Ike Hamill’s books are getting me through the lockdown
It’s Memorial Day in a small tourist town in Maine where preparations are underway for the annual parade. Hamill introduces a wide variety of characters with his usual vivid portraiture. Some weird things are happening from early on: a kid does a strange levitation trick for his brother, for example. We’re clearly in Stephen King territory.
This was a cracking good read that kept me hooked from page 1. And I don’t even like horror/paranormal books as a rule! At least I thought I didn’t: despite not liking the genre, it’s the third Ike Hamill book that I have read and, having just finished this one, the only thing I want this very moment is to start another one.
So why am I enjoying his books? Well to stick to this one, the storyline is improbable but the characters are immediately relatable… Each person is very distinctly portrayed and you engage quickly with their individual stories. That’s what keeps you going. The storytelling is excellent with plenty of suspense and action. You really have to remind yourself that you’re not reading Stephen King. Now I honestly don’t know if Hamill appreciates the comparison but I mean it as a compliment.
As a reader who spent decades turning up her literary nose at popular novels like this, in middle age I’ve come to recognize their qualities. The ability to make a reader suspend their disbelief and lose themselves in a fictional environment is all the more admirable the more outlandish the story.
And even more so when it’s helping the reader get some very welcome distraction from a global pandemic. Thank you.
I still enjoy a good literary novel but my goodness they are few and far between. Till I find one, I’ll be happily losing myself in more like this.
Find Accidental Evil on Amazon and at other bookstores.
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