I've read several Richard Laymon horror novels over the years. I usually find them to be full of sex, gore, and violence but somehow they compel me to keep turning the pages. This one is I believe Laymon's first novel. It's definitely typical of his writing with lots of blood and gore. However, in this one he goes way over the top in describing sexual abuse towards children that I thought was a little too much!
In this one, a woman Donna, finds out that her ex-husband is being released from prison. He was there for raping their young daughter several years previously. When Donna finds out he is to be released, she takes her daughter and flees north to a small town where her car breaks down. This town is the site of an infamous tourist attraction called The Beast House where several murders were committed allegedly by a gruesome beast with claws. These murders have been happening since 1903 and continue up to the time of the book in the late 70s. But is the beast real? Donna happens to meet up with a man, Jud, who is there with one of the past victims of the beast to see if they can kill it. In the meantime, Donna's ex is wreaking havoc upon other young girls as well as Donna's sister to try to get her to divulge Donna's location. Well this all comes to a head at the Beast House amid much violence and gore and doesn't end well for most involved.
Overall, this was typical Laymon but the child sex abuse perpetrated by Donna's ex-husband was a little too much even for Laymon. This one has a couple of sequels that I'll probably be reading to see how much more bizarre the story can get.
In this one, a woman Donna, finds out that her ex-husband is being released from prison. He was there for raping their young daughter several years previously. When Donna finds out he is to be released, she takes her daughter and flees north to a small town where her car breaks down. This town is the site of an infamous tourist attraction called The Beast House where several murders were committed allegedly by a gruesome beast with claws. These murders have been happening since 1903 and continue up to the time of the book in the late 70s. But is the beast real? Donna happens to meet up with a man, Jud, who is there with one of the past victims of the beast to see if they can kill it. In the meantime, Donna's ex is wreaking havoc upon other young girls as well as Donna's sister to try to get her to divulge Donna's location. Well this all comes to a head at the Beast House amid much violence and gore and doesn't end well for most involved.
Overall, this was typical Laymon but the child sex abuse perpetrated by Donna's ex-husband was a little too much even for Laymon. This one has a couple of sequels that I'll probably be reading to see how much more bizarre the story can get.
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