Richard Godwin's dark thriller, Apostle Rising, is one helluva a ride, with all the violence and insanity found in his short works. Unlike his short stuff, this one is mainly from the perspective of the cops rather than the criminals.
Inspector Frank Castle's career has been defined by his inability to solve a string of murders two decades ago. When a new serial killer is on the loose showing clear similarities to the first, Castle quickly becomes obsessed. And as nemesis/prime suspect/religious nut Karl Black mercilessly taunts him, Castle becomes increasingly pathetic and hits the bottle hard.
As you might expect, this ain't your granddaddy's police procedural. With plenty of gore and a relentless pace, you'll find yourself compulsively moving on to the next chapter every time. And Godwin's got a phenomenal twist in store that I doubt you'll see coming.
Richard appears to be on a roll.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wowser with intelligent looks at the presence of evil and it's tendency to always win. From the jump you fear for the two cops and their sanity. The evil they combat is so palpably real it made me jump more than once (didn't help when one of the scariest scenes came along I was reading late at night, alone). Brilliant first novel. More!
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right Chris, I never saw the twist coming.
ReplyDeleteYeah, take AJ's recommendation and don't read it late at night, alone! Unless you're into being scared shitless.
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