The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
Chip Linton was a pilot before the accident. Now he doesn’t like to see airplanes or birds. Chip was piloting a regional jet when a flock of geese flew into his plane and killed both engines. Thinking he couldn’t return to Burlington or make it to Plattsburgh he decided to recreate the Miracle on the Hudson on Lake Champlain. It started out well, but the wave created by a ferry turning to help caught the wings and flipped the plane over while it was still moving at a very high speed. The plane broke apart, and while there were survivors, including Chip, 39 people lost their lives.
Chip, his wife and twin daughters, decide to start over in a rambling Victorian in rural Vermont. The neighbors are all extremely kind and constantly sharing the bounty of their greenhouses. All seems idyllic until Chip notices the small door in the basement. The door sealed shut with 39 carriage bolts…
I really enjoy Bohjalian’s books (like The Double Bind and Skeletons at the Feast) and I was looking forward to this one. I am pleased to say that the man can not only write great psychological fiction and historical fiction, but he tells a great ghost story as well.
