The Death Prayer

Rating:
Summary: Yorkshire Detective Superintendent battles paranormal evil
Review: "The Death Prayer" is an unusual, hard-to-categorize book. It starts out like a 'noir' police procedural. There are actually two mass murderers on the loose in Yorkshire, one a 'standard' serial killer who (usually)preys on isolated women. The other is an evil sorcerer who has assumed the trappings of a late twentieth century 'faith healer'. Detective Superintendent Vernon Laverne, the hero of "The Death Prayer" has already captured one serial killer before the book begins. His colleagues on the force applaud his results, but are suspicious of his intuitive style of detection.

Excellent character development, and chilling, bone-twisting scenes of supernatural horror are the hooks that make "The Death Prayer" well worth reading. Vernon Laverne is much better developed, and consequently more interesting than the standard run of paranormal detectives who rely on gimmicks (magic rings, pentacles, weird ceremonies, etc.) to get their man (or demon).

You're really going to admire him by book's end.

Speaking of book's end, I subtracted a star because the end is a messy, anti-climax to the horror that occurred earlier in the plot. The scene in the Cathedral on New Year's Eve is especially chilling, and my only wish is that the book's end could have reached a similar height.

Rating:
Summary: Yorkshire Detective Superintendent battles paranormal evil
Review: "The Death Prayer" is an unusual, hard-to-categorize book. It starts out like a 'noir' police procedural. There are actually two mass murderers on the loose in Yorkshire, one a 'standard' serial killer who (usually)preys on isolated women. The other is an evil sorcerer who has assumed the trappings of a late twentieth century 'faith healer'. Detective Superintendent Vernon Laverne, the hero of "The Death Prayer" has already captured one serial killer before the book begins. His colleagues on the force applaud his results, but are suspicious of his intuitive style of detection.

Excellent character development, and chilling, bone-twisting scenes of supernatural horror are the hooks that make "The Death Prayer" well worth reading. Vernon Laverne is much better developed, and consequently more interesting than the standard run of paranormal detectives who rely on gimmicks (magic rings, pentacles, weird ceremonies, etc.) to get their man (or demon).

You're really going to admire him by book's end.

Speaking of book's end, I subtracted a star because the end is a messy, anti-climax to the horror that occurred earlier in the plot. The scene in the Cathedral on New Year's Eve is especially chilling, and my only wish is that the book's end could have reached a similar height.

Rating:
Summary: a chilling good read
Review: As someone who has read about occult phenomena for nearly three and a half decades, I find most horror-occult novels to be pretty thin soup. How satisfying it was to find a novel that just gets better and better as it goes along, delving ever deeper into occult lore until the satisfying finale. If you like Dean Koontz, you'll love The Death Prayer. Not a classic, but damn close.

Rating:
Summary: a chilling good read
Review: As someone who has read about occult phenomena for nearly three and a half decades, I find most horror-occult novels to be pretty thin soup. How satisfying it was to find a novel that just gets better and better as it goes along, delving ever deeper into occult lore until the satisfying finale. If you like Dean Koontz, you'll love The Death Prayer. Not a classic, but damn close.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning debut
Review: Dean Koontz and Stephen King can't carry David Bowker's sweat socks. Simply the best horror book I have EVER read. Shocking that it hasn't become a best seller. Not even carried in book stores any more. Hope this guy writes more. Original, inventive, and scary.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning debut
Review: Dean Koontz and Stephen King can't carry David Bowker's sweat socks. Simply the best horror book I have EVER read. Shocking that it hasn't become a best seller. Not even carried in book stores any more. Hope this guy writes more. Original, inventive, and scary.

Rating:
Summary: A taut, well-written supernatural thriller.
Review: I worked for White Wolf, the book's publisher, when this book came out, but didn't read it then. I picked it up a few days ago to give it a try, as my shelves are clogged with WW freebies I got while there, figuring I'd either enjoy it or get it the heck of my shelf.

I enjoyed it. A lot. I read it in two days, and was up till 2 am last night finishing it.

It's a damn good book, and unlike much of the "Borealis" line published by White Wolf is not mired in trendy nihilism, gore, and fetishism.

Like the earlier reviewer, I don't want to spoil the book's surprises. In a nutshell, it's about a detective in England investigating peculiar murders. Beyond that, get it, read it, find out for yourself.

Great job, Mr. Bowker.

Rating:
Summary: A contempory murder mystery with an esoteric twist.
Review: Well I started it one evening and finished it two days later. A must read. Initially, I found the characters well thought out, the story line planned, and the plot a typical mystery, but that was all I could predict. Nothing about this story was predictable. The characters thought for themselves, did not respond trivially, and surprised me at every turn. The same could be said for every other aspect of the story. Rarely does a story keep me in suspense. Yes the main character solves murders in an uncanny fashion, but even he doesn't understand (or does he?) It's difficult to site examples without destroying the surprise element, but if you enjoy murder mysteries that reach out beyond contriteness, try "The Death Prayer".