Slain in the Spirit

Leila Blackwell suffers from keratitis, a condition that, coupled with prior eye problems, is slowly robbing her of her sight. Nevertheless, she stubbornly tries to maintain a "normal" lifestyle, often forsaking the companionship of her lover Cathy to act independently, as any fully sighted person might do. It's thus that she finds herself alone in a public rest room when a familiar male voice penetrates the silence, saying, "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." The voice belongs to the born again Russell Gavon, a former high school class mate, who believes God wants him to save Leila from her sinful existence. With this objective, he kidnaps Leila and confines her in an abandoned building. The two engage in a protracted battle of wills, Russell believing Leila's soul is at risk, Leila soon realizing that her very life is what's really at stake. Hampered by worsening eyesight (Russell withholds her medication, believing the Lord will heal her after she comes to her senses) and self-imposed mental obstacles, Leila vacillates between defiance and despair between increasingly desperate escape attempts. It is somewhat disingenuous to call Slain in the Spirit a horror novel; it is more accurately classified as a suspense novel, psychological thriller or tragedy. While certain aspects of the story can be deemed horrific, the book contains nary a whiff of the supernatural - whatever shivers the novel evokes lie in the characters' reactions to events, and in the way they treat each other and themselves. Still, this is enough, at least for someone with Tem's storytelling talents.Tem continues her tradition of writing about damaged souls, characters whose personal demons are far more dangerous to their well being than are outside forces. Leila is a curious, almost annoying choice for a heroine. Far from the durable, quick witted protagonist one might expect to encounter in a piece like this (think Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark), Leila is exceedingly passive, almost complacent, at several points in the story even feeling empathy for her deranged captor's skewed point of view. Russell also defies expectations - although he's the villain of the piece, readers begin to feel sorry for this unfortunate man, whose mental illness makes him so dangerous. The interaction between the two, however, makes for edge of the seat reading.Slain in the Spirit recalls (oddly enough, given the difference in their styles) some of Stephen King's work, particularly books like Gerald's Game and The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, books which King took on in part because the narrowness of their scope, setting, and cast presented creative challenges. Like King, Tem meets that challenge, crafting a gripping, engaging story from the limited resources she allowed herself to work with. For instance, she does a masterful job of telling the story from Leila's point of view, forcing her to describe the world as her nearly blind heroine "sees" it, a colorless, claustrophobi

I had never read a book by Melanie Tem so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a great read that was not in the traditional horror genre, but used religious fanaticism as a means to frighten. And this one is terrifying. What makes this book so scary is that there are people just like that in the world and this could actually happen. Its the story of a blind woman who happens to be a lesbian, a woman who unwittingly became an obsession to a man she knew in school many years before. He believes her blindness is a sign from God that she hasn't embraced Him and he kidnaps her and keeps her until she can see. Of course, she's blind and nothing can get her nearly non-existent sight back. In fact, he has denied her all the things she needs to keep it from getting worse.Wow, this one was non-stop and it never failed to scare me. It was a very suspenseful with many foiled attempts to escape. Russell is a character from our worst nightmares and his craziness could actually be ripped from the headlines. The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five was the ending. Though I thought this book fantastic, the ending left so much to be desired. It appeared to be almost rushed and I was hoping for more at the end. Still, this is very good stuff and even with the ending, its worth buying and reading. It will creep you out very badly. Great!

This was a pretty good book, and I recommend it. The author really did her research and very accurately portrayed religious fanatisicm, including some of its characteristic jargon. I was impressed. Parts of the book were eerily tormenting. If you like to be spooked, this book might do it for you. My only complaint is that I would have preferred a stronger ending. By the last page, I was left with the feeling and opinion that things were not completely resolved. But it is still a book worth reading. Hope you like it too.