Edge of the Flame is a twist on the tale of The Phantom of the Opera. The infamous Phantom narrates this version giving the reader a remarkable insight into the brilliant mind and tortured heart of the complex character.
This engaging version keeps the integrity and chilling spirit of the original novel, but unmasks a brand new gothic love story. Phantom: Edge of the Flame offers an alternative explanation for the shocking deeds attributed to the man known as the Phantom.
A musical genius with a penchant for murder, Erik ‘haunts’ the opera house in the late 1800’s. He becomes a recluse “phantom” living in the bowels of the theatre. He frightens performers, extorts money from the managers and kills if his orders are not obeyed. The Phantom is filled with disdain for humanity born from a lifetime of maltreatment due to a facial deformity.
One dark night, while riding in his carriage, Erik encounters a woman and her coachman stranded on an isolated road. Erik sees murderous intent in the driver’s eyes. Killing women is outside Erik’s policy of acceptable murder, so he offers her a ride. Although filled with trepidation, Erik finds comfort in the pitch black of the carriage and eventually converses with the outgoing American. His charm, impeccable manners and racy wit keep Olivia Weston entertained. They strike up a friendship on the long drive to Paris in the dark.
Erik pursues Olivia in a series of clandestine midnight visits and moonlit excursions. After a lifetime of solitude, the complexities of a relationship confuse Erik. He misinterprets social cues, challenges commonly accepted norms and causes serious injury to another man when he feels threatened.
When three men attack Erik and leave him for dead, he hunts them down and shows no mercy. Reeling from this huge moral setback, he begins to doubt that he can ever change. In a surge of self-loathing and contempt for mankind, he kidnaps Olivia believing she is his only link to the outside world. This sets a series of events in motion that will have lethal consequences for anyone standing in the way of Erik's objective--to hold onto what he's always been denied. Love.
Kristine Goodfellow lives with her husband on the east coast. She has two grown sons and two spoiled cats.
The author is a Starbucks devotee and finds the coffee house a favorable writing venue as long as she is wearing her headphones to keep her from starting conversations with whomever sits next to her. Back in her school days the nuns always said her chatter was a distraction to those around her. Throughout her life, she's proven them right. Ms. Goodfellow continues to collect characters and make friends.
She wrote her first novel in 2001 and has loved every moment of the writing journey. A sufferer from TMIS - Too Many Ideas Syndrome, she can find a story in any situation and feels deprived if she doesn't get writing time every single day. Ms. Goodfellow has finished nine full-length novels in the genres of gothic romance, contemporary romance, pyschological drama and horror. She's also very good about answering email, so drop her a line.
I love books that play around with well know stories, which is what Phantom does with a vengeance! Kristine Goodfellow takes the classic story of the Phantom of the Opera and gives it unimaginable depth and interest. The masked man, for me, was the most interesting part of the story. The author has achieved the amazing feat of setting him exactly on the line between sympathetic and scary. he's explained, quite alot, but not enough that he stops being intriguing. The story is super Gothic, which I loved, and the heroine is very cool. She stands up for herself to everybdoy, evern the masked man, which added a nice quirk to the story. The other great achievement of this story is managing to weave genuine romance into the life of the masked man, must have been hard to do, but Kristine manages. This is a lovely book, the only question I have left is does the 'Phantom: edge of...' style of title mean there are going to be more 'Phantom:revenge of the chandelier' of whatever? I do hope so...
Many authors dare to write sequels or companion stories to legendary characters. Few succeed at it, hardly any succeed at the level Kristine Sanchez Goodfellow has. This is a must-read if you're a fan of the Phantom and if you are not?