Ghosts on the Red Line

by Peter David Shapiro

Passengers report seeing their Departed in Boston's Red Line subway trains.

Management consultant Harry West is hired by the MBTA, operator of the Red Line, to investigate. His project turns personal when his ex-wife Alexandra Ben-Tov meets their beloved daughter, who looks like the teenager she might have become if she had lived.

Are the visitors on the Red Line ghosts or hallucinations? Either way, when Harry's team discovers the source of the visitations, the MBTA declares it will bring them to an end.

Alexandra has a brilliant idea: Build a Visitation Room that replicates the features of Red Line trains so that people can continue to meet their loved ones.

But not everyone approves. The Archbishop of Boston wants to ban Visitation Rooms. And a gangster who frets that his victims might come back from the dead warns Harry and Alexandra: Cancel Opening Day for the Visitation Room, or else!

Genres: Contemporary, Paranormal

296 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 2011

About the author

Peter David Shapiro was born in Montreal, Canada, and now lives in the Boston area. He frequently rides the Red Line, the one that was disrupted by ghostly encounters in GHOSTS ON THE RED LINE. He spent quality time in Hong Kong where a story of intrigue and revenge unfolds in THE TRAIL OF MONEY. He loves the area in Vermont where a remarkable oil painting opens a portal for the paranormal in PORTRAIT OF IGNATIUS JONES. His fourth novel, JACOB'S PLAN, released in May 2019, is about a man who who does what he must to survive. More info at www.peterdshapiro.com...

Reviews

[Icy_Space_Cobwebs Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of Ghosts on the Red Line by Peter David Shapiro
5 stars

An intriguing and comfy psychical (and psychological) mystery with a cast that includes not just individuals, but corporations (the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority-MBTA; Blair West International consultants), universities (MIT), and metropolises (Cambridge and Boston), the novel purports the premise: “What if-what if the deceased began to appear to individuals during a subway ride?” Not a wholesale “everybody sees ‘em,” but rather one departed appearing to one individual at a time, and only the recipient individual can “see,” touch, talk to, the gone person. That’s fine when the visitations are of lost loved ones, dearly missed and grieved; but when those include murdered witnesses appearing to a gangster, and a man dead by his own hand who accuses his brother-in-law, trouble ensues. Not to mention, that crowds upon crowds now want to ride this single line, the Red Line, in hopes of retrieving time with those they’ve lost.

Creative and original, “Ghosts on the Red Line” delves into detail about the subways, the cities, the MBTA, and showcases Harry West, co-owner and partner of Blair West International, the consultancy called in to assist the MBTA in discovering exactly what is happening, and why, and how to bring about its cessation. Readers who like their mysteries wrapped up in cozy, with sufficient intrigue to keep those pages turning, are sure to enjoy “Ghosts on the Red Line.”

[Jennifer]

I ride the Red Line every day, I must read this!

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found "Ghosts on the Red Line" amazing. It was very intreging! I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to read about Boston.

[Peter Shapiro]

GHOSTS ON THE RED LINE explores what happens when commuters see their Departed on Boston's subway trains.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority hires consultant Harry West to investigate. Harry's project turns personal when his ex-wife Alexandra Ben-Tov meets their daughter on the Red Line, who looks like the teenager she might have become if she had lived. Included in what one reader review calls an "engaging cast of characters" are a Boston psychic, the Archbishop of Boston, members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, MIT researchers, Cambridge police, and a notorious gangster.

Buzz from readers -- "imaginative, strange account" "great read" "compelling storyline."

Review on BN.com: "I really enjoyed this book being from Boston, but it is great for anyone even if you have never have ridden the infamous Red Line!!!!!"

Review on Amazon.com: "A great story with surprising twists and turns. Reads like a good mystery novel."

At Amazon in paperback and for Kindle ($2.99).

Check it out at www.ghostsontheredline.com or at Amazon at http://amzn.to/GhostsRedLine.

[Stephen Dorneman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may be kind giving this book three stars - the writing in this self-published novel sorely lacks the hand of a good editor, but the essential elements of the plot, that ghosts that first began appearing on Boston's Red Line subway cars due to an MIT research project can be reliably summoned, and that summoning turned into a business, is so strong and taken relatively well to its logical conclusions, that I had to at least give it a three. Shapiro knows the world of consultants, start-ups, Boston politics and Boston-area police procedure, but he doesn't know when to stop telling you irrelevant details, or that a woman's eyes shouldn't be described as "dark as dark chocolate." You have been warned.

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good story and I might have rated it more highly had it not had so many editing errors. Basically, people start seeing dead friends, relatives, and sometimes even enemies on Boston's Red Train Line. A group of MIT scientists and engineers become involved and so does the Catholic Church and a local crime boss. It has a fairly sweet ending and on balance was a nice little story but it really did have an annoying number of editing errors.

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that good. I wanted to like this book because it was recommended by a good friend. Shapiro got too bogged down in describing the details that didn't add to the plot or character development. He had an interesting premise, but didn't take it far enough. It didn't help that I couldn't care:: about the main characters. I'll stick to Philip R. Craig for my local mystery color.

[Marietta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably enjoyed it more than I otherwise would have simply because it's set on the Red Line and that is the train that I take to work every day. So I recognized a lot of the settings, etc. Overall a nice story, nothing earthshaking.

[Flannery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neat premise, but the dialogue and descriptions could use some tightening.

[Jennifer]

I tried to read this and just could not get into it. I will try again another time. As a real Red Line rider, the Red Line could use some ghosts over what I normally see on the train!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting in parts but boring and too much information in others.

[Kylie]

it's a good book

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, started getting better a little over mid way but I felt a little disappointed that it did not build up more and felt the ending was a little abrupt.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Farfetched, but I guess that's the point.