As a lover of good horror novels, I read as many as I can get my hands on. However, I’m not the world’s fastest reader so I’m not going to sit hear claiming to have read all that many. Yet, being someone who takes a while to really read and absorb a book, I believe I tend to treasure them that much more - especially the particularly well-written novels.

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum more than deserves to be called a well-written novel. It’s told interestingly, but even more than that it boasts a tremendously disturbing story that’s both captivating and well, sickeningly wrong. If you’re the type of reader who can handle seeing terrible things written out in sharp detail then you’ll be able to handle this book. If you prefer your monsters to be more of the larger than life movie style like Wishmaster (which glittersoul reviewed and you can read by clicking HERE) or maybe even Jason, then you might find this novel a bit heavy.

The first thing I’d like to point out is that one of the reasons I take a bit longer to read a book is because I read every single bit of it, from the introduction right on down to the author bio at the end. If you get the version of The Girl Next Door that I read then you’ll be treated to an introduction with Stephen King.

DO NOT READ THIS FIRST.

I believe Mr. King’s assuming that you’ve already read the book beforehand because he tosses out some spoilers in there. Just chug along into the opening chapters and you won’t get the story blown for you. I’m going to make sure I don’t blow it either in this article.

The Girl Next Door’s setting is the sunny smiley 1950’s America we’ve all seen in the black and white TV shows of old. David, our narrator, spends his days doing typical things that boys with waxed flat tops used to do back in the day - hunting for crawdads and all that. He lives in a down-homesy ™ neighborhood in a small town where the major troubles are local alcoholics and maybe joyriding teenagers. Yep, we’re in Mayberry!

The beauty of the book, though, lies in the fact that Ketchum’s willing to lift up that pretty small town rock and look at the nasty creatures wriggling around in the darkness. We meet Meg, a girl who’s come to live with her dear old aunt Ruth with her little sister Susan. Meg and Susan’s parents were killed in a tragic accident so they’re orphans now. Ole Ruth’s doing the good Christian thing and taking the poor girls in. In return, all she asks is that they do chores and what not. It’s the what not that’ll shock your eye balls out of their sockets so don’t say I didn’t warn you!

See, Ruth’s one of the "cool moms" that chain smokes and lets her sons drink beers with the neighborhood kids. David, who’s remembering this whole story from an adult stand point, fondly recalls how he’d sneak over there to do all the awesome things his parents weren’t cool enough to let him do. You know, like swearing and torturing little girls and stuff.

The way the story unfolds caught me off guard as a reader. I don’t generally go in for the feel good 50’s stuff, but that’s precisely how the book managed to convey such a creeping sense of dread. After the first few chapters you literally begin to dread reading further. It becomes almost a test of how much you can handle, but trust me - this makes you want some sort of justification all the more. By the time the closing chapters hit, you’re begging for David to do what heroes do!

In closing, I do want to point something out. While entirely fictional, The Girl Next Door (and yes, the 2007 movie is based on this novel) is based on actual events in a loose way. You can read about the awful tragedy of Sylvia Likens, the real girl next door by clicking this link. If I may offer some advice, though? Read the novel first because it’ll make you think that much harder about the real life horrors. And I feel that’s what Ketchum intended.

You know I’m going to give this book a 5 out of 5. It shook me to the core and very few books do that. I’ve got great respect for a horror novel that can make you think so deeply and seriously about life while still delivering on its promise to tell an entrancing and chilling tale. If you can handle The Girl Next Door, check ‘er out!

Until next time, this is GlowStormLion, scaring himself stupid to bring you quality reviews!

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Originally posted: June 3, 2006 @ 11:45pm PST

Published: 1994 (re-print 2001)

Pages: 503

"Dear Jane,

Come and play with me. For further instructions, look homeward, angel. You’ll be glad you did.

Warmest Regards,

MOG (Master of Games)."

I have to admit that when I first saw In The Dark I wasn’t all that impressed. The cover wasn’t particularly striking, nor was the title all that inspiring. I’d like the other Richard Laymon books I’d read so far and this convinced me to go ahead and give it a shot. I’m extremely glad I did.

The story is relatively straight-forward. The main character is Jane Kerry, a rather nondescript young librarian for the Donnerville Public Library. One night she stays late in order to close the place and that is the same night she finds the envelope the blocky letters of her name written on it. Inside she finds $50 and the note above preceding this review. From this moment on the paranoia begins to creep into her life and throughout the remainder of the book she never manages to shake it. This leads her through some of the most teeth-grindingly anxious pages of fiction I’ve read to date…

On this same night, Jane is startled to find that Brace Paxton had remained in the library late, as well. The subject of her note from MOG comes up and Brace helps her to solve the first riddle of the game. From here they set out on a date and even against Jane’s better instincts, a relationship between the two of them begins to blossom. Of course, as the game goes on, the stakes get higher terms of both reward and risk.

There’s was a certain uniqueness about this novel for me. I didn’t like Jane a bit. There were many times when I felt that if I’d known her in person there would be no way I could keep myself from screaming obscenities at her. Laymon casts her at first as a somewhat indecisive gal who’s insanely curious with a strong streak of defiance running throughout her personality. Not only is she somewhat of a nerd, she’s not much of an athlete, either. None of these things are that big of a deal unless you’re taking on the kind of risks that common street thug would have the presence of mind to think twice about.

It’s difficult to define just how grating Jane’s personality is. She’s not after the money, even though she likes it. She’s simply got something to prove to herself. Apparently what she’s trying to prove is that she possesses some level of rational thought and doesn’t have an overshadowing inferiority complex. I found her decisions to be incredibly frustrating throughout most of the book but she does develop over time so I suppose I should give her some token credit. Honestly, though it felt like Jane was on some quest to join the BDSM scene the entire time.

Fortunately for me the villain of In the Dark is much more interesting. I’m obviously not going to give away who this person is but I can tell you that I was extremely pleased to see him once he was revealed. I enjoy the clever villain and it’s even better if he’s somewhat of a sarcastic jerk (when you don’t like the hero). MOG devises some of the most torturous scenarios that are genuinely freaky and Jane volunteers herself to go through each situation. See? You can’t even really blame MOG. He’s simply an archetype of the devil, never forcing his victim to do anything, merely luring them in and then outsmarting them - repeatedly. Three cheers for MOG for keeping things interesting!

I find it fascinating that this book was first written in 1994. The game element of the story really reminded me of some sort of reality show, yet those weren’t so popular at the time of this book’s first publication. There’s a definite element of voyeurism within these pages. We witness the inner conflicts of Jane from a first-person perspective, we get to see how she comes to her decisions, not just the results of those decisions. It’s a real statement about what certain people will put themselves through and how many times, being the victim is a choice.

This book was difficult to put down. I found myself constantly looking forward to each new challenge from MOG. Watch for the scene in the mansion and you’ll see what I mean by "genuinely freaky". As always there’s the copious sex and gore required from any Laymon novel, but there’s also a solid dose of humor that comes in watching the jumpy Jane continually guess incorrectly who MOG is and make an ass out herself leaping to conclusions. A seriously fun read with the lightest touch of seriousness. It’s one of those books I found myself babbling to my friends about, knowing full well I’d be ruining the story for them later but being too carried away by enthusiasm to care.

In the end I have to give this novel a 4 out of 5. Why? Because I don’t like seeing dogs portrayed negatively and I don’t like Jane.

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