A dark tale delivers sex, violence, and some unanswered questions.
A debut thriller stars an out-of-control writer.
Christopher Stone seems to have a pretty good life. His wife, Eva, to whom he has been married for seven years, is beautiful, and Christopher makes a living as a famous writer. But things soon take a turn for the worse. A man calling himself a preacher visits Christopher and tells the author that he is possessed. Christopher disagrees, yet after the preacher departs, he spots a horrific-looking creature in his own home. Later, after Eva reveals to Christopher that she is pregnant, this creature encourages Christopher to kill her. Eva survives the attack, though the couple’s marriage does not. Christopher proceeds to make some major life changes, such as decorating his home with pornographic images and engaging in violent sexual practices whenever the urge arises (and it arises frequently). To make matters worse, the women he sleeps with tend to end up murdered. Inspector Johann Erasmus is investigating the homicides. Erasmus speaks to a man named Rev. John, who informs him that a powerful demon capable of traveling between dimensions is likely the source of the crimes. Can anything be done to stop this demon? Steplewski’s narrative moves quickly from the get-go. No sooner is Christopher devouring a pound of raw meat than he is involved with a woman with a predilection for writing spells on the walls of her room. The sex acts tend to be as fierce as they are explicit (“He was going deeper and faster, slamming away until she began to sweat”), and the audience never knows just what sort of depravities will happen next. But with such a speedy pace, it can be difficult for readers to get a full grasp of the main players. Surely Christopher was not always bent on sadism and cruel to his wife. After all, they had been married for seven years. He certainly turns vile, but knowing more about who he used to be would have made his transformation all the more terrifying.
A dark tale delivers sex, violence, and some unanswered questions.Pub Date: June 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5255-3209-2
Page Count: 186
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.
After the events of Book of Night (2022), Charlie Hall is forced to hunt down the perpetrator of a terrible massacre.
Charlie Hall is the Hierophant: It’s her job to be tethered to a powerful, independent shadow—a “Blight”— and hunt down other Blights for the Cabals, the heads of their respective shadow-magic specialties. The Cabals use the difficult job of Hierophant as a punishment, but Charlie agreed to take it on so she could be the person tethered to Vince, aka Red, the Blight who posed as a human and ended up dating and falling in love with Charlie. The Cabal leaders used magic to steal the part of Red’s memory that contained his relationship with Charlie, and so Charlie is determined to steal Red’s memories back. And she needs to move fast, because if Red doesn’t remember loving her, he just might be OK with Charlie being killed if it means his own freedom. Meanwhile, Mr. Punch, a terrifying Cabal leader who specializes in using shadow magic to possess other people’s bodies, has a job for Charlie: He wants her to find the culprit behind a terrible massacre that was attributed to a cult. He suspects that the people were actually killed by a Blight, and he doesn’t want the Cabals to face the blowback if the truth becomes public. Mr. Punch could do terrible things to Charlie if she fails, but if she succeeds, he’ll help Charlie and Red be free of the Cabals for good. The sophomore novel in a series is always tough, but this sequel proves that the second book can be even better than the first. Black turns the screws on the magical world she set up in Book 1, creating complicated political motives between Charlie and the Cabal leaders and making the question of what it means for a shadow, like Red, to have their own consciousness more interesting. Veteran con artist Charlie makes some truly brilliant moves, especially toward the end, where the last few chapters have one terrific surprise after the other.
A smart and highly original work of modern fantasy.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781250812223
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Tor
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
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