em>Glimpse by Jonathan Maberry

St. Martin’s Press, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1250065261

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

Fans hoping to find the swashbuckling heroics of Jonathan Maberry’s  Joe Ledger novels or the zombified madness of the Rot and Ruin series will be in for a big surprise with Glimpse. Maberry has penned a decidedly different book here, a thriller in the style of  The Twilight Zone, that skates on the edges of reality and stretches the imagination, while remaining a very human story.

Rain Thomas is a damaged woman suffering from PTSD.  A decade ago, at age 16, she gave up her baby boy for adoption. The decision sent her spiraling downward and developing a drug addiction. She regularly goes to Narcotics Anonymous and is trying to turn her life around. Then, on her way to a job interview, a strange old woman sits next to her on the train and hands her a pair of glasses with a crack in the lens.  When she looks through the glasses,  Rain sees things that aren’t really there. Rain arrives at the interview and discovers she missed it–  by an entire day.

A little boy that Rain sees when she puts the glasses on spurs her into a wild adventure that turns her already off-kilter life upside down. She keeps experiencing the menacing Doctor Nine in visions that may or may not be real: he’s a character that sidesteps the usual stereotypes in favor of something deeper and much more interesting.  Rain discovers that Doctor Nine and his minions steal time and life from his victims, those who are the walking wounded. Her compatriots at Narcotics Anonymous, an odd but entertaining group of characters, become involved in Rain’s adventure, sharing her visions and dangers as she struggles to hang on to her dwindling sanity. Adding to the strange brew of characters are Stick, a taxi driver, and Monk, a private investigator, both of whom have their own demons to battle.

Glimpse burns slowly at the start, but once the plot and characters begin to spark, it blazes to the end. Definitely a different turn for Maberry, but a strong effort, and a wild, hallucinogenic ride for his readers.

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Editor’s note: Glimpse is a nominee for the 2018 Bram Stoker Award in the category of Superior Achievement in a Novel.