Night Cage

Good suspense novels are a rarity these days. Serial killers just aren't as interesting or as terrifying as they used to be. We haven't seen a Hannibal Lector or a Norman Bates in years. So when you find a decent, engrossing and entertaining suspense novel, you jump on it and hold on tight to it. Night Cage is such a book. The third Harper book takes you down a road of madness and psychological mayhem that quickly turns into a very vivid nightmare. Although his life has been filled with dangerous situations, Trey Campbell still works at Darden State Hospital, home to the criminally insane. When a young man who calls himself Doc is brought into his care, accused of murder, Trey quickly finds himself in the middle of a revenge story twenty years in the making. Doc just happens to be the son of Bloody Mary, aka Mary Chilmark, an ex-patient of Darden's who's son was conceived in that very hospital. No one truly knows who Doc's father truly is, although it had to be someone who worked at the hospital. And now Mary Chilmark wants to set things straight and, with her son's help, get revenge for the wrong that was done to her. With the help of Jane Laymon, The Red Angel's fearless young cop, Trey will have to uncover the dark secrets that Doc and his mother have been hiding for such a long time before Bloody Mary acts out her rage once again. The book's beginning slowly sets up the story, but once it begins unravelling, the suspense amounts to a whole new level of greatness. The last hundred pages are a breeze to the reader. You just won't be able to put this one down. Harper has shown once again that he can weave a great, entertaining tale of suspense. This time, instead of going for action and violence, he goes for psychological scares and tension, and the genre agrees quite nicely with his style. Breezy and fast-paced, Night Cage comes highly recommended.

I picked up this book on a whim. The basic premise is set in a "State Hospital" with a spooky basement (left over from the days when people with drinking problems were put in asylums). The story was told in a straightforward manner and the main character was interesting in a generic kind of way. While I could have used more interaction between Trey and Jane, prior to them heading to the basement, the characters worked for me. This book is fair until you hit about 2/3 of it when the hospital needs to be evacuated and most of the characters find themselves in the dreary, spooky basement. The author describes the action in a quick, precise manner and makes sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. You can actually picture yourself going through the torture chambers, etc. As a matter of fact, in my opinion, the descriptions of the basement are more interesting than the "bad guys" in this book. Put it all together and you get a solid, scary story.

I picked this up at a bookstore--the cover intrigued me, and I read the description on the back. "Escaped mental patients?" thought I. "I'm there!" You see, I have a fascination with mental illness, particularly psychopathy, sociopathy, etc. I almost majored in psychology, but decided on art instead. Anyway... This is a great book. I read the whole thing inside two weeks (usually it takes me longer to finish a book since I don't read as often as I used to). Harper really knows how to build suspense, and though this wasn't a *scary* book so to speak, it was quite thrilling and somewhat disturbing in its own way. Suffice to say I really enjoyed it. The only reason it gets four stars rather than five is the ending--it's not a *bad* ending, it just seems really rushed. I would've liked a little more "wrapping up" time. It's still well worth reading, though.

Andrew Harper is the pseudonym for horror enthusiast Douglas Clegg. Harper’s novels may be labeled as more of a ‘thriller’ by Leisure books, and, while I have not yet red his other novel ‘Red Angel’ and unable to comment on it, Night Cage was, to me, held an utterly terrifying premise. The plot has to do with insane killers, the branch of psychiatry, what could go wrong with the human mind (particularly when the body is subjected to abuse), and old asylums – come on, what could be creepier?? Within the white walls of this novel, we have a rich atmosphere full of psychology, bizarre motivations, and twisted intentions. All the scenes beneath the asylum were eerie and claustrophobic. The pace of Night Cage was laid out as well as the blueprints for Darden State; the ending had a nice, drawn out climax, leaving me a little reassured, but also disturbed as hell. Whatever this one ends up ‘labeled’ as, let’s just say it freaked the pants off of me, and that’s not always so easy to do!