Death Instinct

Death Instinct is terrifying, terrifyingly close to being absurd. Well, obviously I’m not reviewing Sigmund Freud’s work. This is Bentley Little’s horror novel with the same title. However, some may claim to have found similarities between the two authors.
Okay, let’s get serious. This is an odd one out for sans any of the supernatural, Death Instinct is as much crime mystery as it is horror. Even so this, then, seems more grounded in reality, Bentley little does even here walk, write close to a thin line that is merely one step, one mad scratch away from entering the territory of the absurd. However, no matter how preposterous and inane his propositions , and this time he was truly blowing the horn of plenty, he manages never show more to overstep. I mean seriously, a talent for murder from the the most unlikely suspect. And when I say most unlikely, I mean so unlikely it is borderline absurdity. But then again, Bentley pulls it off, somehow. I really want to say more here but then I would have tick tick spoiler alert. So I will leave it at at.
Death Instinct is amazing and in my humble opinion one of Bentley Little’s best. show less

Over the years, I found Bentley Little's books to be mostly "hits" with only a few misses. This book leans more toward the latter. It's a very early work and is not written with the polish or suspense that his later books have. It's got plenty of gore and a number of underdeveloped characters. The hardest thing to accept, though, is the book's antagonist. Enough said.

If you're new to Little's world, stick to one of his later novels like The Store or The Policy and move on from this one.

Cathy remembers the house and what happened there when she was six years old. The house had stood vacant all these years but now a new family has moved in and it's started all over again. I really enjoyed this book. Bentley Little writes a whole lot like Stephen King and Dean Koontz.

Cathy was only six when the man that lived next door killed his wife and then himself.Twenty years have passed and the house is still there but is no longer vacant and something dreadful is beginning to happen in the neighborhood. The first victim is found skinned alive, the second in the street with every bone in her body rearranged. The screams are starting again from the house across the street. Whatever is happening inside is a secret that no one is suppose to know... that no one knows and lives.

Horrifying, nightmare inducing, whatever you want to call it, it is damn scary!

I love Bentley Little and this was another great book by a great horror author - a must read!