GraveyardLove by Scott Adlerberg is a strange trip inside the mind of a voyeuristic man
who falls in love with a redheaded woman who frequently visits the graveyard by
the home he shares with his mother. What starts as a curiosity quickly develops
into something much darker.
Kurt
Morgan has returned to live with his mother and he passes his time helping her
write her memoirs and by watching people who visit the graveyard near their home.
His interests are piqued when he notices a woman visiting the graveyard
frequently. He begins to obsess about finding out who she is and who she is
visiting.
After
he follows her for a while he learns her name is Catherine Embers, yet much
about her remains a mystery. His obsession with finding out about her leads to
a fixation with getting to meet her and know her. As you might guess, this
leads to another obsession: getting her to fall in love with him and need him as
much as he feels he needs her.
Books
of this subject matter are often disturbing on many levels and this book is
certainly disturbing. Adlerberg does a great job getting inside the head of his
protagonist and allowing us to see how he rationalizes his thoughts, actions,
and obsessions. At no point does the main character believe himself to be
disturbed or in need of help. Instead, he sees his actions as a way to help
Catherine deal with the troubles in her life and he believes she will thank him
when she learns the lengths he is willing to go to in order to love her and
protect her.
This
book is hard to summarize without giving away the juicy plot twists that await
the reader. In the beginning of the book I found myself comparing it to The
Rapist by Les Edgerton, as both books have a simple narrative delivery that
allows you entry into the mind of an unbalanced person and allows you to
glimpse into the darkness that lies within them.
This
book is disturbing in all the right ways. Creepy subject matter, twisted and
flawed central characters, and a plot that just keeps sucking you in until you
can’t breath, yet you can’t put the book down. A definite page-turner and
another winner by Adlerberg who has now written three great novels that all show he
has a bright future ahead.
Recommended.
Reviewed
by Derrick Horodyski.
