A memorable collection of provocative horror.
A lengthy set of stories that explore many facets of fear and human wickedness.
Retired police officer–turned–horror novelist Jefferson continues to explore how evil infiltrates the lives of his predominantly Black characters in this new collection of arresting stories. In the harrowing opening tale, “Stimulated by Evil,” a trio of burglars stake out the mansion of a wealthy vacationing couple, but after they rob the house of its priciest items, a grisly comeuppance awaits them. Other tales are equally as menacing and come spring-loaded with surprising twists, as in one about a desperate ploy by a wife to save her marriage from infidelity or another about two siblings and their dying father who abandoned them. Each story packs a punch, but one of the most intense is “Consumed by Evil,” which features a physician with a uniquely abrasive bedside manner—he smokes while he treats patients, spews racial diatribes, has a stocked liquor cabinet in his office, and delivers tough-love diagnoses to a series of bewildered patients. Revenge, vigilante justice, and the agony of betrayal are also key themes. Jefferson’s tales are reminiscent of episodes of The Twilight Zone in which everyday people face unspeakable horrors or grim challenges—often without the satisfaction of a happy ending. As in the author’s past Touched by Evil collections, the stories don’t skimp on explicit sex, gore, or expletives, and, as such, sensitive readers may want to proceed with caution. There are also occasional awkward passages, including unnatural dialogue (“Now that we have reconnected, let me tell you why it was so urgent for me to find you”) and a lack of clarity in some sections. These quibbles, however, shouldn’t deter devoted genre fans who will appreciate these addictive, frightening works.
A memorable collection of provocative horror.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1662911781
Page Count: 522
Publisher: E. L. Books
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
As an adjunct member says, “You’re not a family, you’re a force.” Exactly, though not in the way you’d expect.
The ne’er-do-well son of a successful Irish American family gets dragged into criminal complications that suggest the rest of the Devlins aren’t exactly the upstanding citizens they appear.
The first 35 years in the life of Thomas “TJ” Devlin have been one disappointment after another to his parents, lawyers who founded a prosperous insurance and reinsurance firm, and his more successful siblings, John and Gabby. A longtime alcoholic who’s been unemployable ever since he did time for an incident involving his ex-girlfriend Carrie’s then 2-year-old daughter, TJ is nominally an investigator for Devlin & Devlin, but everyone knows the post is a sinecure. Things change dramatically when golden-boy John tells TJ that he just killed Neil Lemaire, an accountant for D&D client Runstan Electronics. Their speedy return to the murder scene reveals no corpse, so the brothers breathe easier—until Lemaire turns up shot to death in his car. John’s way of avoiding anything that might jeopardize his status as heir apparent to D&D is to throw TJ under the bus, blaming him for everything John himself has done and adding that you can’t trust anything his brother has said since he’s fallen off the wagon. TJ, who’s maintained his sobriety a day at a time for nearly two years, feels outraged, but neither the police investigating the murder nor his nearest and dearest care about his feelings. Forget the forgettable mystery, whose solution will leave you shrugging instead of gasping, and focus on the circular firing squad of the Devlins, and you’ll have a much better time than TJ.
As an adjunct member says, “You’re not a family, you’re a force.” Exactly, though not in the way you’d expect.Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780525539704
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
A tale that’s hard to believe but easy to swallow in a single gulp.
A bear is hunting prey in Wyoming’s Bighorns. And not just any bear.
It’s bad enough that Clay Hutmacher, who manages the Double Diamond Ranch, has lost his son, Clay Jr., to a vicious attack by a grizzly bear. What’s much worse is that Clay Jr.—who’d been about to pop the question to game warden Joe Pickett’s daughter, Sheridan—is only the first of the victims over an exceptionally broad geographical area. Marshal Marvin Bertignolli is clawed and bitten to death over in Hanna. Sgt. Ryan Winner is found bleeding out north of Rawlins. Former Twelve Sleep County prosecutor Dulcie Schalk, one of two survivors of an ambush, doesn’t survive her final encounter. The four experts chosen to kill the grizzly rope Joe into their expedition, but since their quarry keeps turning up far from the last sighting, the most meaningful confrontation the Predator Attack Team has is with a pair of Mama Bears, animal rights activists who demand due process for Tisiphone, as they’ve dubbed the presumed killer. Box, who’s far too canny to leave Tisiphone alone on center stage, follows Joe’s old antagonist Dallas Cates as the ex–rodeo star is released from prison and embarks on his revenge tour, which takes him to Lee Ogburn-Russell, an inventor whose life Dallas saved, and Axel Soledad, a correspondent who shares so many enemies with Dallas that he suggests they go after them together. Franchise fans will appreciate new details about Joe’s complicated family, the obligatory high-country landscapes, and yet another corrupt law enforcer.
A tale that’s hard to believe but easy to swallow in a single gulp.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780593331347
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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