When I was asked to read this book I was not sure from the description whether it was some sort of supernatural horror or psychological. I'm game for either one, and always happy to hear from new authors so here we are.

I did enjoy much of this dark and chilling tale and as a life long horror fan I am willing to engage in a suspension of disbelief. However I prefer to limit that to ghosts and ghouls and all manner of otherworldly beings. If a story includes legal or hospital procedure I prefer it to be accurate. I will give a made up example which is similar to something in the book but not an actual happening so as not to spoil anything.

Suppose someone stole your jewelry and you describe the thief to the police. Suppose from your description they know who this thief is, and they get a warrant and go their home where they find your jewelry and arrest the thief. Then they find out that you had some sort of previous mental problem. The thief does not get to walk free because of your past, but in a similar scene they do in this book. Yes I know criminals get off on all sorts of technicalities but this is not one of them and a little research should have been done.

It also bothered me that there was more than one mention of "doing the psychological procedure" but not what this procedure supposedly was. Again if you are bringing what is meant to be a realistic subject matter into the plot research it a bit. These were not the only instances but I don't intend to pick it all apart and certainly do not want to discourage a new author.

This was, at it's heart the story of a man who would do anything to protect his family even if it cost him his own life. It was quite original and very creative. Within the first few pages there is a horrific occurrence that hooked me immediately so I would say the author recognizes the importance of grabbing a reader's attention.

I'm going to give this a 3 out of 5 stars because I did like it even if I didn't love it.

I received an advance copy for review. ( )

The blatant heavy-handed psych stuff always bores me and that is what happened here. In this novel, I got bored quickly. I just wanted it over already. Yes, that makes me sad because that is obviously not something an author ever wants to hear. But, consider… after I figure out it is not reality, what is left to keep me reading? Such is the gamble with this strategy. Overall, not a book for my tastes and aptitude. However, I recognize a lot of readers really enjoyed this. I think it was a heavy lift for a young author. Would I read this author again? Yes, but not everything he writes. ( )