Book Review - Gecko by Jack Priest
Category Book Review Jack Priest Gecko
Via another request direct from the author, I was mailed a copy of Gecko by Jack Priest. As it was described as a horror story in the tradition of Dean Koontz, I was predisposed to like it already (yes, I'm a warped fan of Koontz's earlier novels). Gecko holds up well to that description, and I don't think I'll stop at this being the only Priest novel I'll read...
Jim Monday is walking along the street with his lawyer and friend David Askew. But as they start to cross the street, Askew is nailed by a hit-and-run driver. Monday is convinced he was the target when a doctor, Bernd Kohler, immediately shows up on the scene. Why? Because Kohler has stolen Monday's wife, will get half of his money in the divorce settlement, and likely wants the other half of a large life insurance policy on Monday as well. He physically assaults the doctor, and is restrained by a couple of cops. But something in Monday's story gets the cops thinking that Monday might just be right about the attempt on his life, and they start digging around privately on the side. Turns out there's far more sinister elements at play in the doctor's life, and everyone close to Monday and the investigation ends up confronting a nasty gecko-like monster that hunts humans for food. Monday has to dodge all the other cops who think he's a serial killer based on the mayhem left behind by the gecko creature, while trying to rescue his wife and save the daughter of the cop who's trying to help him. Oh, and there's that matter of the voice in his head belonging to a woman in New Zealand who is also being held captive and needs Monday's help to escape...
Priest's style most definitely reminds me of the early Dean Koontz books. Plenty of graphic gore playing out on a supernatural stage. I'll admit that on the first read of the novel, I missed the pages that explained the voice in the head. Perhaps that was when the Ambien was taking effect that night. My gripe was that we really needed to know more about the reason for the voice earlier in the story. But as I write this review, I went back into the book to get a name and found the four pages I missed at first. Having read that, things fall into place much more readily now. As such, I have to say it was a very well done horror novel (if that's a genre you like), and I will be checking out a few other Priest titles when time permits...
Via another request direct from the author, I was mailed a copy of Gecko by Jack Priest. As it was described as a horror story in the tradition of Dean Koontz, I was predisposed to like it already (yes, I'm a warped fan of Koontz's earlier novels). Gecko holds up well to that description, and I don't think I'll stop at this being the only Priest novel I'll read...
Jim Monday is walking along the street with his lawyer and friend David Askew. But as they start to cross the street, Askew is nailed by a hit-and-run driver. Monday is convinced he was the target when a doctor, Bernd Kohler, immediately shows up on the scene. Why? Because Kohler has stolen Monday's wife, will get half of his money in the divorce settlement, and likely wants the other half of a large life insurance policy on Monday as well. He physically assaults the doctor, and is restrained by a couple of cops. But something in Monday's story gets the cops thinking that Monday might just be right about the attempt on his life, and they start digging around privately on the side. Turns out there's far more sinister elements at play in the doctor's life, and everyone close to Monday and the investigation ends up confronting a nasty gecko-like monster that hunts humans for food. Monday has to dodge all the other cops who think he's a serial killer based on the mayhem left behind by the gecko creature, while trying to rescue his wife and save the daughter of the cop who's trying to help him. Oh, and there's that matter of the voice in his head belonging to a woman in New Zealand who is also being held captive and needs Monday's help to escape...
Priest's style most definitely reminds me of the early Dean Koontz books. Plenty of graphic gore playing out on a supernatural stage. I'll admit that on the first read of the novel, I missed the pages that explained the voice in the head. Perhaps that was when the Ambien was taking effect that night. My gripe was that we really needed to know more about the reason for the voice earlier in the story. But as I write this review, I went back into the book to get a name and found the four pages I missed at first. Having read that, things fall into place much more readily now. As such, I have to say it was a very well done horror novel (if that's a genre you like), and I will be checking out a few other Priest titles when time permits...