Book Review: SORROW'S POINT by Danielle DeVor

About the Book (from Goodreads):

Not all exorcists are created equal- especially those that are “marked”.

When defrocked ex-priest, Jimmy Holiday, agrees to help an old friend with his sick daughter, Lucy, Jimmy doesn’t expect the horrors that await him. Blackmoor, his friend’s new residence, rests upon the outskirts of the town of Sorrow’s Point. The mansion’s history of magic, mayhem, and death makes it almost a living thing – a haunted mansion straight out of Flowers in the Attic. Jimmy must decide if Lucy is only ill, or if the haunting of the house and her apparent possession is real.

After the house appears to affect him as well; seeing colors of magic when rooms of the house are warded by a witch and his voice taking on a power he doesn’t understand, Jimmy is met by a transient who tells him he has “the Mark”. Whatever being “marked” means, Jimmy doesn’t care. All he wants to do is help Lucy. Helping Lucy means performing the exorcism.

Jimmy knows the ceremony, but it's belief that matters. And if a demon is using a little girl as a meatsuit, his faith had better be strong enough to kick it back to Hell. Otherwise, he might damn them both.

MY TAKE:

Move over, Stephen King. Danielle DeVor is on her way!

First let me say that this isn’t my usual reading genre, and that I haven’t picked up a scary book in years. My kids know better than to try to take me to a scary movie – I scream and flinch way too easily. But as a teen, I devoured everything by Stephen King, read Edgar Allen Poe under the covers with a flashlight, and read The Amityville Horror, Jaws, and everything by V.C. Andrews over the same hot (scary) summer.

Sorrow’s Point took me back to those days. A well-crafted classic tale of horror and suspense, it reminded me of a combination of The Shining and Amityville Horror rolled together, with a protagonist ex-priest that I actually liked and rooted for, despite his personal shortcomings.

I love the interactions between Jimmy and Tabby, and found the juxtaposition of witchcraft, demonology and Catholic faith fascinating. However, I wouldn’t recommend reading this at night, or if you’re alone in the house. There are some seriously scary parts!

If you’re looking to scare yourself a bit with a well-crafted tale, pick up this book. You won’t be disappointed.