Author: William Massa
Some of you may remember my previous top 10 horror novels, and I have a particular fondness for the mystery genre. Mystery detective stories combine the classic charm of crime fiction with the subversive power of horror, and incorporate the energy of pulp fiction to create classic heroes who can stand up to the forces of darkness. The protagonists of these stories don’t just focus on ordinary people who are tortured by forces they don’t understand, but have special talents or knowledge that are willing to fight against the forces of evil. FBI agent Rosa Thorne is the latest mystery detective to emerge.
Alarmism Set around a creepy high concept: psychic members of a psychic community are being killed one by one, and Rosa Thorne (aka Lily Dale) must solve the cases and confront the supernatural evil that threatens the town. The story was originally adapted from a screenplay, and this 24,000-word novella unfolds at a frenetic, cinematic pace. I loved the energy of this writing; there are lots of short scenes and lots of cross-cutting, a dynamic style that works well for this type of writing. The story isn’t just a creepy tale, it’s also an origin story for the eponymous character, who was originally named Rosa Thorne but eventually took on the name of the psychic town and became Lily Dale (a great name for a series character, by the way).
My initial reservations were that Lily Dale was an interesting, awesome character, but I wasn’t quite sure what made her special and different from other FBI agents we’ve seen before. I shouldn’t have worried, as Mr. Lamberson prepared a deadly turn that took the character to another level and heightened anticipation for the adventure to come.
Gregory Lamberson is a three-time Bram Stoker Award finalist and cult filmmaker.Slime City) and published novelist, this is not his first foray into the mystery detective genre. He is an excellent Jack Herman Archives But as the series comes to an end, Lili Taylor seems like a worthy successor. Alarmism This is his first foray into self-publishing, but hopefully it won’t be his last – I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of Lily Dale yet!
Order Scaremonger right here.
Rating: 4/5
