Frightful Friday: The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin

 As Fright Fest was nearing its close, I couldn’t bear to think about how long it would be before I reviewed another spooky book.  Thanks to Twitter (of course!) I realized that I can continue to read and review books from my favorite genres.  Of course, I wanted others to be able to share in this as well, so I’ve created a new weekly feature here called Frightful Friday.  Each Friday, I will spotlight a mystery/thriller/horrror/paranormal book I read that week.  I will include a Mr. Linky so you can link up your creepy reads as well!

That said, my first FrightFul Friday book is…

Nicholas Close is still recovering from the unexpected death of his beloved wife.  Since her passing he’s had the gift of seeing the undead, reinacting the last moments of their tragic deaths.  Seeking comfort, he heads to his childhood home of Tallong, Australia. 

Instead of seeking comfort he’s forced to witness the death of his childhood friend over and over again.  A death that should have been his own.  He also sees spirits of several other children around the same age. Looking back through the town’s history Nicholas notices a pattern of deaths of children.  Slowly he begins to realize there was a reason he didn’t die as he should have, all those decades ago.  He was meant to serve a purpose; a horrid & dark path was made for him.

I was astounded to discover that The Dead Path is the debut novel of Australian author, Stephen M. Irwin.  Irwin displays immense talent for a “rookie”; the story he wove was intricately detailed and chilled me to the bone.  His writing is reminicent of that of Stephen King & Peter Straub, quite descriptive & full of intensity.  At the onset, Irwin makes it seem as though this book is simply about a case of child murders but in reality that is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Dead Path is not a book for the faint of heart.  Parts are quite dark, disturbing & graphic, but these traits really make this book what it is: an astoundingly chilling piece of horror fiction.  Fans of King & Straub would definitely enjoy it.  I look forward to reading more from this author!

If you are interested in participating in Frightful Friday, grab the button & link up your post below!