Book Review: Cold Keep Reprisal by James Lurid
Title: Cold Keep Reprisal
Author: James Lurid
Release date: July 1st, 2023
Huge thanks to James for sending me a digital-ARC of his debut novel.
What does it say about the current state of Alberta that when I was contacted by James, I saw he’s also in Alberta, so I had to do a dive into his Facebook page to see if there was any horrendous views expressed. Alberta – sadly (and possibly has always been like this, I’m not sure being a transplant from BC) – has devolved into a Canadian Florida for many things. I won’t go too far into it at all, but thankfully, James had shared articles and had made posts that affirmed to me he was on the up and up. Now, for some of you, you may think that’s overkill, but for me, it’s necessary. I work hard to support marginalized people and make sure they know I’m an ally and my feeds are a safe place.
As for the novel itself, I was intrigued. I enjoy possession/haunting stories that take place in a specific area, so beyond just a singular person possessed, but the actual place itself and with it set in a prison, I wanted to see what Lurid would do. Granted, prison-based stories (and movies/TV shows) are normally not my thing, but this had me very curious. So, I dove in.
What I liked: The novel follows Walter, a police officer dealing with significant PTSD, who is unwilling to get help. Following an incident where he uses excessive force, a bargain is made. Instead of losing his job, he’ll go into a prison undercover to see why so many inmates are dying.
It’s from here that James takes us on an imaginative and thrilling roller coaster of a ride. Walter tentatively makes friends while inside, but his ulterior motive for actually being inside guides his decisions and continues to get him in trouble.
When the possession element is introduced, it ramps things up another notch. The Indigenous aspects and care in treating it with respect was phenomenal and acknowledged in the afterword. This aspect, of what was there before and what has been unleashed, made for an engaging antagonist, above and beyond the inmates themselves.
Lurid drags us, kicking and screaming, through a few different set pieces, which leads us up to the brutal, blistering ending. The epilogue can be considered both an ending or a set up for a sequel, but either way, us readers get more questions answered than most books.
What I didn’t like: As I mentioned, I’m not a huge fan of prison-based stuff as a whole. It can be monotonous and honestly, we know what’s going to happen. So the confines of the setting restricted this novel at the beginning. The inmates are stuck in the their cells. And when they leave for food, work etc, you know someone is going to try something, so there’s very little in the way of the element of surprise.
As well, I really disliked the cartoonish nature of the warden. His character reminded me of the warden in the final Human Centipede movie, and every time he showed up in the novel, I felt myself wanting to tune out. His character works well for what needs to be done, but I could’ve done without him.
Why you should buy this: ‘Cold Keep Reprisal’ is a very solid debut novel. It has a pacing that works well for those taking a chance on a new author and James controls the tension perfectly, making sure to slowly ramp it up instead of an all-or-nothing approach many new writers take.
The possession aspect was top notch and the characters will be ones you either root for or hope get ripped apart, and really what more could you want?
4/5
