Afraid
By Jack Kilborn
Synopsis: A secret military unit of genetically altered superhuman killing machines is unexpectedly dropped in the quiet town (ironically named) Safe Haven in Wisconsin. They have chips in their brains that set them on one mission: torture, terrorize, and kill everyone. A small group of unlikely heroes tries to survive the nightmare and get out of town. The only problem, other than the superhuman killers, is that the government has quarantined the small peninsula town, blocking off the only road in and out of town.
My Opinion: So I picked this one up at the used book store for 3 bucks. I figured it was worth a shot since all the accolades on it said it was “relentless” and that it “never lets up.” I finished it in 3 days, “relentless” was a serious understatement! Within the first couple of pages there is a helicopter crash and from that point on it just never lets off the gas. It is gruesome and gory and deranged and seriously suspenseful. There were parts where my heart was pounding out of my chest. I could seriously see this being made into a great movie. The small band of survivors show hope for those who demonstrate what we consider admirable traits: love, courage, and intelligence. A widowed single mother must survive to protect her young son, a fireman with no combat training steps into the line of fire to protect others, and an old Vietnam vet, turned local cop, demonstrates that sometimes brains can outweigh bronze. Certainly Kilborn is not attempting to write a book that changes the world. Although there are elements of redemption and good triumphing over evil, this book is without a doubt a straightforward scare-the-hell-out-of-you horror novel that will leave your heart racing and your mind imagining very bad people in your house.
FYI: Jack Kilborn is the (very awesome) pseudonym for author J.A. Konrath. He uses Kilborn for his horror novels and another pseudonym, Joe Kimball, when writing futuristic science fiction.
Other books I’ve reviewed by Jack Kilborn:
Endurance
