Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman

Quirk Books, 2021

ISBN-13: 9781683692157

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, Audible audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Whisper Down the Lane, a true-crime based horror novel inspired by the McMartin preschool trial and Satanic Panic of the 1980s, is the second book by Clay McLeod Chapman I have read and it just makes it clear that I should find more of his work.

This story is told from two points of view in two different time periods. Richard Bellamy is married to the woman of his dreams, has a chance to raise a family, is employed as an art teacher…and doesn’t have a past. One morning, the discovery of the body of a ritualistically murdered rabbit appears on the school playground with a birthday card for someone named Sean. Richard’s blood runs cold and he tries to track down the sender.

The date shifts from 2013 to 1983. Sean is a five-year-old boy who has moved to Virginia with his newly single mother. She’s worried about the typical adult things like coping with her new role as sole caregiver to her son, money, childcare, and putting food on the table, as well as the threat of something happening to Sean. After Sean’s school sends a letter to the parents revealing that his favorite teacher is under investigation, the child tells a little lie that turns into something much bigger, stirring paranoia and suspicion in the minds of the local community and eventually the nation. Allegations of child ritual abuse and Satanic murder capture the nation’s imagination and unleashes a witch hunt on an epic scale. Thirty years later, someone knows Richard’s secret, and wants him to pay dearly for his sin.

Paranoia is explored in several aspects. Early in the novel, Sean’s mother is a nervous single mother. Discussion of the large scale paranoia of the public is alluded to, and since the story is told from the perspective of a young child it would be realistic that it be told in this manner. Richard’s paranoia as an adult with the past rearing its ugly head in his direction is a significant representation of this theme. Interestingly, it is the adults in the story who experience the ever increasing paranoia of the world gone mad. Between the police, the therapist, and even his own mother at times, Sean ultimately tells the adults what they want to hear, what the pressure him into telling really. Sean, wanting to appease the grownups around him, makes a false accusation that he doesn’t realize has horrible effects for innocent people. Richard’s paranoia increases as his past catches up with him, effecting his family and employment.

The story is fast-paced and compelling, especially for readers interested in the disturbing period of US history that was the Satanic Panic. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker