The Fear by Rae Louise

Black Rose Writing, 2017

ISBN: 9781612968186

Available: print, ebook

After an accidental fire caused by her mother engulfs Mia’s home. Mia inherits her recently deceased uncle’s house. Mia’s mother is struggling with the frustrations and limitations of early onset Alzheimer’s, while Mia is still dealing with her divorce, taking care of her daughter, Louise, and semi-raising her younger, troubled, sister Jamie. Their dog starts acting up shortly after they move in, and Louise begins to exhibit disturbing behavior, and talks about the shadow man. Mia’s nightmares are just beginning; she just doesn’t know it yet.

The Fear is a fast-paced read. It grabs the reader quickly and forcefully, much like the demonic entity that is taking hold of Mia and her family. Nearly everyone who steps over the threshold of the property experiences loss, pain, death, or worse. The entity feeds on the fears of its victims, starting slowly, using dreams and visions until the characters experience sheer terror. That fear gives it the strength to grow stronger and manifest physically. The weaker the mental state of the character, the stronger the demon grows. This is especially true of the characters that are confronting their personal traumas and, as a result, are in a weakened state psychologically and emotionally. I’m loath to go into too much detail here, as it would result in massive spoilers.

That being said, I do feel I have to mention a few things that I found to be uncomfortable about the content. I have a hard time reading stories where sexual assault and rape are used as a means of driving story conflict. Such a thing happens to Jamie, the minor in this novel, when she is attacked by the demonic force in the house. Second, there is language referring to a character with exceptionalities that some readers may find offensive. Finally, the family dog meets an extremely violent demise at the hands of a character that is experiencing a demonic attack. Recommended, but with extreme reservations for more sensitive readers.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Contains: gore, rape, violence against animals