Lee Allen's Blog - Posts Tagged "grady-hendrix"

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A tale of demonic horror and the everlasting power of friendship.

As children, Abby and Gretchen become firm friends, experiencing the beginning of their teenage lives joined at the hip, riding the waves of their adolescence together as the years go by, their shared bond one that only childhood best friends can have.

One night, with the freedom of a parent-free zone and a concoction of substances at a friend's lakeside home, carefree skinny-dipping takes a sinister turn when Gretchen is lost deep in the woods until daylight.

Following the incident, she no longer seems quite herself. Battling mysterious and degenerative ailments, she is becoming lost, a repulsive relic of her former self. But Abby refuses to give up on her friend, the stakes becoming ever higher in the ensuing battle for Gretchen's soul.

Packed with 80s nostalgia and lashings of supernatural horror, 'My Best Friend's Exorcism' is a rip-roaring horror novel that clutches hold of you from its opening line, holding you in its grasp throughout each of its tightly-plotted, rollercoaster chapters. At its core, this is a character-driven story, the teenagers and the adults in their orbit impeccably portrayed. The narrative focuses on the friendship between Abby and Gretchen - we are with them throughout the development of their years of friendship, an emotive foundation for the horrors that are to be unleashed, as much a coming-of-age story as it is of horror.

The frothy glitz and sense of fun we've come to associate with the 80s is marinated throughout the prose, each chapter marked by a classic song, the atmosphere dripping in suspense and sudden bursts of violent drama reminiscent of the era's height of slasher movies and supernatural thrillers. This is vivid storytelling, the visual imagery and music as prominent as the angst-ridden undercurrents and terror of the unknowable, combining to create a deep and dizzying spectacle that is as much felt as it is read.

Dark and light in equal measure, the novel blends scenes of revulsion with humour, trauma with heart-warming moments, delving into its themes of love and faith and how they are tested to the limits, bringing with it a fresh perspective to this niche of the genre and building a truly human tale of perseverance in the face of adversity and the battle of overcome relentless evil. Truly absorbing and entertaining, this was a non-stop thrill ride of a book, like a party you just don't want to end, which I devoured in one weekend. This was the first novel by Grady Hendrix that I've read and it certainly won't be the last.

Vivid and visceral, 'My Best Friend's Exorcism' is a gripping horror novel that will delight and disturb in equal measure.



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