Bloody Valentine

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic supernatural thriller.
Review: I was already a fan of this author's work (see my reviews of NIGHTSCAPE and DARK REUNION) when I picked this book up. But after I read BLOODY VALENTINE, I went on a wild search to find all of his books. A group of college students participate in an experiment to profile an imaginary serial killer. No detail is spared and when it's over, they have what is almost a living and breathing person on paper. Unfortunately, this "imaginary" killer doesn't want to stay in the confines of the role playing experiment. When people begin to die in circumstances that match the modus operandi of the invented killer, the experiment is called off. Years later, however, it looks as though the killer wants to come back and play, seeming to materialize from the very darkness of the participants' imagination. It will take all of them to stop him, to try and understand exactly what he is, but the killer has plans of his own and time is running out. As usual, Mr. George executes this idea with great skill and enthusiasm. It's one of his best, and a must have for people who love suspense and horror.

Rating:
Summary: "They called it the Profile Experiment."
Review: Ten years ago in Halkirk, Minnesota, five gifted college students (Jo Granville, Ryan Locke, Larry Kirby, Neal Gowar, and Kendra Bennet) were involved in a psychic experiment, masterminded by Professor Wakely and the FBI, to "build the profile of a serial killer." Now that imaginary killer (known as Joshua Valentine) has somehow become real and is eager to kill again--unless these five friends can stop him.

While "Bloody Valentine" is just over 400 pages, it's relatively fast-paced and suspenseful (though a lot of time is spent channeling Joshua), thanks to George's easy-to-read, terse writing. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect from this book when I first picked it up. By the title and cover alone (blood in the title and on the cover, seeping out of a woman's eyes like tears, mirrored in a descending knife blade), I expected a run-of-the-mill slasher, especially coming from Zebra, not that I'm knocking them. In fact, I support any publisher that still prints horror. It's just hard to find anything original published after the '80s. ("Bloody Valentine" was published in January 1994.)

Anyway, after a couple chapters into it, I couldn't put the book down. I was certainly impressed. "Bloody Valentine" is one of the few exceptionally-written supernatural horror novels that I've read in a long time. It's well worth your time and money if you're into this genre.