Dark Side: The Haunting

I loved it from front cover to back cover. The cover itself might seem simplistic; black background and red text with a female face split in two, one side of the face- a negative. Not so. I, myself, wasn't thrilled at first but eventually the cover ate at me. Simplistic? Only in the way that a photograph of our galaxy can be. Just holding this book gives me the chills. As for the story itself? Not horrifying. Creepy. Yes, indeedy-deed. The creeping fear that, if you are lucky enough to fall asleep, wakes you in the middle of the night with a light feathery touch to the back of your neck. You almost hear your name kissed into your ear. You are given a lovely woman. A woman who has survived a terrible accident. You get a look at all of the people in her life. Among them, a husband who may, or may not, love her. Next, the mystery. Was this an accident? No? How ick... Well then, into the tasty stew gets thrown the true sour apple flavor. A Doppelganger. Jenny's. A fun read full of delicious fear and mesmerizing mystery. Supernatural Thriller; Trade PB 293 pages -- Leann Arndt, Reviewer

Jenny Garrett awakens to find an apparition of herself staring at her from across the room. So begins this bizarre trip into the supernatural. It turns out Jenny has survived a terrible crash but can't remember the accident or the weeks leading up to the accident. Enter a police detective who at first makes Jenny think shes done something terrible to cause her accident. The twist is: someone wanted Jenny dead and the detective is trying to figure out who and why. You are exquisitely teased with the notion that either the ghost of Jenny is trying to kill her or someone human is trying to kill her. While the detective is trying to unravel the mystery behind Jenny's attempted murder, Jenny is trying to find a way to escape the ghost's torment.Dark Side definitely keeps you turning pages as you seek to figure out not only who the would-be killer is, but also how Jenny can escape the Doppelganger. Because it seems the ghost is spiritually connected to her, she can't just flee the house as is so often the case in your typical ghost story.The story plays out at a rapid pace and Barlog keeps dangling suspense in front of you to keep you reading. Mystery fans and horror fans alike will enjoy this one.

I read DARK SIDE:THE HAUNTING over Halloween and really liked the idea of a ghost story that is not just another haunted house. The Doppelganger concept brought a new twist to those things that go bump in the night. I couldn't tell whether DARK SIDE was a mystery enshrouded by a ghost story or a ghost story enveloped by a mystery. Either way it was a delightful read and I recommend it to all Koontz and King fans.