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Everything that retired Detective Sergeant Arlo Grimm touches turns to death. First, his wife is murdered—and then, two years later, his son, Bobby, is killed during a routine drug bust. Now his other son, David, won’t even speak to him. Grimm should have left things alone—and maybe those he loved would have been spared—but he’s not a man to leave things be.
New Salem is a small coastal town in Maine, where dark deeds go unnoticed in the shadows of the night and the supernatural lurks ready to strike at any moment. A group of sorceresses who call themselves the Sisters of the Snake plan on raising the demon Czcarabus, bringing him into the world to spread unspeakable evil. And because he’s been chosen as Good’s ally, only Arlo Grimm can stop it.
With the help of Chloe Everson, an exotic dancer down at the Red Lagoon, Grimm becomes locked in a desperate battle with radical witches from the Salem trials who are back for vengeance. And they plan to make Grimm suffer by taking everything he holds dear, including Chloe—the first woman he’s been able to love since his wife died.
Author Howard Hopkins never fails to please me, no matter which genre he happens to be writing at the moment. This time it’s straight horror, and he adds a bit more graphic gore to Grimm, which gives the plot a more depraved flavor. Hopkins keeps a good balance between the emotional and the graphic scenes. You get just enough of each, so you’ll feel satisfied with the outcome.
Arlo Grimm is faced with a huge amount of anguish, which drops him to his knees. But that’s where he rises to fight with a strength born out of the tragedy that life has thrown at him. That’s what makes Hopkins’s characters come so alive—and they’ll have you praying that they’ll fight until they prevail.
Though Chloe is an ordinary stripper who’s just trying to survive in a harsh world, I could still see why Arlo Grimm falls for her. She has an endearing vulnerability about her, but she’s also tough, and she won’t abandon Grimm, no matter how terrified she is.
And then there’s David Grim. Though he’s a very minor character, he’s still memorable—because he reminds me of Dean Winchester from the CW’s Supernatural. His belligerent attitude made me laugh out loud, and I would love to see him in a novel of his own.
With a hefty dose of creepiness—and just a hint of gore to keep zombie lovers happy—Grimm will take you on a terrifying emotional journey through one of the spookiest towns in the world. If this one doesn’t make you keep a light on while you sleep, then you must dwell with demons.
Anyone wanna move to New Salem with me? No? Then pick up a copy of Grimm instead—and spend a fun night huddling under the covers as you read one of the scariest reads that bookstores have to offer.
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