Monday, June 18, 2012

Mirrors of Anguish – R. P. Kraul


Publisher:  Immortal Ink Publishing
Pages:  290
Source: Review Copy form the author
Genre:   Adult, Literary Horror

From Goodreads:
Young reporter Jill Duport returns to Belcorte, Pennsylvania, intending to sell the Victorian house that once belonged to her grandparents—the house where her grandfather allegedly mutilated and murdered a teenage girl. The house where he committed suicide.

The mystery surrounding the murder-suicide traps Jill in this small town in the Pocono Mountains. Knowing her grandfather was thought of as a serial killer by some is not enough for Jill. She wants to know why, twenty years after his death, the murders have continued.

What was her grandfather’s connection to the sadistic madman known as the Indianhead Reservoir Killer?

As Jill unravels the mystery of her grandfather, she draws herself closer to the killer, who has waited for decades to unleash his vengeance on Belcorte. His female victims are vessels for his feral children, and when Jill unknowingly enters his furtive lair, he decides to put in motion his sadistic plan to destroy the town.

My Thoughts:
If you were to look at the labels for my books  on Goodreads, you would find that I’ve read very little horror.  This is not because I don’t like horror.  It is because there is very little horror that I find to be good, and actually finish. I grew up on a farm in Indiana.  We lived in the 100+ year old farmhouse that had been my great-grandmother’s before she passed away.  It was a house that she claimed was haunted.  I grew up in that old house watching horror shows.  You know the ones that had you screaming at the character to do something, or not do something and they did THEIR OWN thing which always caused a problem.  That is what this type of book is like.  Classic Horror.  This it the type of book anyone who LOVES horror will want to read.  It transported me back to those late Friday or Saturday nights when I would sit up alone watching those shows that would scare me so much I wouldn’t want to leave my chair to go to bed.  That is what this book did for me, and yes I read it at night.   The author sets the tone for the book from the very beginning with his description of Belacort, Pennsylvania.  The town felt so real that I actually googled it to see if it existed.  His description of the town sets you on edge and keeps you there.  The characters are believable.  You have real people who have real problems that you can identify with.  Some you will love and some you will love to hate.  They are fleshed out in such a way that you can’t help it.  For me I will always choose a character driven plot because if the characters are not believable, then no matter what happens to them it makes the writing seem unbelievable.  Kraul has managed to find that delicate balance.

The horror in this book is the type that messes with your mind.  It is not your typical “slasher” type of horror. This is worse.  This is the type that will creep you out to the point you will be afraid to close the book, and afraid to continue reading.  So you want something creepy for a change?  Get this book.  It is just thing to fill that horror void in your reading.

No comments:

Post a Comment