It has been a long time since I have done a book review. I started doing a puzzle book at work and spent all of my free time there doing that instead of reading. Now and then I stop reading books for a while and find something else to do. I finished my puzzle book, cheated to solve more puzzles than I actually solved on my own, at long last. I ordered the newest book by Jonathan Janz, so I was ready to dig into it since he is currently my favorite author. This book is called Exorcist Falls, but it also has the story Exorcist Road in it as well. Exorcist Road could only be found in digital form before, so this is the first time it has seen actual print. The forward says that you don't have to read Exorcist Road first in order to enjoy the new story, but I wanted to read it anyway. Not only is Exorcist Falls a sequel, Janz's second time writing a sequel to one of his stories, but I was excited about getting the chance to read Exorcist Road.
Father Crowder is awakened in the night by Officer Hartman, a man who has been to Crowder's church. Hartman tells Jason that something is going on with his nephew and needs his help. Casey has been acting very strange and Danny believes that there is something going on with Casey that will require and exorcism. Casey has attacked his family, threw his dad across the room and said things about his younger sister a brother shouldn't be thinking about. Not bad for a kid of 14 years. On top of that, Danny's partner is convinced that Casey is the serial killer that targets 16-year-old girls. Jason is a young priest so he meets up with his mentor Father Sutherland to find out if Casey is in need of an exorcism. After what Casey reveals about everyone, it brings up all kinds of questions.
I was surprised by Exorcist Road in a couple of ways. The first surprise was that Janz doesn't put much focus on the exorcism itself. It is there, it is talked about some even. But for the most part, it gets glossed over. Janz credits author William Peter Blatty's novels for influencing his own. I have never read those novels, but I have watched the movies that the novels are based on. Since The Exorcist, and many other films and stories like it focused on the exorcism itself, it makes sense that Janz didn't focus on the same thing. It has been done plenty of time already after all. This leads me to the second surprise. While Janz does involve the demon into the story in large ways, his focus is more on the other characters, especially Jason Crowder. I shouldn't have been surprised by this since I have always said that Janz excels with his characters. Even though this is a small "cast" of characters, Janz doesn't give us his usual treatment to all of them. Those that don't get this...I have a feeling that they will in the next book.
I have to say that Exorcist Road is one of Janz's best books so far. It pulled me in on page one and never really let my attention go. I can't recall any other book that has had me wanting to dig into the story right out of the gate like that, not even in Janz's other novels. It was very hard to put this novella down in order to go back to work. I was always ready to go back on break so I could read some more. Because of that, I flew through this story. I thought about it at times when I wasn't reading it. I was thinking back on what I had read and trying to figure out who the Sweet Sixteen Killer might be. What might happen to the different characters and so on. I have done this with other novels of course, which is a great way for me to know if I'm falling in love with the story. This is likely my new favorite story by Janz now.
I honestly can't say enough good things about Exorcist Road, but I didn't like everything about it. I would have loved it if there was more character background for some more of the characters. The secrets that get revealed added a lot to things, but how truthful were these secrets? Janz showed that the secrets revealed can be true, but aren't always true. The game this thing was playing was pretty cool. Another thing was that I wished the exorcism wasn't as glossed over as it was. As I said above, I get why it was, but knowing how Janz can right...I just know he would have rocked it.
Janz once again created some interesting characters. This is what I have started looking for whenever I pick up a new novel by him. I don't know how he does it, but I'm always impressed by it. Janz ended this story in a way that begged for a sequel, so I'm glad that he did write one. I have already started reading it, and yes, I'm already hooked on it. I have no idea how much I will like the sequel, but I can highly recommend Exorcist Road. I'm assuming you can still buy a digital copy of it, but I would suggest buying Exorcist Falls so you can get both stories at once. No matter what I will think of the sequel, I still see having them both in one book as a win. Check this book out and soon!
4 out of 5 You will never find my secrets Janz
Father Crowder is awakened in the night by Officer Hartman, a man who has been to Crowder's church. Hartman tells Jason that something is going on with his nephew and needs his help. Casey has been acting very strange and Danny believes that there is something going on with Casey that will require and exorcism. Casey has attacked his family, threw his dad across the room and said things about his younger sister a brother shouldn't be thinking about. Not bad for a kid of 14 years. On top of that, Danny's partner is convinced that Casey is the serial killer that targets 16-year-old girls. Jason is a young priest so he meets up with his mentor Father Sutherland to find out if Casey is in need of an exorcism. After what Casey reveals about everyone, it brings up all kinds of questions.
I was surprised by Exorcist Road in a couple of ways. The first surprise was that Janz doesn't put much focus on the exorcism itself. It is there, it is talked about some even. But for the most part, it gets glossed over. Janz credits author William Peter Blatty's novels for influencing his own. I have never read those novels, but I have watched the movies that the novels are based on. Since The Exorcist, and many other films and stories like it focused on the exorcism itself, it makes sense that Janz didn't focus on the same thing. It has been done plenty of time already after all. This leads me to the second surprise. While Janz does involve the demon into the story in large ways, his focus is more on the other characters, especially Jason Crowder. I shouldn't have been surprised by this since I have always said that Janz excels with his characters. Even though this is a small "cast" of characters, Janz doesn't give us his usual treatment to all of them. Those that don't get this...I have a feeling that they will in the next book.
I have to say that Exorcist Road is one of Janz's best books so far. It pulled me in on page one and never really let my attention go. I can't recall any other book that has had me wanting to dig into the story right out of the gate like that, not even in Janz's other novels. It was very hard to put this novella down in order to go back to work. I was always ready to go back on break so I could read some more. Because of that, I flew through this story. I thought about it at times when I wasn't reading it. I was thinking back on what I had read and trying to figure out who the Sweet Sixteen Killer might be. What might happen to the different characters and so on. I have done this with other novels of course, which is a great way for me to know if I'm falling in love with the story. This is likely my new favorite story by Janz now.
I honestly can't say enough good things about Exorcist Road, but I didn't like everything about it. I would have loved it if there was more character background for some more of the characters. The secrets that get revealed added a lot to things, but how truthful were these secrets? Janz showed that the secrets revealed can be true, but aren't always true. The game this thing was playing was pretty cool. Another thing was that I wished the exorcism wasn't as glossed over as it was. As I said above, I get why it was, but knowing how Janz can right...I just know he would have rocked it.
Janz once again created some interesting characters. This is what I have started looking for whenever I pick up a new novel by him. I don't know how he does it, but I'm always impressed by it. Janz ended this story in a way that begged for a sequel, so I'm glad that he did write one. I have already started reading it, and yes, I'm already hooked on it. I have no idea how much I will like the sequel, but I can highly recommend Exorcist Road. I'm assuming you can still buy a digital copy of it, but I would suggest buying Exorcist Falls so you can get both stories at once. No matter what I will think of the sequel, I still see having them both in one book as a win. Check this book out and soon!
4 out of 5 You will never find my secrets Janz
