Rob E. Boley

The premise of this book hooked me very early on. The main character Carrie's POV of being possessed, what the ghosts were using her for, her sense of helplessness and fear - all of it is frightening and interesting. I haven't read a lot of books where the perspective is that of the person being possessed, so I found it to be pretty engaging. There were other ideas/situations that I also liked: the ghosts completely wrecking Carrie's life so that even when she is free of them she still has very real problems to deal with; the presence of other friendlier spirits, and the ways in which they can and can't interact with the world; sometimes even Daniel, and the dark humor they share together. There's definitely a lot to like here and some neat ideas. I also thought the writing was very good for the most part. Unfortunately, the aspects I enjoyed were burdened by several things I didn't care for.

I get the ghosts are using Carrie to fulfil their bodily desires, but the amount of sex and bodily fluids made me a little uncomfortable. Especially considering Carrie's helplessness in all of it, it just comes across as icky (and not in a good way). There's a lot of abuse, in many forms, to the female body and I wasn't crazy about it. And this may sound wrong after saying all that, but I didn't really connect at all with Carrie. I certainly sympathized with all the horrible things happening to her, but apart from that the other aspects of her life and personality felt flat. I certainly don't understand her relationship with Daniel, and the mystery element thrown in at the very end was a little strange.… (altro)

I've long thought that the novella is the perfect delivery device for a horror story. Short enough that every word has to count and long enough to fill out all the characters. Somewhere in the last third of this, I lost my way.

It's difficult to say much because I don't want to spoil anything. We join Carrie in the middle of things and the story goes back at a certain point and fills us in. You and she both are in for a ride! Everything is moving quickly and the reader is almost dazed with Carrie's frenetic schedule. Later on, when the reader is more well informed, we join up with Cassie again as she searches for answers. In between, we learn she had a small group of friends, which included a gay couple. She liked to run. She liked to cook. I learned these things...but it didn't make me care more for her.

I was on board with this story all the way up to the last third or so and then things became a bit muddled for me. It was difficult to picture in my head what was being described and when that happens it interrupts and takes my mind out of the story. I also felt that the denouement was a bit disappointing...which I know is very general, but...spoilers.

I'm aware of some buzzing going on regarding this book but I can only speak for myself. The Body Will Follow is full of promiscuity, violence, rape, S & M, STDs, and more. If you are triggered by these things, you should call a hard pass. I started reading horror in the late 70's or so, and at that time, a lot of horror books contained all those things plus some. That's not to say the attitudes toward woman, homosexuals etc... was right, but it's what it was and it's what I grew up with. The first 2/3 of this novel felt exactly like that to me, and that inspired a...longing for those times when I just discovered what horror could do. Bravo to Mr. Boley for bringing me back there.

My rating here and now is how I felt about the book, which is what it's supposed to be. I enjoyed the prose and the pacing, for what it was and for how it swept me along, but I lost my way somewhere in that last third and it just didn't work. Your mileage may vary.

I'm willing to check out Mr. Boley's other work in the future because for the most part, I did enjoy his style of writing.

Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/37mMiBB

* Source: I bought this ebook with my hard earned cash.*… (altro)