The Fallen by Dale Bailey
This was an eARC from Netgalley.
While well written for a first novel, this tale of hidden evil in a small town fails to really click as a horror novel, coming across more as a thriller with some supernatural shadowing. The story doesn't quite flow as smoothly as it could, the entity lurking in the background spends too much time lurking, and it's displays of power read more like displays of underlying psychological problems than the manipulations of an evil force. The religious aspects are a little off kilter, more twisted to fit the plot than a well thought out alternate view of the belief as a whole.
Regardless, I will be checking out more of Bailey's writing.
Fans of old school small town horror should enjoy this book.
