LIES BEHIND THE WOODS

A chance encounter during a noon jog sets in motion a plot that is increasingly bizarre and bleak.

Two miles and 16 minutes into his jog on his 25th birthday, Steve Breiten is almost run down by a careening pickup truck. As it passes, he believes he sees the driver restraining a screaming woman. But he waits a week before reporting it to police. Imagine his surprise when, several years later, Tara, the woman from the truck, shows up at his office. She had, in fact, been abducted and, according to her, subjected to unspeakable acts by “some nut job.” But now she has come to say thanks and show her enthusiastic gratitude. “You did асt, and it ѕаvеd my lifе!” she explains. “OK, mауbе it wаѕ lаtе, but I’m аlivе nоw.” She asks to stay the night with him. Steve asks himself, “What does she really want?” and begins to suspect that something is not right with this woman. Ain’t that the truth, but any further synopsizing would come under the heading of major spoilers. To Cornish’s (Dark Obscurity, 2019) credit, the ensuing jaw-dropping revelations could scarcely be anticipated. Things get loopier and loopier until the gut punch of a climax sets up a sequel. The reader is asked to swallow a lot in this dark ride of a book. All characters carry heavy baggage—parental abandonment, physical abuse, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. Cornish is also prone to dropping OMG moments without proper exposition, like when Steve tries his best not to succumb to Tara’s seductive advances. “Lеt’ѕ put аѕidе thаt I’ve hаd ѕеx with уоur mother,” he protests. Wait, what? (It’s explained a few pages later). One sex scene gets tangled in mixed metaphors (“He knew she wanted to dance....Thоѕе luscious fаrm-bred apples…now ѕрrеаd оut fоr him likе a banquet, he just hаd tо ѕtор and ѕаvоr her sweet cherries”). A more vigilant editor would have trimmed repetitive sentences and misspellings.

A creep show that earns points for sheer bat-guano craziness.