Book Review of Invisible Fiends: The Beast by Barry Hutchison

Synopsis

Kyle is having trouble with the neighbours.

They’ve turned into black-eyed, flesh-eating zombies. Now would be a good time to leave town but out there, on the snow-covered streets, something far worse is lurking.

There is a beast in the shadows and the only way for Kyle to fight it is to use his powers. But every time Kyle uses them, he weakens the barrier between this world, and the terrifying, world of the Darkest Corners.

If the barrier breaks there will be more killers on the streets.

Review

Read my reviews of the two previous books: Doc Mortis & The Crowmaster.

I didn’t think that Invisible Fiends: The Beast, was quite the scare-fest as either Doc Mortis or The Crowmaster, but that doesn’t mean there is any less to enjoy here. Barry Hutchison compensates by really ratcheting up the action! The nature of the baddie in the one (so nearly went with nature of the beast there!) is that Kyle and Ameena spend most of their time being chased across town by both The Screechers and then The Beast, barely escaping with their lives more than once.

And by saying it’s slightly less scary, than the previous books, is a bit like saying the Atlantic is a bit less wet than the Pacific… There’s still plenty of death, gore, and gruesome moments to make even the most hardy of readers squint at the next line, just in case.

I did like that Ameena got to share some ‘screen-time’ in this one, it was nice to see the Kyle didn’t have to suffer alone (or the darker side of me enjoyed that he wasn’t the only one to suffer!), and I get the feeling that in The Darkest Corners, Kyle’s going to need all the help he can get.

Barry Hutchison, also makes sure to reveal a few secrets and throw in a few twists and turns in as the story builds towards the final confrontation between Kyle and his dad that will surely take place in the last book, some of which will leave you gasping. There was one (and no, I’m not going to even hint at which) that in a blink of an eye, had me gasping, then nodding ‘of course’, then gasping “noooo…” again. Definitely didn’t see that coming!

I’ll even let Barry off for the cliffhanger he leaves us on at the end, as he is clearly setting us up for an epic conclusion, but more importantly thanks to the lovely folk at HarperCollins I already have the final book, The Darkest Corners, in my grubby little mitts and don’t have to wait! Talking of which, can’t stay and chat…

Rating

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