In the Dark (1994)

Finished this book last night. Wow what a difference with the last book I read. This one I could not stop reading and it kept me thinking about it even when I could not read.

My dad gave me about 5 books by Richard Laymon. This is the first book I have read by him and I loved it. So original. I love the toughness, the gore, the sex. lol. Okay sometimes the story was a a bit like "A girl would never do that, but all in all I really loved reading it.

I picked this book because it had the best reviews out of the books i had.
Already reading another Richard Laymon book. And he has written so many books. I am thrilled to explore more. ( )

In The Dark - Richard Laymon *****

Jane is a librarian, one night as she prepares to close up she finds and envelope with a $50 bill and a note with a clue. She follows up on the clue and finds $100 dollars with a further offer of doubling her money each time she completes a task. The note is signed MOG (Master of Games). Each task gets more and more scary to complete, expect graveyards, late nights and death. :)

I have read a few Laymon novels and this one doesn't fail to live up to his legacy to shock. I think most of his books are male orientated with their fair share of jiggling boobs and bums. I just love them. I've not read the Beast house trilogy yet, but this book would seem an ideal place to start for fans new to his work. ( )

I enjoyed this more than the first Laymon book I read, Darkness Tell Us. In the Dark was the novel by him originally recommended to me, but I had been unable to find it in my favorite local used bookstore.

In the Dark has more narrative pull to it than most books you will find--and I would include those that primarily use annoying gimmicks like cliffhanger chapter endings. Laymon's imagination and wicked sense of humor are enough to keep you interested here.

The central plot was enough to tantalize me: a librarian finds a note addressed to her containing fifty dollars and clues as to where to find the next note. The instructions get more elaborate, the pay increases, and the stakes. The less you, the potential reader, know, the better. I will therefore say no more about the plot, except that it delivers on its promises of something different and exciting.

I must mention that I came to terms somewhat with what seemed like excruciating padding in Darkness Tell Us. It seems like the twists and turns of the protagonist's thoughts make a lot more narrative sense in this outing, but the book still could have been about 10-20% shorter, I suspect. ( )

Jane, the local Donnerville librarian, receives a $50 bill and instructions from a mysterious stranger, the master of games (MOG). The clues continue and every time she succeeds at solving the "game" the money is doubled. This pattern continues on and on and the "game" pushes Jane down a very dark path as her greed overtakes her common sense. The story started out very strong, but the pattern of: Note + Money + Gruesome Task was not strong enough to hold up for 500+ pages. ( )

Lu d'une traite, pas pu m'arrêter, mais pas si bon que ça, finalement, déçue par la fin, je crois que je n'aime plus trop ce genre de bouquin. ( )