Desert Places: A Novel of Terror

Andy is a popular author who receives a note about a dead body on his property covered in his DNA & location of the murder weapon. He is to contact no one. The blackmailer kidnaps Andy & the nightmare begins. To Andy's surprise he knows the cunning killer who takes him on a psychotic journey of murder, mayhem, & enlightenment. Pretty gory detailed book with lots of stabby stabby bloody murder

This book grabbed me in the first few pages and took me on a roller-coaster ride clear to the end. It's not often a book starts with such a bang and is able to maintain the momemtum to the last page. Desert Places is such a book. Andrew, a famous horror author gets a letter in the mail instructing him to call the phone number included in the letter by a certain time period. If he fails to comply, the police will find a dead body,buried on his property, murdered with a knife from Andrew kitchen and Andrews blood on the body. Thus starts the ride of Andrews life. Will Andrew survive events that are about to take place, will he trade places with the killer, or will he lose his life in an attempt to stop the madness? This book was exciting, suspenseful, and frightening. Without giving all the fun away, let's just say that Andrew soon discovers exactly what a human being is capable of under the right circumstances. Blake Crouch has created two characters who you find yourself cheering for and hating. He keeps you on the edge of your seat by keeping the action moving and fresh. The story never bogs down. Crouch avoids the trap of becoming repetitive and boring. He gets right to the meat of the story. This is a book that is well worth your time. Dare to enter the desert with Andrew and be prepared for the ride of your life.

If you like your thrillers crammed full of constant tension, wicked violence, and hair-pin twists and turns, pick up a copy of DESERT PLACES. Crouch doesn't wade into the serial killer genre; he jumps in with both feet. The antagonist of this novel, the brilliant but psychotic Orson, is one of the creepiest maniacs in recent memory. Fans of early John Sandford and James Patterson will find a lot to like here, as will afficionados of Koontz and Richard Laymon. There have been some great serial killer novels this year, like Jack Kerley's The Hundredth Man and Jeff Lindsay's Darkly Dreaming Dexter. I'd put this in the same league. My only complaint is it went by too fast. I eagerly await the follow-up.

I have to admit that I saw this book jacket and it alone scared me, so after reading the reviews here I decided to spend the money on the hardcover and try it. I was some of the best money that I ever spent. I was blown away by the stoyline and really began to feel for Andy. His characters were believable, scary as that may be, and the plot was think with suspense. I found myself reading huge chunks of the book at a time and it was a very fast read. Was it gory - yes - is it for everyone - no - BUT this is a well written book that has the potential to capture a huge following of fan waiting for the sequel. This book did not contain anything new in terms of violence or blood. The violence was second to a plot that was explosive. Give it a try - I think you will be a fan of this debut as well.

I hated it, but I couldn't quit reading it! This book was one of the scariest things I've read since Kiss the Girls. I can't wait to get it out of my house so I don't have to look at the creepy guy on the cover anymore. It's a book you're even afraid to put next to your bedside table. It has a life of its own. Darn scary book. If you like terror and fright, this is the book for you!

Relaxing on the deck of his secluded, wood-bounded home after a long day at the keyboard, successful author Andrew Thomas goes through his mail--a phone bill and a stampless envelope which he suspects may be fan mail, delivered by hand. It isn't. The envelope contains a typewritten letter, only one paragraph long: "There is a body buried on your property," he reads, "covered in your blood." Thomas is directed to dig up the mouldering corpse and retrieve something from the dead woman's pocket. If he doesn't, whoever wrote the letter will feed information to the police that incriminates Thomas. A bad end to a productive day, but things get much worse for our hero from here. Desert Places starts with a bang and doesn't let up for the next hundred-odd pages, at which point there is a section break and the reader can start breathing again, check his or her pulse, and assess the likelihood that the closet door is ajar because a psychopath is hiding behind it with a serated knife. (Probably not, but you never know.) The book is gruesome in parts. If you don't like the occasional brain-splattered windshield in your reading, as well as cruelty toward men, women, children, and animals, you may not want to pick this one up. But if you do open the book--if only to get that scary-looking guy on the cover to stop staring at you--you won't be able to put it down. Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece