Devilishly dark and fiendishly ferocious, A History Of Fear is a psychological/horror tale that immediately seizes your attention and takes you on a ride to hell and back. Luke Dumas has crafted a killer debut novel that is one hell of a fascinating and unforgettable story.
Grayson Hale, a young American pursuing his PhD in Scotland, was convicted of murdering one of his classmates and was serving a life sentence in prison. While that is enough content to keep the tabloids going for months, his claim that the devil made him do it added fuel to the fire. And when he’s found dead, hanging in his cell with strange markings on his body, the thirst for more info becomes insatiable. Lucky for the public, a manuscript containing Grayson’s life story is found in his cell and promises to shed light on his childhood, his mental state, the crime he committed and his relationship with the so-called devil. Now it’s up to one reporter to add context to the manuscript and publish the story for all to consume. Then maybe the question of whether Grayson was insane or if he was telling the truth can finally be answered. Regardless of the answer, one thing is for certain…the devil is front and center in the consciousness of the Scottish people.
The way A History Of Fear is structured as a book within a book is incredibly well done and is what makes it so excellent. It’s captivating to read the first-person account from Grayson Hale on his experience, with editorial notes added to share court proceedings, interview transcripts, psychological evaluations and academic research as a mechanism to provide context and other points of view. This framework allows the reader to view the whole picture from various angles, rather than just take the convicted murderer’s word on what happened. It adds credibility to a story that might be easy to dismiss initially as the ravings of a lunatic, making it – and Grayson – seem more rational and his actions more conceivable the more you read. A clever approach by the author to explore the topic of the devil’s existence in an intelligent, contemplative and a realistic non-fantasy manner.
And one last thing – the ending of this book has me shook. Like mouth agape muttering “holy shit!” several times kind of shook. A blindsiding moment of pure genius that adds a whole other layer to the story. A haymaker delivered with the last few keystrokes. Bravo Luke Dumas!
A History Of Fear is the perfect novel for those who crave murder mysteries, psychological thrillers and horror stories. It blends all three into a phenomenal story that will burrow into your brain and set up shop for a few months. Which means maybe the greatest trick the devil ever pulled wasn’t convincing the world he didn’t exist, rather it was making sure we remember and fear his existence for all eternity.
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