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Book Review: Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1) by Jason Parent

cover art for Seeing Evil by Jason Parent

Seeing Evil (Cycle of Evil #1) by Jason Parent

Red Adept Publishing, 2015

ISBN-13 : 978-1940215495

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

Human monsters are the worst, so a father who has been abusing his daughter for years and is also a serial killer responsible for his wife’s death has to be one of the sickest incarnations of evil possible. The amount of sheer, utterly realistic terror in Seeing Evil by Jason Parent quickly builds up an intensity that begins in the first pages of the book and doesn’t end until the final scene.

 

The main character in this novel of pain, suffering, and derangement is Michaek, a boy who discovers that if he has even the briefest physical contact with a person who is about to encounter evil, he will actually be transported into that very future nightmare scenario and must watch it unfold. Michael’s first supernatural experience occurs as a result of a school bullying incident, but he is forced to continue having these revelations, up close and personal, when he learns the secrets of another student, the serial killer’s daughter, and becomes involved in a race against time to save her from a terrible fate.

 

The plot and characters are riveting. With just the right details and compelling psychological profiles, the anxiety-filled daily life of traumatized individuals is closely examined. The manner in which the threat of constant danger, the reality of physical and psychological abuse, and the ceaseless sense of impending doom plays out in the victims’ lives is insightfully articulated and seamlessly connected to the dramatic police investigation. That part of the story is also engrossing because it makes clear how evil can go unchecked for far too long when the diabolical power of a killer successfully paralyzes ordinary people with fear. It also calls attention to the role of the “intuitives” who work on real criminal cases and how much it might be possible for these people to “see” as well as how the nature of their work affects them.

 

Unfortunately, we live in a world in which children are bullied, abused, and murdered.  Seeing Evil is about more than observing that evil; it is about hearing it, feeling it, and, most of all, about getting close enough to touch it. Parent makes this possible with a gripping narrative that provides that most potent of page  turners, the dread of what might come next.  Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Nova Hadley

 

 

Posted on April 25, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Doll Crimes by Karen Runge

Doll Crimes by Karen Runge.

Crystal Lake Publishing. 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1646693146

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

 

Karen Runge is a force that will leave a scar on the genre. Jack Ketchum mentored her, and those influences are felt within the novel, but she’s her own writer and has a style that’s nobody else’s but her own. Doll Crimes is more of a nod to Elizabeth Massie’s Wire Mesh Mothers; it’s the horror novel Gillian Flynn should have penned.

Doll Crimes  examines the human soul: the good, the bad, and the downright evil.  It’s written in a manner that digs so deep that readers will have a tough time forgetting the characters, long after the final page is turned. Yes, it might disturb some, but only in the way a good horror novel should.

Runge opens the novel with a mother and her daughter on the run. From what, or who, we have no idea, but they’re moving in a direction that appears dangerous and devolving. The daughter is the main character; her mother is a mere fifteen years older than her, which makes for a relationship dynamic that is closer to sisters or close friends than a maternal bond.

The two travel from town to town, scamming people for food, shelter, money and more, but are aiming higher. They seek something permanent, even if they’re not quite sure what that entails. They shack up with a pair of interesting characters at different places in the story. One may be helpful to the girl, or simply another shadow with varying degrees of darkness. The other, a drug dealer, just might be a bit more stable than the mother.

More details regarding the plot would spoil the emotional heft of the book but please give this one a shot. The gut punch, the visceral impact Runge inflicts upon the reader, is a tough one, but there’s a strong reason to wade through the razor-tinged gauntlet of the travels of these two broken characters: the writing.

Doll Crimes should turn out to be one of the strongest efforts of 2019, and a portent of things to come from Karen Runge, through her ability to wrench the emotion from the everyday pain characters navigate. She knows this pain. She’ll also likely know success if there’s any justice left in this twisted society.

The loss of one’s innocence is key here, and made much more powerful by the fact that the character believes it to be what families do. Recommended.

 

Contains: child abuse

Reviewed by David Simms

 

Posted on March 5, 2020 by , Reply

Book Review: Hellbender by Josh Craven

Hellbender by Josh Craven

Raygun Books, 2019

ISBN-13: 9781951494018

Available:  Paperback

It is the summer of 1946. Veterans are returning from the War. Bobby Graywood loves baseball, his job as batboy for the local team the Green Sox, and Addie Vogel, even though she doesn’t know it. He’s an ordinary, awkward teenager, other than his Affliction. Whenever he makes skin-to-skin contact with anyone, he experiences their memories, past or future. As a result, he wears his gloves as often as he can to avoid touching anyone. One fateful day, the new pastor in town, Newton Hellbender, asks that he helps with the laying on of hands, complete with speaking in tongues. He requests that Bobby remove his gloves to better aid in the blessing. He does so reluctantly, and accidentally makes contact with an elderly woman whose memory reveals Hellbender’s true nature. Suffice it to say he is not the Servant of the Lord he purports to be. There is plenty of voodoo, small town politics, intrigue, and baseball games that drive this story to its end.

I do need to make potential readers aware of sensitive topics that require a content warning. This also requires a spoiler warning, as some of this will give key parts of the plot away. Randall Goode, Hellbender’s assistant, is a child molester. We see this through Bobby’s Affliction, which is disturbing on multiple levels. Bobby experiences all of the things in his visions as the person he touches. In one case, he is inside Randall’s mind as he is violating a young boy. I very nearly stopped reading at this point. I had to put it away for a few days before I could pick it up again. Later, Bobby almost falls victim to this abhorrent character. Racism is another sensitive topic regarding Jubal Moss, a Cajun veteran who makes the Green Sox roster. Jubal speaks with a Louisiana Creole dialect, and faces bigots on and off the baseball team. I became frustrated when he, the central Black character, is killed by Hellbender. Another victim of rape in the story is Bobby’s unrequited love, Addie. We do not see her rape occur, but it is implied.

All that being said, it is not a bad story. It is fast-paced, and there is so much going on that keeps the reader interested. However, be warned if you pick this up.

Contains: body horror, child molestation, racial slurs, racism, rape

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on November 17, 2019 by , Reply
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