Edgar Cantero’s novel, The Supernatural Enhancements, is a unique story about an unlikely “couple”: the mysterious “A.” and his mute companion, the seventeen-year-old Irish Niamh. The duo move from England to Axton House, a remote and decaying Gothic mansion in the Virginian wilds, after A. is named as the sole heir to Ambrose Wells’ fortune. Ambrose Wells, the deceased, is said to have left his entire estate “and all of its contents” to the hero of our story, his “second cousin twice removed”, after Ambrose takes a leap from his third-story bedroom window; the very same window, in the very same fashion, at the very same age as his father had done before him.

Cantero’s novel is an intricate web of puzzles, riddles, and interactive play-alongs, though the true genius I found in this tale is the author’s ability to give a vibrant and unique voice to a distinctly mute character. Niamh is the silent and smart companion in the background, though she has a very large presence as the backbone of the eclectic household. A. is the opposite of his female counterpart, with his young and cocky, devil-may-care attitude that sets the tone for the story. Though Niamh’s character is even younger, she is highly intelligent, charismatic and calm, and keeps our hero grounded.

The book itself is hailed as a gothic horror, though it is a mystery with gothic elements at best. The title draws you in with the tease of the supernatural, though the “supernatural elements” are interwoven into the story very lightly. It was disappointing to open this book under the pretense of settling down for a good satisfying session of thrills and chills, though despite the fact that it doesn’t live up to it’s promises, the novel still holds the reader’s interest nicely. It would be generous to say that this book is a thriller, though unfair to dismiss the intrigue of the story. All-in-all, the book is a conundrum for the mind, at times an unpleasant one, though given the fact that to confuse and befuddle the reader is seemingly the book’s exact purpose, in that respect, it does its job perfectly.