Exorcist Road

Jonathan Janz has always been a good writer. With Exorcist Road, Janz has shown that he has evolved into a great writer. Up until now, my favorite story of 2014 was Gord Rollo's The Jigsaw Man which was absolutely amazing. Well, Mr. Rollo, you now have some company. Exorcist Road is an expertly written scare fest that will cause you to stay up all night. Half of the night will be spent reading the tale. The rest of the night will be spent trying to sleep with one eye open because Exorcist Road will scare the bejeezus out of you.

Danny Hartman, a Chicago police officer, wakes up his 29-year-old priest, Father Crowder, with a rap on the door in the middle of the night. He explains to Father Crowder that his partner and him were summoned show more to Danny's brother's house and fears that his nephew is possessed. His partner, Jack, also thinks that his nephew is the Sweet Sixteen killer that has been terrorizing the area. What the priest finds handcuffed to the bed in that affluent suburban Chicago home is not of this earth. Is it also responsible for killing 16-year old girls in the area?

Exorcist Road is full of twists and turns and new revelations around every corner, every page turned, and the gripping story refuses to be put down. You'll cringe and your skin will crawl as the events are slowly revealed in teasing fashion. Janz pulls out all the stops and satisfies. There's blood. There's scares. There's eerie creepiness all packed in what becomes a "who dunnit" mystery that delivers a punch to the midsection. Jonathan Janz has pulled up a chair to the big boy table and I don't think he'll be done eating for quite some time. Do yourself a favor and get acquainted with the new face of horror. He just delivered one of the best reads of 2014. show less

Jonathan Janz doesnt' disappoint. When I say possession, I mean we get all the frills pulled out without holding any punches. Right away - bam, bam. But the interest in the story wasn't in it being about possession per se - it was about a paranoid town tormented by a serial killer, a house full of people keeping secrets, priests with hidden desires, cops pushed to the limits of sanity, imperfect parents. Great stuff, a gem in the possession sub-genre, which isn't even something I usually enjoy. On to the next, Exorcist Falls. Full review to come.

What can I say...just brilliant, one of the best horror novellas I have read this year. The story revolves around the search for the "sweet sixteen killer" and the possession and excorcism of a demon residing in the body of young Casey Hartman. Many readers will draw inference from The Excorcist by William Peter Blatty but Jonathan Janz's novel stands as a superb work in its own right. Will the sweet sixteen killer be caught? Will the demon be removed from the tormented body of Casey? The answers will be revealed in a story that I could not stop until I finished in one sitting. Everything about this story is stylish and slick and an ending both unexpected and utterly compelling in its execution.

This was a well written, scary exorcist story. There is a evil demon that can reveal your deepest darkest secrets. Learning everyone's secrets was one of the best parts of the book. All the dark thoughts that people keep hidden, come to life. There was definitely some graphic imagery in this book. And the pacing was very fast. I enjoyed reading this.

Hmm, interesting....

4.5/5 stars!

I read this on audiobook as it was included with the novel Exorcist Falls. Here's a link to my audiobook review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1915455079?book_show_action=false&from...