Bad Man

With a second griping and terrifying novel, Dathan Auerbach continues to perfect his blend of childhood innocence, the background weirdness of mundane life, and paralyzing horror. It'll leave you feeling hollow and with nothing to do but curl up into the fetal position and stare at the wall. I've been waiting for five years to be able to read a second novel and Bad Man more than loved up to my expectations. It would be a disservice to the genre if Auerbach doesn't become recognized as one of the best modern horror Writers.

"They'd seen flyers for Eric here and there over the years. That is to say, their eyes had touched them from time to time, but that was as far as the image ever made it. They didn't know because they never really looked. No one ever does."

This was a great book - I started it and just couldn't stop. It was absolutely un-put-downable - even though I'm sick, even though I stay up waaaaay to late to finish it, I just had to know. It's a story that gets under your skin. A young teen Ben watches his toddler little brother during the day as his stepmother and father work. After arriving at a local grocery store, Ben has to leave his items on the belt at the cashier to take his little brother to the bathroom. It's chaos back there and Ben's show more head is still pounding. They are alone in the room so he takes a moment, just a single moment, to put his head against the cold tile and just try to will his pounding headache away. When he opens his eyes.....his little brother is gone.

This is the beginning of the story that becomes Ben's waking nightmare. He's a unique kid that feels the loss of his brother 2 fold - as a big brother missing a little brother the games, the laughs and the moments they had, but also because Ben lost Eric. As his life begins to unravel, he refuses to see anything but the search, still, so many years later, for the search for Eric.

It's an addictive read - I spent most of the book having no idea what was going on spinning idea after theory in my mind as I wondered where the story was going. I love the adventure but I'm ultimately let down by the ending. It was very good though, and is still being added to my favorites shelf. I must find more from this author!! show less

Fan- fricking- tastic!! I loved Penpal...it was easily my fave book of the year I read it. So, I was afraid Dathan would fall victim of having a too successful first book release....meaning the next book would certainly pale in comparison...no matter how good.

I was wrong!!! My fears were unwarranted!! Bad man is amazing!!

With a totally different feel and writing style, Dathan impresses with his talent...he won't be pigeon holed to one style. While both of these stories deal with child abduction....they are completely different.

Bad man is a puzzle that unfolds beautifully and flawlessly as you read. I wasn't happy with the ending.....but, even that can't soil the beauty of this book.

Dathan has a large fan following due to his creepy show more pasta stories. He has also seen some harsh reviews.While normally completely understanding of differing opinions and literary preferences...I have to eschew that line of thought here....if you don't appreciate the writing of Dathan Auerbach, you simply have no literary vision! show less

I’ve seen some comments of people saying this book dragged on or it was boring. I wonder if we were reading the same book because this is one of the most in depth and well written books I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Completely different writing style from his other book “Penpal” (which is also great) not to say that his other book wasn’t well written, but Bad Man felt a little matured, his writing felt more seasoned and eloquent. Though i didn’t care much for the ending, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Initial thoughts: “Dathan Auerbach’s novel is creepy but slow. It was one of those that I wanted to finish to find out what happened, but it dragged so much that I ended up skimming a two-thirds of it. The story needs to be cut by a good 100 pages or more to tighten up the narrative and make it a truly impressive novel.”

Now: Bad Man is another novel that does not hold up over time very well. The fact that it is such a slow-progressing story does not help matters, as your focus tends to wander while reading it. Plus, I cannot help but feel that the story is either trying to piggyback on another recent release about a bad seed or else is the unfortunate victim of poor timing (to say the title of the other novel would be to give away show more a huge plot spoiler for this one). While the two stories are very different in narrative and action, their endings are similar. Sadly, Bad Man now has me snorting in derision at the emotional manipulation of the story, while the other novel continues to impress me with its nuances and fodder for discussion. show less

"Somewhere in the distance, lightning lit the sky on fire, and it screamed in pain."

Bad Man will be published on August 7 and is available for pre-order now.
It is told from the point of view of Ben, a young man who lost his little brother 5 years ago and never forgave himself and never gave up searching. For some reason the police don't seem to care and his step mother is lost in her own world, still buying presents and holding birthday celebrations for her little boy who never came home. Ben's father doesn't want him working in the store where little Eric disappeared but he sure doesn't mind Ben bringing home a paycheck. His boss is a jerk and the other employees are a bit on the suspicious side.
This was an incredible read. Bad Man show more has more layers than an onion, each one deeper and darker than the one that came before. A heavy pervasive creeping dread settled in my stomach with the turn of each page.
5 stars
I received an advance copy for review. show less

I have mixed feelings about this book. It started off really well with an engaging storyline and a first chapter that drew me right in, but after a while... ehh.

There were too many red herrings tossed about, with clues that seemed to point very strongly/obviously to this guy or that. Now, in any good mystery story, you expect SOME false clues and all that jazz, to keep you guessing. But this book became frustrating to read, and near the end of the story it becomes so disjointed that it is hard to follow, so when the reveal finally comes, it's not as satisfying as I had hoped, nor did it make much sense, at least the way it was written.

However, I can give it 3 stars because the very ending does come with a shocking twist, no cliche happy show more ending here at least. show less