Chasing the Dead

Amazing! Couldn't put it down! This was a great pick for an author I've never read before!

I finished "Chasing The Dead" in one day. It has got to be the best book that I have ever read, and I have read many books! Intense, a nail-biter, with a great ending, this book is a must read!!

Joe Schreiber's debut novel is a page-turning, ridiculously entertaining, gory thrill-ride that I could not put down. It's just too bad that the novel is only 196 pages long, because I could have kept going for hundreds more. I started the book at 10 this morning, and I had finished by 6 this evening. While the book might lack depth in some areas, it more than makes up for that by the original storyline and surprising twists and turns. I haven't been immersed in a mystery put forth in a book in quite a while. I won't even summarize the plot, because to try to explaing what goes on throughout the pages would only serve to spoil a great book for future readers. All you need to know is that Sue Young's daughter, Veda, is kidnapped within the first 20 pages of the book, and from there it is all downhill (in a good way). Chasing the Dead takes place over the course of one night as Sue's journey to save her daughter gets crazier and crazier until you just want to read ahead to find out what the heck is going on. While some people are saying this book is a great homage, and love it for that, I love it for its originality and ability to combine about 3 to 4 different genres of thriller into 196 pages. If Joe Schreiber can keep pumping out books like this, then I think that the horror novel community will have a new author to look forward to for a long time to come.

This book was recommended to me by a friend who works at a bookstore. I sat down one evening to read it and couldn't put it down. It started out as a story that could happen in any neighborhood and I thought I knew where it was going and then it caught me by surprise. Chapter by chapter it swept me deeper into the scariness of this women's journey and I had to turn each page to answer all my questions. What a great read...Joe Schreiber's descriptions and details make you believe you are in the car with Sue and allows you to step inside the book.

So, I just read this book without getting up out of my chair once. I was drawn immediately into the suspenseful scenario ... and then I gurgled aloud and twitched at the sordid imagery ... and followed (against my will) along Sue Young's journey, chewing off my cuticles, until the very last page. I anticipate more gnashing and thrashing in my bed tonight! This book is not only a thriller. The thoughtful and precise language - and the structure of the book as a whole - make it a book I'll remember. I just hope I can forget it once the lights go out tonight.

I've read an advance copy and I can tell you that Chasing the Dead is a deliciously creepy page turner that you will be too scared to stop reading. The advance reviews are excellent with many reviewers comparing Schreiber favorably to Mr. Horrorpants himself Stephen King. This is not hyperbole. Schreiber is a sickly inventive author, at once darkly observant and casually hilarious, making this tight, excellent debut a must read. You can't miss with Chasing the Dead especially since Halloween is just around the corner and there's nothing kids love more in their trick or treat bags than a terrifying novel.