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Book Review: Olivia: The Sequel to Doll House by John Hunt

Olivia: The Sequel to Doll House by John Hunt

Black Rose Writing, 2022 (to be released October 27)

ISBN: 9781685130473

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

 

If the first book in the series, Doll House, was a sleek sports car purring down the highway at an acceptable rate over the speed limit, then Olivia is a smoke belching, fire breathing locomotive roaring down the tracks that flattens anything in the way.  This book will run you over.  When you read it, block off enough time to read 200 pages in a sitting.  Once you start, you won’t want to stop.  

 

As in Doll House, the book features an extremely patient and methodical killer, but this one preys on the hikers of remote trails, abducting and then killing them.  A young lady named Bibi is the first to escape him, but five years later she is still an emotional mess.  Detective Davis, who worked on the Doll House investigation, introduces Bibi to Olivia, the heroine of the first book, in hopes they might be able to bond and bandage each other’s mental scars.  However, it also causes them to be drawn into the investigation of the ‘hiker killer’  It then becomes a question of stopping the killer, and whether Bibi and Olivia can ever live what passes for normal lives.

 

Doll House was good, but this is that rare time when the sequel betters the original, in every possible way. The story structure is one example. Doll House was narrative heavy, and more dialogue would have improved it.  With Olivia, the author does exactly that. The book is a perfectly balanced blend, and it makes the characters much more real, real enough you will react to them.  You’ll scream in anger at some parts, and possibly shed a tear or two at times, especially if you love animals.  That’s a mark of outstanding writing when you react as the characters do.

 

The author also did a better job on the police investigative material this time: he clearly did a lot of research.  It’s more detailed, but not overwhelming, and shows how the legal system can be exploited by the wrong people.  Olivia also nicely builds the elements of chance and randomness into the investigation.  In the book, as in real life, it can be the smallest things that trip a killer up.  You simply can’t account in your murder plans for nosy neighbors, or where someone decides to take a leak in the woods.

 

Finally, the scare factor is higher in this book, for two reasons.  One, it’s written better than the original.  Two, the plot is all too plausible, and it has happened. Australia’s ‘Backpack Killer,’ Ivan Milat, springs to mind. That’s why books like this can horrify: they remind us that the worst monsters do not merely exist in our imagination, they often live right next door to us.  Hunt understands that, and writes some truly chilling scenes.  The killer in the book knows how to prey on people’s worst fears, and it will prey on the reader as well.  

 

Bottom line: this is horror writing of the highest caliber. Read Doll House first, then be sure to get this one when it is published.  This is mandatory reading for horror fans: you won’t be disappointed.  It’s enough to keep hikers who read it out of the woods for a good, long time. Highly recommended, and then some.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on September 28, 2022 by , Reply

Book Review: One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson

One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson

Thomas & Moore, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1542042116

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, audio CD

 

I will preface this by saying that although this was sent to us for review, it is not a horror novel, but if you enjoy a suspenseful thrill ride, this is a great choice, so read on to see if it’s for you.

Alex Traynor, a war photographer with a strong case of PTSD and a past of drug addiction, comes home one night to discover a note from his fiancee, Emily Teare, that she is leaving him, and not to look for her. Sheryn Sterling is a cop obsessed with finding evidence to tie Alex to what she believes is the murder of Cori Stanton, who either jumped or fell from the roof of Alex’s apartment building. Alex, in a drug-induced stupor at the time, claims not to remember the events of that night, but Sheryn is certain that Emily, who saw what happened, was lying to protect him. When one of Emily’s coworkers calls to report her as missing, Sheryn is certain that Alex has finally decided to get rid of the only witness to Cori’s murder.

The story is written from multiple points of view: Alex’s, Emily’s, the building superintendent’s, and Sheryn’s. Alex’s memories and perceptions are unreliable, due to his previous history with drugs and his PTSD blackouts (and it also becomes clear that Emily was hiding things from him); the building superintendent is hiding something from the police; Sheryn’s background and investment in taking Alex down color her view of events; and Emily’s disorientation and isolation makes it impossible to figure out where she is or what’s actually happening, and why.  Her scenes, though brief, are chilling.

So much of the story is buried or left to guesswork that there is room for a lot more development here. Sheryn has a family, adding dimension and balance to her character, and there’s a lot there to work with as the reader encounters her interactions with both her past and current partners and her own self-reflection. Alex and Emily are grappling with issues that are currently relevant to today’s world, such as PTSD, war, the refugee crisis in the Middle East, the opiate issue in this country, and the true meaning of family. It does bother me that the ending is so pat. Real life is not a puzzle that can be resolved so easily. This is really a police procedural and thriller, not horror, but it’s definitely an easy read, and a compelling one.  At 350 pages, the plot moves along quickly, but I think it’s at the expense of deeper character development. What the reader values more is, of course, up to individual taste. I do hope this is the first in a series and that we get to see Sheryn’s character developed further, but for readers who enjoy police procedurals, One Small Sacrifice is a great way to spend a lazy summer day.  Recommended.

Contains: violence

 

Posted on June 27, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: I Am the River by T.E. Grau

I Am the River by T.E. Grau

Lethe Press, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-59021-445-9

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

If there are such things as literary horror novels’ I Am the River would be the poster child.  This is the equivalent of a 70’s era acid trip washed down with a fistful of amphetamines.  It’s a dizzying trip through the reality (and unreality)  of one man’s mind and actions, as he struggles to deal with his shattered life, post-Vietnam.  Written with exceptional skill, I Am the River is a novel the reader won’t want to miss.

The story centers around Israel Broussard, an American GI who suffers with a severe case of PTSD, as he drifts though life in the slums of Bangkok, five years after the war’s ending.  The story runs two threads concurrently throughout the book, and the chapters are split along the threads.  One thread is written in the first person from Broussard’s point of view, and shows him trying to make sense of his reality in the seamy underbelly of Thailand.   He is clearly unbalanced and has severe mental problems, but he can’t remember what happened to him in the war that left him so unstable.  The author’s skill is on full display here, as he moves between using full sentences/paragraphs, to using short, jagged sentences when he describes the thoughts running through Broussard’s head.  It does an excellent job of making the reader feel the madness Broussard is suffering from, as it comes at you in quick snippets, much like the thoughts in his head. The other thread is written in the third person, and tells Broussard’s story during the war.  He was a disgraced GI who was hand-selected for an off-the-books mission, and he had no idea why he was picked, or what the mission was.  It then builds towards the objective itself, and how it is supposed to end the war.

Some of the highlights include the expositions by some of the characters concerning what winning a war actually entails, and how to “win” it without firing a shot.  I Am the River is very well thought out: it is written so well that you might find yourself questioning your own ideas about what a war is, and what winning actually means.  Other characters help to lend more to the overall discussion in this section.  The reader will get hooked quickly here, as you’ll want to know more about the mission and the nefarious idea behind it.

The author wisely does not give away the reasons behind either plot thread at the beginning.  It is like reading two stories at once: both build in excitement at roughly the same level, and each hits its climax within a chapter of the other at the end.  Both threads tie their plots together for the last chapter, and the reader gets a beautiful, open, ending that does not completely resolve the story, but does leave a note of hope for the future.  It also leaves a setting tailor-made for another book in the story of Israel Broussard, as most readers will be clamoring for more.

As good as everything concerning the plot is, it’s Grau’s skill as a writer that makes this book so impressive.  His prose is fluid and extremely polished, and shows a skill that many authors can only hope to achieve.  It’s hard to believe this is his first novel, as he writes like a seasoned veteran.  As an example: describing a helicopter landing, he writes, “the choppers shed altitude fast, handing it off to the slow rising sun as an even trade with the break of dawn over the eastern mountain range.” The whole book is written with this type of skill, and it’s impressive to behold.  The bottom line is, you want to read this one.  Highly recommended.

Contains: violence, mild gore.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

 

Editor’s note: I Am the River is a nominee on the final ballot for the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel.

 

Posted on May 6, 2019 by , Reply
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