key, chosen by Amazon as “One of the best Kindle Singles of 2012 so far.” Her memoir Raising Abel, about adopting and parenting a sexually abused child, was hailed by Kirkus as “a sobering but uplifting tale of love that never gives up." She has worked as a reporter, a technical writer, and an environmental scientist, and has spent much of her life in Northern California, where she still resides with her two sons.

Product Details

• File Size: 425 KB
• Print Length: 281 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1611097916
• Publisher: Thomas & Mercer / Plympton (September 6, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0091TJHB4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,866 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "It's in the night that ghosts are real, you know, and memories aren't the past but the present." September 11, 2012

By Cheryl Stout TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

I was lucky enough to be able to get an Advanced Reading Copy of LOVE IS STRONG AS DEATH. I felt privileged because I had liked Nash's story The Trunk Key (Kindle Single)so much - the story and Nash's writing style. So this review is on the full book, not just this first episode of the series. But no spoilers...just encouragement to read all the episodes of this next great story by Nash.

Rachel and Terry are reporters, working together at a local newspaper, writing opposing articles on different people/subjects. Rachel believes the worst of everybody and Terry believes every cloud has a silver lining.

But a story about a "haunted" house brings together Rachel, Terry and players from the present - and past. Everything has aligned, bringing all the players together, to correct a wrong from another lifetime.

1. Superb character development on the two main very likeable protagonists (plus on the not-so-minor other characters) in the book
2. Excellent imagery of the San Francisco and outlying areas and the "haunted" mansion
3. A rip-roaring mystery that goes all the way back to the 1930s

LOVE IS STRONG AS DEATH was everything I hoped for when I sat down to read it. I sat back and enjoyed every word, page and finally, the finished product.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm anticipating the next installment September 13, 2012

By Miller VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love the idea of the Kindle Serials. I had a hard time selecting between the offerings and settled on Love is as Strong as Death by Carolyn Nash. I am hoping for a ghost story with a good mystery. And so far the story is managing to deliver.

The First Installment:
Rachel Elliot and her partner Terry write a column presenting two sides of an issue. They are assigned a haunted house story. The house is an old mansion located on some prime real estate which is set to be demolished so that the wealthy Peter can build some condos. Only the house is supposedly haunted, and a spiritualist society is trying to block the project in an effort to preserve it for the otherworldly occupants. Rachel usually so antisocial is immediately drawn to Peter. And things become even stranger as she continues her investigation.

Even though the story has a bumpy beginning, read on. Nash doesn't give the reader a good sense of Rachel in this installment. Why is she so cynical? Why so antisocial? This aspect of the mystery is becoming the most interesting as the story develops. Another well rendered element is the general setting of the Bay Area. The descriptions are so well described they transport. The supporting characters are notably suspect (sometimes tryingly so). And Rachel's weird visit to the mansion has a disconcerting effect. I'm hoping things are less heavy handed in future installments.

After reading through this excerpt, I am definitely interested in where the story is heading.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your usual haunted house story September 9, 2012

By J. Chambers TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was very interested to see how Amazon's new serial format works, and since I had enjoyed Carolyn Nash's Kindle Single "The Trunk Key," I downloaded her serial novel Love is Strong as Death. Based on the first episode, it looks like a dandy story. Rachel Elliot and Terry Brandt are investigative journalists at a San Francisco area newspaper. They're polar opposites, with Rachel finding the dirt in any story, and Terry always looking for the silver lining in every cloud. But their different outlooks serve them well in their series of "Both Sides Now" stories.

When their editor assigns them to investigate an old abandoned mansion rumored to be a haunted house, they learn that there's more to the story than meets the eye. A wealthy man wants to buy the property and tear down the house, while a new age spiritualist opposes the sale, saying that there is a powerful psychic energy in the house.

I like the author's writing style. It's straightforward and succinct, and she ratchets up the tension and suspense gradually as the story unfolds. Her description of Rachel's experience in the old mansion at night reminded me a bit of Richard Matheson's classic Hell House. Rachel and Terry are finely drawn characters, with their differences of opinion making for some great witty banter between them. As the story develops, however, it's revealed that Rachel is actually a very troubled young lady, and the haunted house assignment may be too traumatic for her.

As the first episode ends, there are several issues and mysteries to be resolved:

* Why does Peter Cameron, a rich, very eligible bachelor, really want the old mansion, and why was he suddenly attracted to Rachel?

* What secrets does the old Taylor mansion hold? Is it really haunted?

* Is the new age spiritualist Crystal Constellation for real, and does she really have a past connection with Rachel?

* Can anyone break through Rachel's deep-seated cynicism?

I'm looking forward to the next episode of the story. I don't know exactly how reviews will be done with the story coming out in segments, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out in the serial format.
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UPDATE (October 6, 2012): Episode 2 has been released. After her terrifying visit to the old Taylor mansion, Rachel has a strange dream, and wakes to find Terry and Crystal talking together in her kitchen. Peter shows up, and things get very heated. Through a bizarre turn of events, Rachel, Terry, and Crystal end up back at the Taylor mansion.

The creep factor really ramps up in this episode. There's something in the deserted mansion that's deeply affecting everyone who enters it, but who or what is doing this remains a mystery. Meanwhile, it appears that Peter Cameron will stop at nothing to obtain the Taylor mansion for his own purposes, whatever that may be.
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UPDATE (November 4, 2012): Episode 3 was released on November 1. Peter and Rachel's relationship heats up, and he gives her the surprise of her life. Karen Peterson, a psychic, is introduced, and she takes Rachel, Terry, and Crystal to meet someone who can perhaps shed some light on the secrets the old Taylor mansion holds. As the episode ends, the group is closer to solving the mystery that has obsessed them, but will they risk everything to find the answers?
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UPDATE (December 1, 2012): Episode 4, the final episode, was released on November 29. The final episode builds to a big finish, as the secrets of the old Taylor mansion are revealed. Rachel, Terry, and Peter learn that they are intimately connected with the mansion and its violent past in ways they could never have imagined. To find peace, Rachel is called on to make the ultimate sacrifice.
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SUMMARY: I enjoyed Love is Strong as Death very much. As the story progressed, the suspense built steadily as it became more and more evident that Rachel had some kind of karmic connection with the mansion, even though the place had been deserted for many years before she was born. The mind-blowing climax was well worth waiting for, as all of the mansion's secrets were revealed, and Rachel's life was transformed.

More About the Author

My first published book, Raising Abel, is the true story of raising my son, who I adopted out of foster care. To protect his privacy, I took the pen name Carolyn Nash. I have kept the name for my fiction because I've found I rather like staying in the background.

Each time someone reads one of my books, it seems like a small miracle. I've written stories for years, never truly believing that they would be read by anyone but family or friends. It's truly an honor when someone chooses one of these books with the name Carolyn Nash on the cover. Thank you, all of you who have, and know that I appreciate it more than I can say.