by Marc E. Fitch
Ten years ago, a mysterious and tragic hunting accident deep in the Adirondack Mountains left a boy buried in a storied piece of land known as Coombs' Gulch and four friends with a terrible secret. Now, Jonathan Hollis and brothers Michael and Conner Braddick must return to the place that changed their lives forever in order to keep their secret buried. What they don't realise is that they are walking into a trap - one set decades earlier by a supernatural being who is not confined by time or place: a demon that demands a sacrifice.
‘Boy In The Box’ tells the story of four friends; Jonathan, Michael, Connor and Gene, who lose touch after a tragic accident which happens during a hunting trip they had organised for Jonathan’s stag party. Unable to live with the guilt, for the last ten years their lives have been haunted by the memory of the boy they left behind in the mountains. The stress, anxiety and grief have tainted not only their relationships with each other, but have also made it impossible for them to lead normal lives with their families. Despite all of the pressure to come clean about the events of that fateful night, the decision they made to keep quiet for the benefit of themselves and their families still seems like the right thing to do. But now their secret is at risk of being uncovered and the friends are forced to revisit the awful memories and go back to Coombs' Gulch with devastating consequences. Boy in the Box is described as a horror / thriller / suspense novel but it was actually much deeper than most horror books I have read. It was an exploration of grief and the ways in which four friends struggle to maintain normal, happy and healthy relationships after the tragic events that took place. The story builds at quite a slow pace but it has a very creepy atmosphere and I really enjoyed the way that the story made me question what was real and what was a manifestation of the grief they were all suffering. Interestingly for me, I actually preferred the exploration into the characters than some of the horror aspects. If you enjoy thrillers that have elements of the occult, or Native American culture and rituals, then this is the perfect choice, and the ending is one that will haunt me and stay in the back of my mind for a long time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marc E. Fitch is the author of the novels Old Boone Blood, Paradise Burns and Dirty Water, as well as the books Paranormal Nation: Why America Needs Ghosts, UFOs and Bigfoot and Shmexperts: How Power Politics and Ideology are Disguised as Science. His short fiction has appeared in numerous publications and anthologies, including Best Horror of the Year vol 10. Marc received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Western Connecticut State University and has worked as a bartender, psychiatric technician for inpatient behavioural health hospitals, and most recently as an investigative reporter for a public-policy organisation. He was the recipient of the 2014 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship and the Leslie Leeds Poetry Prize. He is the father of four children and lives and works in Connecticut.
Thanks to Anne Cater - @annecater #RandomThingsTours and FLAME TREE PRESS -@FlameTreePress for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: FICTION / Thrillers / Suspense
Product format: Hardback
Price: £20.00
ISBN: 978-1-78758-384-9
Pages: 288 pp
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