Death Mask

In Death Mask, the main protagonist Molly Sawyer, has a special artisitic talent. She helps the police in drawing sketches for them. Her mother-in-law Sissy has psychic talents and reads tarot cards. The story really kicks into high gear when a mysterious double murder occurs in the elevator of a building in Cincinatti. The killer wears a red mask, which Molly depicts in her artist sketch. When the brutal killings show no sign of letting up, Molly and her mother-in-law come to the conclusion that her art work is coming to life. All of a sudden, there is more than one killer for the police to deal with.

Death Mask gives the reader just about everything they could ask for in a horror novel. For starters, the writing is superb, which is show more precisely what I would expect from Graham Masterton. The man is simply a master craftsman. The buildup in tension and horror is flawlessly executed. The premise of the story is unique and intriguing. The tension builds to a crescendo. The characters come to life. Despite the horror that Molly feels for springing a killer to life, she and Sissy don't back down in the face of danger. Although this isn't Masterton's best work, it's not far off the mark. The book is terrific fun. If you're a horror fan, this novel is a must read.

Carl Alves - author of Blood Street show less

Wow! This book not only requires that you willingly suspend disbelief, but that you also levitate over it. There’s a hole in the first few pages that you could fit a teevee preacher’s hair through. Still, Masterton writes to entertain and gives fair weight. A psycho killer with a supernatural aspect stalks Cincinnati, slaying dozens with butcher knives. This is the second book featuring psychic Sissy Sawyer, so maybe the dark fantasy thing that threw me in the opening is part of the character.

I tend to forget, when I haven't read anything by him for a while, just how good a writer Graham Masterton is. His ability to draw me in from the first page (often the first sentence) never ceases to impress me.

Death Mask is a great horror story written by a true master of the genre. My only criticism, and the only reason it doesn't get the full 5 stars, is that the ending is a bit too quick and easy after all that has gone before. However that should not stop anyone from picking up this book - even with that small fault it is among the best of genre fiction available. I can only aspire to reach this level.

"The 2nd Sissy Sawyer adventure - The discovery of a murdered office worker in the elevator of a condemned building sets in motion a chain of events that will make the streets of Cincinnati run with blood." Amazon discription

Molly, Sissy's daughter-in-law is a very talented artist. Lately her work as taken on a "life of it's own" and it isn't all harmless. As the terror level rises, Sissy and Molly hurry to figure out what has gone wrong as the bodies quickly pile up.

The book had the right amount of scary blended with a dash of mystery which made for a very good read. I was a bit confused with the characters in this one. It seems their names have changed from the first Sissy Sawyer novel. Oh well, still good.

When you browse the current horror shelves it's hard to find a horror or supernatural novel that's not vampires or zombies. Graham Masterton may have dabbled in these areas, however The Painted Man is a breath of fresh air. Masterton twists the standard serial killer crime novel on it's head when he adds his usual gruesome flair, in this case in a standalone second Sissy Sawyer mystery. There are plenty of thrills and plot twists as the story unfolds. Clever from start to finish, this is a recommended read with good characterisation and scenes of great horror.