Brought to you by OBS reviewer Marie-Reine

*Beware of possible Spoilers*

After yet another group of students are reported missing, Detective Peter Adams of the Flint Township Police is assigned to investigate the case. Plagued by the mysterious disappearance of his own son, Peter begins what he believes will be another routine investigation. Then he receives strange notes and suffers from horrifying nightmares of lost souls and one dark creature, its black tendrils outstretched, ready to consume him. A search for the nature of this creature ensues, hurried by the growing darkness that rushes to encompass Peter and those close to him.

By far, the dark shadow is this novel’s saving grace and strongest character. Reminiscent of the ancient creatures in H.P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness, the creature responsible for the disappearances comes from a place beyond our world, feeding on humans since the prehistoric beginnings our species. Delectably ghoulish, it haunts the dark and fears the light, preying on innocents and those who foolishly seek him, its touch enough to mark you as prey or puppet.

Utley dazzles with his horrifying descriptions of the monster and the chilling dreams Peter suffers throughout. However, this delight turns to boredom and impatience with the plodding narration that bridges the different appearances of the creature. In fact, the novel overall suffers from hackneyed editing. It is rife with simple grammatical, and punctuation errors. Adding to this awkwardness is the uneven pacing and clunky story-telling. It makes for a frustrated and sometimes confusing read.

Since this is a first-person narrative, the reader relies wholly on the protagonist, Peter, whom the author sets up as an intelligent, albeit troubled, detective. However, he never equals this ambition. He simply takes too long to understand the intentions of the creature. Wouldn’t a man who has already lost one child—and who admits to being overly protective of the other—take draconian measures at the first sign of trouble? This one does not. Nor does he seem to feel the appropriate level of dread and paranoia that the events occurring around him should elicit. Peter seems wanting of complexity and substance, especially when compared to his partner, Evan Combs, the missing college students, or even the creature—all of whom are interesting characters. And so it is almost impossible to feel anything but relief when it all finally goes to pot.

Though it suffers from technical errors and a lackluster leading man, this is a short book and is a quick read, suitable for those of us who root for the villain or enjoy Lovecraftian monsters.