It took me a week to read Mike Dellosso’s Darlington Woods. I could have read in far less time; it’s that fast-paced. But it is also one scary read, so scary that I had to read some, put it down, read some more, put in down and catch my breath. It’s definitely not a book for the fainthearted.But it is a great story.
Rob Shields has lost his wife Kelly and son Jimmy to kidnapping and murder. Kelly’s body is eventually found; the police think they've found Jimmy’s body but it's not definitive. Then Rob inherits a house in Maryland from his aunt, and he travels from his home in Massachusetts to see it, only to find a profound evil and perhaps – just perhaps – his son.
Dellosso, author of The Hunted and Scream, writes in the Christian supernatural, horror, and suspense genre. And he writes better than well. Each page crackles with tension, pulling the reader deeper and deeper into the story. The action happens simultaneously over just a few days – and 20 years. No small feat to pull that off, and Dellosso does it with ease. And as the sun sets in Darlington and its nearby woods, we meet the darklings, led by the Wax Man, who is out for revenge, and revenge against Rob in particular. Only gradually does the reader learn why, and that gradualness adds to the tension.
Darlington Woods is a terrific story and a terrific read, Dellosso’s best yet. He knows how to tell a wild, dark and suspenseful story.
Just don’t go into Darlington Woods.
(Attention Federal Trade Commission: I bought this book from Amazon.com. With my own money. Just so you know.)
