murder-suicide | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Review: The Forgotten Dead (OutFoxing the Paranormal #1) by Jordan L. Hawk

The Forgotten Dead (OutFoxing the Paranormal #1) by Jordan L. Hawk

Independently published, 2022

ISBN-13: 979-8430224660

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook.

The Forgotten Dead takes place in an alternate timeline where parapsychologist J.B. Rhine successfully established an Institute of Parapsychology at Duke University.

Dr. Nigel Taylor desperately needs a grant to save his assistant professorship. Patricia Montague offers him the money on the condition that he convince the face of the ghost hunting web series OutFoxing the Paranormal, Oscar Fox, to explore the Matthews house, where a mass killing of the family took place, followed by the killer’s suicide. Nigel, a friend of young Mike Matthews encountered the killer after the murders but escaped. Montague believes Oscar is a medium and Nigel’s personal connection will stir up any ghosts.

Nigel hires Oscar to investigate the house. Without telling Oscar that he is observing him to see if he is a medium, or what happened in the house, he, Oscar, and the two other staff members for the show, Tina and Chris, head there. Unsettlingly, nothing has been moved or changed: even blood spatters from the murders are still there. Cold spots, bad feelings, and drained batteries suggest that something is very wrong.

It’s clear to Nigel that Oscar is a medium but Oscar denies it, afraid that admitting his visions would end up with him in an institution, but finally he has to face the truth. He, Nigel, Tina, and Chris decide they will try to clear the house of spirits: easier said than done when one is a killer.

This wasn’t as horror-themed as Hawk’s Widdershins books, but it has some inventive and terrifying moments (razor blades in the walls, yikes!) and touches on heavy issues, including mental illness, suicide, and grief. There’s also the beginnings of a romance between Nigel and Oscar. Hawk’s books are addictive for me and I look forward to the next book in the series.

In terms of representation, Nigel is a trans man, Chris is nonbinary, and Oscar is gay. Author Jordan Hawk is also trans, making this a great choice for the #TransRightsReadathon this week.

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Graphic Novel Review: Lot 13 by Steve Niles, art by Glenn Fabry

Lot 13 - Niles, Steve

Lot 13 by Steve Niles, art by Glenn Fabry

Dark Horse, 2023

ISBN: 9781506734484

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Buy: Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

The story opens in 1670, in Fairfax, Virginia. The bodies of the Wyatt family are on trial. The father, Robert, stands accused of murdering his family before committing suicide. The court ultimately finds him guilty of mortal sin and cast their bodies into unhallowed ground for eternity.

Time switches abruptly to the modern day. A married couple are finally ready to move into their dream home. Their three children aren’t as ready as their parents to leave their friends and apartment, but they will get used to the idea in time. The family load up into the moving van, and head to their new home in Fairfax. Unfortunately, when they arrive, the house isn’t ready to be occupied, and the cozy family has to find other accommodations. After an accident on the road, they come across an apartment building, where they are welcomed by an elderly man. When they start seeing things, the secrets of the mysterious building emerge, and they find themselves fighting for their lives.

The story is okay, but not great. It is good if you just need some gore. Some things don’t line up or even get addressed. For instance, when the family hits what appears to be a child in the middle of the road with the moving van, gore is all over the front of it and the road in one panel, and in the next it is gone. There is no viscera on the hood, no body parts littering the road. There is also no discussion over what just happened, just the son pointing at a random building nearby advertising apartments to rent for a night to a year. The family just appears to forget what they just saw. The incident is never spoken of afterward. Weird things happen in the building, and some of it is treated in a similar manner. It makes me wonder if the family often has mass hallucinations to make them just gloss over such things.

It took me a minute to remember the name Glenn Fabry. I admit I am really bad with names. As soon as it hit me, I knew the art was going to be intense. His covers for Preacher are incredible, and his art in general is fantastic. Fabry goes above and beyond with the amount of gore in this one. Highly recommended, more for the art that the story

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker