This book keeps you biting your nails and on the edge of your seat from the very first page! It doesn't stop, it doesn't give you a chance to breathe. From beginning to end there is action. There are a few surprises thrown in too. Kind of twisted, and not for the weak of stomach. ( )

A mysterious helicopter crash in the woods outside of Safe Haven is not at all what it seems. Local firefighter Josh checks out the crash and finds no survivors, or so he thinks. In different parts of the town there's Fran in the diner, Sheriff Streng going to investigate the crash, Duncan home alone, and various other town folks. There are some new people that have arrived in town and they are deadly and in search of someone who knows the secrets of their origin. Nothing will stop these people who have exterminate everyone but the objective on their minds. Get ready for a wild ride of survival, teamwork, and bloodbath ( )

A great thiriller/gore horror with some really gross deaths and lots of blood this is one of the ( )

***Spoiler Alert***
I will do my best to avoid spoiling anything, but there MIGHT be a few tiny giveaways.

Red-Ops, a group of men so brutal that they can take on an entire town and destroy it. The question is, why would they want to? Their mission is simple: interrogate and kill residents of Safe Haven, a sleepy little town with its share of secrets. The most pressing is, where is Warren Streng?

Warren is the brother of the town sheriff, referred to as “Streng” for most of the book, but “Ace” when in Wiley’s point of view. It’s a minor nit crit of mine that I had to keep remembering him as the same person. It’s not until very late in the book that the reader comes to know why Wiley is being sought out, and it was the question that kept me reading as the body count rises.

We meet a likeable cast of characters, most notably Fran, the widowed waitress, her young son, Duncan, and their dog, Woof. I rooted for Fran from the outset as she fought to keep her son safe in a bleak and dismal landscape of torture and murder.

Afraid is the first J.A. Konrath novel I’ve read, and while it might not be my last, the walk-away impression was eh. I get the same feeling after watching a slasher film, much for the same reason. At no point does Konrath turn away from the gritty, hard core gore. I like gore, I really do, but when it is as unrelenting as it is in Afraid, I start to lose hope for the characters and consequently, I become disengaged from their journeys. I don’t want to connect with them because I don’t want to lose them. The writing flowed, the tension reached insane levels, and there was authority in Konrath’s detailing of weapons and militia, but there was a snag.

Several scenes occur at the Safe Haven school gymnasium that caused a plausibility issue for me. The hoax is that “the town” won the lottery because an official purchased lottery tickets with town money. Word of the win spread like wildfire as townsperson after townsperson went into the locker room to claim their $40,000 check. I won’t give too much away here, but the set up and consequences seemed far too convenient.

Overall, the book held my attention—even if it lost it a couple of times along the way. This isn’t the “feel good” read of the year, but since you’re reading a review of a horror novel, I’m guessing that’s not what you’re going for. Graphic, thrilling, and inventive, Afraid is a dark and twisted ride. If you’re into government conspiracies, superhuman powers, and the obliteration of a town, Afraid is ideal.

4/5 stars ( )

Eeeeeek that was GOOD! My heart was pretty much racing from cover to cover. I liked that there was no boring build up, we just jumped right into the action and terror and it never stopped until the last page. And the terror was a completely new idea for me, not the usual psycho serial killer or evil spirits or creatures from outer space. No zombies. lol It was a big over the top, but not in a bad way. Definitely want to read more from this author!

I liked that just when something was about to happen to one character the story jumped over to another character. Very good suspense. And the ending was perfect. Heh heh.

Also, I loved Duncan, Woof, and Mathison.
---------------------------------
Why this book? The description and reviews below sound scary-good!!! There's some strange being in the house and it likes popcorn???? Whaaaat???

First heard about this author here: http://www.fundinmental.com/28065-2/#.YTVM22jYrrc ( )