I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Exorcist Road by Jonathan Janz
Pages: 134
Published by Samhain
Publication Date September 2, 2014
Source: Author
Genres: Horror
Goodreads
"Possessed by a demon...or by the urge to kill?"
Chicago is gripped by terror. The Sweet Sixteen Killer is brutally murdering sixteen-year-old girls, and the authorities are baffled.
A seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy has attacked his entire family and had to be chained to his bed. His uncle, police officer Danny Hartman, is convinced his nephew is possessed by a demon. Danny has sent his partner, Jack, to fetch the only priest in Chicago who has ever performed an exorcism.
But Jack has other plans tonight. He believes the boy isn t possessed by a demon, but instead by an insatiable homicidal urge. Jack believes the boy is the Sweet Sixteen Killer. And he aims to end the reign of terror before another girl dies."
When one thinks of ‘exorcist’ Reagan, split pea soup and spinning heads come to mind. William Peter Blatty taught us all we need to know about exorcisms, what is so radically new and inventive about Exorcist Road? Casey’s exorcism is not the main focus here. It is a game of “Guess Who” to discover the identity of the Sweet Sixteen Killer.
Exorcist Road does not fiddle around and cuts right to the chase. I don’t like dawdling plots so this was a bonus but by the same token I didn’t feel like I got to “know” the characters before staircases went to pieces and levitation ensued. Instead I got hectic descriptions. There was so much to process to begin with I didn’t feel a complete picture and was quickly warped into Lincoln Park’s nightmare. The cast of characters were all leering and each with an underlining motive to kill. Thus the question of the true murderer was kept at a guess until the end.
The conclusion had a Frailty vibe to it. An eerie ending with the true culprit evading capture, and as Norman Bates says “it has a creepy smell.”
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