Charon’s Crossing, pun and all, is a waystation for people who have died but who just aren’t ready to move on to their next great adventure – or the peace of the hereafter – or whatever happens next. The redemption appears to be optional, but the acceptance, that’s required. The purpose of Charon’s Crossing Tea and Treats is all about that acceptance. Even if he initially doesn’t want to admit it. It’s just that this redemption takes place after Wallace Price has already died. The parallels are way closer than I was expecting.īecause the story about what’s behind the whispering door – not exactly under because the door is on the ceiling – is definitely a redemption story. I know that Scrooge isn’t the one who dies in A Christmas Carol, but he was certainly headed down that road before the spirits staged their one-night intervention. But unlike Scrooge’s situation, the spirits aren’t capable of doing anything to change it, and it’s going to take a whole lot more than one single night.

The first condition is beyond Wallace’s own ability to change. To paraphrase a classic that isn’t nearly as different as you’d think, Wallace Price was dead: to begin with. Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.īut Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead. Purchasing Info: Author's Website, Publisher's Website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Published by Tor Books on September 21, 2021 Genres: fantasy, magical realism, paranormal, relationship fiction Source: supplied by publisher via NetGalleyįormats available: hardcover, paperback, ebook, audiobook

The whispering door book