A Novella by George Petersen

5 Stars! Highly Recommended! Chanticleer Book Reviews

THE SUMMER Of HAIGHT by George Petersen - Surreal Fiction, 1960s, Literary Fiction, Absurdist Fiction, Magic Realis

In The Summer of Haight, George Petersen opens a doorway into the hallucinatory dreamscape of 1967 San Francisco, where the counterculture's bright ideals are shadowed by something far more sinister.

Forget the peace signs and flower crowns. 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.

The Summer of Haight centers on Longfellow, a straight-laced, impeccably dressed British lawyer living in San Francisco. He's logical, loyal, and just rigid enough to feel like he's constantly one step out of place in the groovy chaos of 1960s counterculture. His best friend, the brilliant and eccentric scientist Dr. Jonathan St. Amour, seems to be riding high—hosting elite parties, building a private laboratory under his Victorian mansion, and showing off his mysterious new pet cat, Zelda, who wears a custom-cut diamond in the shape of a cat's eye.

Things start to tilt sideways when Jonathan suddenly asks Longfellow to draft a new will—one that leaves everything to a man named Dr. Asmodeus Youngblood.

This 'Youngblood' is nobody Longfellow has ever met, and Jonathan refuses to introduce them. In fact, he makes Longfellow promise not to investigate him. Naturally, this only makes Longfellow more suspicious. What follows is a descent into something much stranger than legal drama. Youngblood isn't just a mystery; he's a walking contradiction, a man who looks like a flamboyant hippie but moves with something menacing in his step. He sleeps during the day, unnerves everyone in the house, and seems to have an unnatural hold over Jonathan. Even Zelda is terrified of him.

As Longfellow breaks his promise and trails Youngblood through the fog-choked streets of the Haight, the novel morphs into a fever dream. There are LSD-drenched parties, glowing body paint, hallucinatory visions, and ominous signs that Youngblood may not be entirely human. The scenes at the Fillmore Auditorium—strobe-lit nudity and shadowy faceless figures—feel like a cross between Eyes Wide Shut and a haunted lava lamp.

At one point, the atmosphere turns almost otherworldly: "Wide-eyed and anxious, I climbed the stairs to the auditorium, a red apple in one hand, a bright yellow balloon in the other... Janis Joplin belted out 'Summertime' on stage... tie-dye backdrops bathed in luminous liquid colors... A puppeteer hung a life-size marionette from the balcony so it could dance with the flower girls on the floor below..."

Despite the surrealism, The Summer of Haight is also about aging, longing, and identity. Jonathan's longing to be young again, to break free from the restrictions of respectability and embrace something primordial, is familiar but also terrifying. Readers will find the story clearly depicts how simple it is to lose oneself while pursuing the illusion of independence.

The prose is moody, poetic, and at times playfully gothic. There's fog, firelight, hidden blades, secret cellars, and symbolic snakes. But the pace is deliberate; it doesn't sprint. Rather, it creates a dense atmosphere that allows the reader to feel the dread.

If you like stories where a seemingly rational world starts to fray at the edges—where one must question not only the nature of the villain but that of reality itself—then The Summer of Haight by George Petersen might be your kind of delirium. It's haunting, heady, and more than a little hypnotic.

The Summer of Haight, an Electrifying Debut Thriller by George Petersen - BestThrillers.com

By Bella Wright / July 12, 2025 / George Petersen / 2 minutes of reading

“The Bottom Line:

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.

The Summer of Haight begins as British expatriate and San Francisco attorney Longfellow finds himself in the vibrant tide of the 1967 Summer of Love. While the city explodes in psychedelic colors, free love, and anti-establishment fervor, Longfellow clings to the rules and order that govern his life and profession. A shock of unwelcome change comes when close friend and fellow expatriate Jonathan reveals that he intends to leave his entire fortune to a shadowy new acquaintance, Dr. Asmodeus Youngblood.

Jonathan wants Longfellow to write the will and make it “bulletproof.” But Longfellow, who has never even heard of Youngblood, is alarmed. Subsequently, Longfellow is contacted by Jonathan’s butler, Alfred, who suspects that Youngblood has strangled Jonathan’s cat. What’s more, he reports that Jonathan has given Youngblood the run of the house, with the staff up at all hours of the night at his beck and call.

Turning amateur sleuth for the sake of his friend, Longfellow and pooch pal Winston follow Youngblood through San Francisco’s fog-drenched underground before confronting him. But Longfellow won’t be working alone. Author George Petersen pairs Longfellow with Detective Maggie Shaughnessy, who serves as a confident, direct and unfiltered counterbalance to her former love interest. Intriguingly, Shaughnessy is in the midst of investigating the murder of several young women.

One of the most striking aspects of The Summer of Haight is how deftly George Petersen subverts the romanticized vision of the “Summer of Love” by layering it with dread, death and disillusionment. While 1967 San Francisco is historically remembered as a haven for peace, music, and flower power, Petersen flips the script to expose a darker undercurrent beneath the tie-dye and acid trips. Even as Petersen uses real world icons – The Grateful Dead, The Merry Pranksters, Janis Joplin and more make up the artistic tapestry – the book’s noir lens reveals how irrational idealism and naivete create opportunities for predators.

Themes of transformation, identity, and corruption ripple through the novel. Jonathan’s fascination with snakes and metamorphosis becomes a dark metaphor for his yearning to escape human responsibility. This descent into philosophical madness is paralleled by the city around him, where innocence is devoured under the guise of freedom. Highly recommended.”

Customer Reviews

5 STARS "Awesome." - Goodreads Reviewer

Story Questions

What was The Summer of Love?

Who is Longfellow and why doesn't. he have a last name?

What did Jonathan really want? He had everything. Why was he so unhappy?

Was Asmadeus a bad person or a good person?

Why did plush Victorian houses have a bright, engaging front and a dark, foreboding back?

What buildings in The Summer of Haight still stand today?

Where did the hippies come from?

Would the hippies ever have existed without the Vietnam War?

Was Stevenson a hippie?

Places to Visit: The Counter History Museum at Haight and Ashbury; The Stevenson Museum in St. Helena, California; The Stevenson Museum in Monterey, California.

Would a real woman do what Maggie did?

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THE SUMMER OF HAIGHT

A San Francisco attorney becomes convinced his best friend will be murdered by a mysterious hippie out to inherit his wealth.

A HIPPIE NOIR:

What should an attorney do when, out of the blue, his best friend pressures him to draw up a will leaving his entire estate to a no-good hippie? A good-for-nothing hippie no one ever heard of. Investigate! That's what he should do. But his good friend not only rejects this advice but forces the attorney to make a solemn promise never to investigate the cryptic hippie beneficiary under any circumstances - not ever. The attorney finds this absurd. Could it be his friend is the victim of some kind of nefarious plot? The situation continues to deteriorate until the attorney doesn’t recognize his friend anymore. It’s as though some kind of evil spirit has invaded his body. He decides to break his promise and follow the rogue hippie on one of his nocturnal escapades into the Haight-Ashbury. The attorney, disturbed by what he witnessed in the Haight - and wanting to save his friend from himself - now becomes obsessed with a single purpose: to unmask the debauched hippie as a provocateur flirting with fraud, blackmail and (it becomes more conceivable by the day!) murder.

The Attorney - Mild-mannered, polite, pleasant to be around. But when he becomes convinced his best friend will be murdered by a mysterious hippie, he becomes obsessed with uncovering the hippie's true identity and intentions, throwing all caution and reason to the wind.

The attorney’s friend, a Medical Researcher - Sophisticated, erudite, sensitive and empathetic. But turns inexplicably angry and vindictive when he learns his attorney has betrayed his solemn promise not to investigate a certain hippie, the new sole benefactor of his will.

The Hippie - Brooding, mysterious, and dark. He wears colorful hippie garb, but unlike the carefree hippies, his clothing oddly seems to be tailer-made. He grins a lot, but you wonder if it’s because he’s about to lunge for your throat.

EDITORIAL REVIEWS

5 Stars - Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers' Favorite

“George Petersen brings readers a fascinating thriller with The Summer of Haight. It's the year 1967. Longfellow is one of the most respected attorneys in San Francisco. When his best friend, Jonathan, an internationally renowned psychiatric researcher, seeks his help in writing his will, Longfellow is taken aback by Jonathan's wish to leave all his assets to a stranger named Asmodeus Youngblood, whom Longfellow suspects of being a dangerous hippie. Jonathan forbids Longfellow from investigating Youngblood. However, Longfellow is convinced that Youngblood is somehow manipulating Jonathan and follows him throughout the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. As Jonathan becomes increasingly delusional, Longfellow seeks help from his friend, Maggie, a detective in the SFPD. Meanwhile, "flower girls" are being murdered by a crazed maniac all over the city. Can Longfellow rescue Jonathan from Youngblood's clutches?”

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. The plot is very well-paced, and the twists and turns keep you engaged all the way through. Every main character has an underlying layer of mystery to them that makes you want to know more. Petersen also infuses a bit of dark humor into the story. I particularly enjoyed Longfellow's inner monologues and his banter with Maggie. The climactic action scene toward the end will have readers biting their nails. On the whole, this was a very entertaining tale. Mystery readers are going to love this one!”