by Peter Laws (@revpeterlaws)
Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)
“And there it was, pinning Lauren to the bench. A huge black animal…”
When something goes bump in the night and leaves a spooky body count – who ya gonna call? Well in the UK seeing as we don’t have a functioning crew of Ghostbusters, former Minister turned professor of sociology Matt Hunter is your man. In his second adventure, we find him still unsettled by the events of the crazed Hobbs Hill baptism killer but called into action again when people start dying in Menham, South London.
You see some fifteen years ago, 29 Barley Street became notorious as the scene of alleged poltergeist activity which led to the death of young girl - Holly Wasson. Holly’s older sister Rachel is called back home when her childhood friend Steph Ellis is killed – is there a link to the fabled local poltergeist? Can oddball psychic couple Bob and Joyce Hodges trace the possibly supernatural killer? Because the police are certainly struggling which is why they bring in Matt Hunter.
"The Rev himself"
Unleashed is a semi-sequel to Purged, not in terms of plot but it forms the ‘what happened next' to Matt Hunter and his family. Part thriller, part horror, this is a nicely twisted crime-em-up that has the power to unnerve. Author Rev Peter Laws really finds his stride with this follow-up and it encompasses engaging characters, weird ritualistic deaths and the mystery of whether there is a supernatural agent involved in the killings or just a disturbing human element.
Caution - if you've ever been unnerved by rabbits or traumatised by Watership Down, Unleashed is likely to be very troublesome for you to deal with!?
Hunter and his cool wife Wren are characters that it is fun to hang out with – their relationship is believable and their family dynamic well established. These are people it’s easy to care about and that gives the possible threats greater bite. Speaking of threats, there are plenty of suspicious characters to pick through so those who like a ‘whodunit’ will be satisfied – although here you can’t rule out the ‘whatdunit’ possibility too…
Overall Unleashed is a fun and spooky thrill-ride that is highly worth taking a trip on!!
Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:
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(4 - dark and intense, creepy and quirky - in a good way)...
BUY YOURSELF A COPY HERE
Read the Darkmatters review of Purged (Matt Hunter book 1)
Read the Darkmatters review of Severed (Matt Hunter book 3)
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