Search - Afraid

I could not put this book down. I read 3/4 of it in one day, staying up until long after midnight. The writing is not too flowery or descriptive, just the facts, ma'am, which is how I like it. What struck me about this book is that the scenario presented is one that could easily and quite frighteningly become a reality. I rated this book 5 stars, which is something I don't do very often. It's not for the faint of heart. If violence bothers you, don't read it. If you like a good scary thriller, read it.

By the second page I almost said "I don't think I can read this". It was just "waaaay" to scary for me. But as it always is with me I just kept going, because I am curious to see how bad it could possibly be next page and before I knew it I couldn't put this book down. It was scary---probably one of the scarest books i've read--much more so than King and Sraub and the rest of those "Boo in the dark authors." If you like to be scared--you will love this one.

although not my normal genre, I love the author and his style so I thought I would take a chance, it was a good book that moved very fast, some unrealistic things of course, but that is how horror is. If you like the Jack Daniels series (Jack Kilborn is JA Konrath) then take a look at this book, it moves as fast and leaves out all the flowery detail that is not needed in a thriller.

Jack Kilborn, J.A. Konrath's pen name, is masterful with this suspense/horror/thriller. The tension is constant, pulling and tugging as you follow the characters from one location to the next. And just when you think you've figured it out, Konrath's twisted mind sends you into a dark corner to bite on your nails.

Scary? You bet.
Gorey? Oh yeah.
Compelling? Definitely.
Worth reading? Again and again.

Jack Kilborn is also J.A. Konrath, author of the Jack Daniels mystery series. Afraid is a great, gory thriller. While I have nothing against supernatural horror stories, I particularly liked the realism in Afraid that kept me thinking this could actually happen. Although I don't know how much of the science in the story is actually possible (I'm sure that the brain-downloading technology at least is fantasy), still there was nothing that struck me as being too far-fetched.

In the story, a helicopter containing members of an experimental military unit crashes in an isolated small town. This unit is composed of a handful of physically and mentally-enhanced sociopaths who immediately begin torturing and killing the townspeople. As you are introduced to individuals in the small town, you get a good feel for who they are which makes it all the more intense when it happens.

The various ways that people reacted to what was happening reminded me a little of the non-fiction book "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why." Some people seemed to run headfirst into situations with no thought of what kind of danger might be waiting for them while others paid attention to the danger signs & were more likely to survive.

This book was intense and suspenseful and I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. I read this book in one night, that's how good it was.