Séance Infernale: A novel

Alex Whitman is a detective of sorts. He is working for a film collector, Andrew Valdono, who has retained him to track down the first motion picture produced by Augustin Sekuler. The film, Seance Infernale, may contain its own mystery if only it can be found.
In this complex and detailed story, Whitman has his own demons to contend with. His daughter was kidnapped more than ten years ago, and he has never stopped looking for her. The search for the film reveals that Sekuler’s daughter disappeared as well, drawing parallels to Whitman’s life. The search for both his daughter and the film will take him all over the mesmerizing town of Edinburgh.

I wanted to like this book, particularly because I thought the author did a good job describing the town of Edinburgh, and I felt he had a feel for creating a sinister atmosphere. I was able to understand the motives of some of the characters but unfortunately not others. Overall, I felt the story was at times overloaded with details, especially the first half of the book, which dealt with the history of film-making. There was also a graphic scene involving an animal that didn’t sit well with me. It’s a pity that this one was not for me because I think the author has a talent for writing.