Saturday 9 November 2013

URBAN FANTASY CRIME: Prayer - Philip Kerr

Release Date: 03/10/13
Publisher:  Quercus

SYNOPSIS:

Special Agent Gil Martins investigates domestic terrorism for the Houston FBI. He is a religious man who is close to losing his faith; the very nature of his job has led him to question the existence of a God who could allow the things that Gil sees every day. But Gil's wife Ruth doesn't see things the same way and his crisis of faith provokes a fracture in their marriage. Gil's world is breaking apart. At the same time, Gil starts to investigate a series of unexplained deaths that bring this crisis of faith into uncomfortable focus. When Esther, a disturbed woman, informs Gil that these men have been killed by prayer, Gil questions her sanity. But as the evidence mounts up that there might be something in what she says, his new-found atheism is severely challenged, more so as he finds his own life is next on the line.


REVIEW:

OK, something a little different and to be honest as a huge fan of the original Blatty Exorcist anyone who claims to want to write their own version of this classic is going to have a hard time not only convincing me as a reader that its going to be on par but has to bring something novel to the table to help it stand out on its own.

As a huge reader I thought that I’d be a little unhappy with the overall project but when I sat down and concentrated on the tale as it wound its own way, I was more than intrigued to see a story that I could really get behind. What Philip brings to the fore is a solid lead character, some good twists and backs it up with cracking pace to help the reader have a sleepless night. It delivers, has more in common with the older style of horror than a lot of the more modern tales and all round presented a title that generated a few scary moments when I finally dropped off.



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