Summary
WINNER of the Dan Poynter Global Ebook Awards - Gold Medal - for Best Mystery Fiction 2025
WINNER of The BookFest - Silver ★★★★★ - for Best Literary: Mystery, Thriller and Suspense 2025
WINNER of the Author Shout Book Awards - Top Pick 2025
“A HAUNTING HISTORICAL MASTERPIECE
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781967227051 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1967227055 |
| Author: | George Petersen |
| Publisher: | Cinematic Press |
| Imprint: | Cinematic Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 220 |
| Release Date: | 24 March 2025 |
| Weight: | 222g |
| Dimensions: | 203mm x 127mm x 13mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
“The Summer of Haight is a haunting historical masterpiece, with elements of psychological suspense, some gothic mystery amid 1967 counterculture in San Francisco. Readers who enjoy a slow-burn unraveling narrative in similar works like Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library or Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic will find The Summer of Haight to be unforgettable.”
-Reader Views ★★★★★
“An electrifying debut that is part murder mystery, part psychological thriller, and most of all, a memorable plunge into the dark soul of the Summer of Love… Themes of transformation, identity, and corruption ripple through the novel… This descent into philosophical madness is paralleled by the city… where innocence is devoured under the guise of freedom.”
–BestThrillers.com
“This isn’t a nostalgic romp through Haight-Ashbury. It’s a slow-burning gothic mystery where the air smells of something rotting just beneath the incense, and reality unravels one eerie page at a time… it creates a dense atmosphere that allows the reader to feel the dread… It’s haunting, heady, and more than a little hypnotic.”
–Chanticleer Reviews ★★★★★
“The Summer of Haight is a gripping tale full of suspense and intrigue. Author George Petersen teases the reader until the end by layering the narrative with a hint of the supernatural. It enhances the mystery and builds an atmosphere of tension and anticipation that is immersive.”
–Readers’ Favorite ★★★★★
“Mesmerizing, deviant, and steeped in counterculture madness… a mind-bending odyssey through the depths of debauchery, careening from smoke-laced basements and feverish dance floors to clandestine stakeouts, harems of impish flower girls, and the iconic Human Be-In of 1967… Dancing at the edge of magical realism with its drug-induced drama… this is a farcical tour de force that never takes itself too seriously, nor fully shows its cards… the novel crackles with tongue-in-cheek mischief, as if John Kennedy Toole, Kurt Vonnegut, and Tom Wolfe conspired to craft a flashback classic… Youngblood is a masterfully drawn character, a puckish trickster who swerves between mystical and malevolent, perpetually leaving readers one step behind his motives and true nature… Beyond the deliriously weird plot, the novel’s explorations of self-discovery and bold boundary pushing are inspiring. This is a visionary, sometimes hallucinatory work of fiction, cleverly layered with nostalgia, philosophy, comedy, noirish drama, and a deliciously odd plot that revels in its eccentricity.”
–Self-Publishing Reviews ★★★★
“The intriguing historical mystery novel The Summer of Haight is narrated with an undercurrent of surrealism. In George Petersen’s whimsical mystery novel, The Summer of Haight, 1960s San Francisco is subjected to intrigue and otherworldliness… The Summer of Haight is a mind-bending mystery novel set amid eerie gray areas and unsettling cultural phenomena.”
–Forward Clarion Reviews ★★★★
“Petersen’s novel offers a winning Summer of Love take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde… this story is fleet-footed, moving quickly from scene to scene in short chapters in which the author displays an impressive command of atmosphere… A smart and fast-paced hippie noir.”
–Kirkus Reviews (OUR VERDICT: ✓ GET IT)
About The Author
George Petersen
George Petersen is an award-winning author and screenwriter. He is the author of The Summer of Haight, which has received numerous accolades, including the Dan Poynter Global Ebook Awards Gold Medal for Mystery Fiction 2025, the BookFest Silver ★★★★★ Award for Best Literary: Mystery, Thriller and Suspense 2025, and an Author Shout Book Awards Top Pick 2025.
As a screenwriter, Petersen is recognized for his work on Scatterbrained, awarded Best Comedy at the Creative World Awards 2025, and Surfing Grandpa, named Best Family Film at the StoryPros Awards 2025.
Petersen holds an M.A. in Film and Television with an emphasis on screenwriting from San Diego State University. He has owned and operated George Petersen Productions in San Diego for over forty years. His background also includes serving as the original Screenwriting Book Reviewer for Creative Screenwriting Magazine. He studied under renowned environmental portrait photographer Arnold Newman as a member of the Professional Photographers of America.
Furthering his expertise, Petersen studied Motion Picture Production Techniques at the UCLA Film School and has taught at UCSD Extension and St. Mary’s College of California Extension. His screenplays have garnered over one hundred finalist awards, consistently placing them in the Top 1% of screenplay competitions.
The Summer of Haight is his first novella. George Petersen resides in San Diego.
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