This is the book that started it all.
In 2022, I went down a little rabbit hole of bookstagram or booktube and I had accumulated quite a few horror books in my collection but never read. Well, that all changed. And this is the first book that I started and finished in September and I wish I had made notes about this book because it was wild.
I would personally like to find more books from this author to see what other stories he has to tell and he’s not some popular author where I can easily find him. He comes off as one of those underrated or lost authors that if you luck finding them at a garage sale or HPB or even a thrift store, that makes your day.
But in case you come across this book in the wild, don’t hesitate to pick it up. We’re going to talk about 1988’s Spectre and um, minor spoilers beware? I don’t want to reveal too much this time!
This book reminds me a little bit of Stephen King’s IT which I’ll also review at some point on here but the overall feeling is the same. The feeling of hopelessness, tension and anxiety. We are following a soon to be retired police captain who is pulled into a “final” case that is unlike anything he had ever experienced and yes, a lot of it is supernatural. It’s one of those classic stories or cases of “if you didn’t see it with your own eyes” or experienced it first hand, it sounds unbelievable. And in this case, it really is. Rhodes, our police captain (I see him as more of a detective), is forced to acknowledge and uncover the truth behind some very brutal and gory murders that have been taking place and he wants to stop it. It’s just the force behind it all is way too strong for him.
What I enjoyed a lot about this book is that I had no expectations going into this and then being pleasantly surprised about the twists and turns the book took. Especially the last two or three chapters where I was reading them at the car dealership (our car was getting an oil change) and I wanted to scream out loud when I read the big “secret” and I think I short circuited haha. The family drama and secrets throughout the book feels like Greek mythology drama or Norse. It’s just so out of nowhere that I definitely remembered THAT much of it.
And also, the book is quite graphic. And I think that also reminds me of IT. The graphic nature of the kills and what has happened, that sticks with you and if you aren’t interested in the more gore/graphic nature of horror that is body horror, then I don’t think this would be the best choice. It is a supernatural book, it is a mystery thriller, dark fantasy, but at its true core, pure horror. And nobody is safe in this book and that was also surprising. Just like IT, there are teenagers involved and that brutality doesn’t skip over them and it makes the investigation and the truth more sad. I was sad when certain characters were killed and I was not expecting them to and that’s very risky and bold.
I just experienced that in IT and I’m still mentally messed up.
If there are any tropes to take note of, just the usual… graveyard snooping, if a child says they saw something, please listen to them and if you know your supernatural or paranormal lore, you will go through a phase of trying to figure out who or WHAT the “shadow slayer” is and it pays off when you figure it out! And it is dated cheese and corniness at times but I like that.
I never did a book page for it (I really should and I will) or gave it a rating like I did for the other books after so if I had to… maybe a 3.5 or 3.75, I had fun with it overall! I can see others ratings for it being at a 5 or at a 3, where it is average enough but if you don’t have ANY
Shots of Horror 
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