Mark L. Fowler

Actual Rating: 3.25 Stars

I took a brief break from horror it seems to flip through the pages of Mark L. Fowler’s novel, Silver. The book comes in at a fairly moderate length and encompasses a rather intriguing plot: authors are dying in the same fashion as the heros and heroines of their latest work of dark fiction. When best selling author Joy Haversham becomes the latest victim, in a manner not quite as gruesome, she leaves behind her husband and adult daughter to deal with the emptiness left in her wake. In addition to her untimely death, the manuscript for her unfinished novel, also titled Silver remains unpublished.

As far as the characters of Fowler’s novel go, each one has their own flaws. While some, such as Nick Slater’s brief time as a womanizer after his wife’s death, are rather generic, others, such as Gil Ray, are not. It is clear in the first several pages written in Gil Ray’s perspective that Fowler truly thought this heavily damaged character through entirely. Grace Haversham, daughter to the late Joy Haversham, appears to be somewhat unsure about anything regarding her own future; she constantly seems to look to those around her for guidance, and is perhaps a bit too obvious of a target for victimhood. It felt to me that many of the side characters to this book were more wholly fleshed out than the main ones.

Plot wise, I found the latter half of the book to be more engaging than the first; the farther along I read, the easier it was to remain focused. For the most part, it’s pretty straight forward: guy kills woman, guy goes to jail, guy gets out, more trouble comes. Personally, especially with how much detail is given to our villain, I would have liked to see a bit more about how he operates. It’s clear throughout the novel that something supernatural is going on, but whatever that is, it’s never really revealed in its entirety. I feel like the book should have been a lot longer, but for some reason, ended directly after its climax with no true denouement.

Other than that, Silver was a decent read. It doesn’t quite sate my personal thirsts when it comes to books, as I prefer things bloody with a side of gross, but it’s definitely something fans of a more tame crime novel might enjoy. That isn’t to say there isn’t sensitive material, for there is the use of profanity and subject matter pertaining to less savory things, but it’s not something that needs a huge warning sign.

I would like to thank the author, Mark L. Fowler, for providing me with a free copy of his book in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)