Book Review: The Demon of Devil’s Cavern by Brennan LaFaro
Title: The Demon of Devil’s Cavern (A Rory Daggett Story)
Author: Brennan LaFaro
Release date: August 24th, 2024
*Huge thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the digital copy of this one!*
A sequel.
Are you fans of sequels?
Or do you prefer a one and done and leave them be approach?
I’m 50/50 honestly. Some times I read a book and I’m like ‘Well, that was perfect and we need nothing else there!’ Other times it’s a ‘Holy WOW! What an ending! But there’s so much more that needs to be answered!’
And I get it. Hell, I hear it every day from people asking about a few of my books if there will be a sequel (specifically a novel of mine that rhymes with Mastodon).
LaFaro is no stranger to sequels. His Slattery Falls series is phenomenal and he managed to deliver a phenomenal opener and two even stronger follow ups, which is tough. Often times we get a dip.
So, with this one, I was curious, as book one, ‘Noose,’ was very well done.
LaFaro is a gifted storyteller, as though Ronald Kelly sprinkled him with the good writing dust that Kelly possesses and added in a dash of Brian Keene. I can’t speak about LaFaro’s writing process, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he outlines two or three books in a series prior to even writing book one, just to have the characters have short, medium and long arcs and the storylines can weave throughout.
That’s how it feels.
I was excited to dive into this one and see what Rory and Alice were up to, but also worried over what darkness might befall them.
What I liked: Let’s make this easy. Book two is better than book one.
Hands down. And book one is amazing and a belter and (insert adjectives of praise here, readers!).
The book follows the events of the first – and beware as there might be inadvertent spoilers here – and the sequel opens with a literal BANG.
A knock on the door. Rory and Alice are living on the outskirts of town, recovering physically and mentally from the incident with Noose and the witch. The door is answered. A new sheriff has arrived, and she means business, though cordially. But then she’s killed and the action kicks off.
The opening would’ve made for a phenomenal short story if it’d ended there, but it doesn’t. Because a gun fight happens, we know the Sheriff’s dead, and then the next day, the Sheriff returns with a posse, wanting to arrest Rory and Alice over her attempted murder. What?! Right?!
From that moment it’s a cat and mouse game of what’s going on and who is the Sheriff actually.
Rory and Alice head to the hills, get aid from an unexpected source, and as news comes to light and details are revealed, we find out some history and some truths.
LaFaro does a wonderful job of slowly delivering the emotional beats within the story, giving us a few shocking moments at very key points. Nothing demonstrates this more than Rory and Alice’s connection, their sign language communication and how – even after a very brutal truth is revealed – they know they are all each other has.
The ending of this particular book is very profound. I wasn’t expecting the unique look at death, the afterlife and the potential trickle effects of resurrection. It fit the thematic element of the Rory/Alice storyline very, very well, but also tied in the loss at the start of book one with the hope that appears out of nowhere at the end of book two.
What I didn’t like: Honestly, a very tiny, tiny gripe of mine has become the usage of real-life authors/friends of the author within books and that kept cropping up with some of the names. I get it, it’s kind of like how a lot of folks name drop friends books within their own book – having a character read X book by X author – but for me it throws me out of the fictional world for the briefest of moments. And I say that knowing full well that I was a character within Alan Baxter’s ‘The Roo.’ And I also understand the WHY of doing it. It’s just my own personal reading issue.
Why you should buy this: Horror western books are always a blast, but even better – adding a paranormal/supernatural element and LaFaro has hit a home run with combining the two – and even more amazing is that book two is that much more fun that book one (and book one was fantastic!)
If you’re a fan of LaFaro’s this is a no brainer to grab, and if you loved book one, also a no brainer. But if you’re looking for a novel written with the 80’s character sensibilities, the 90’s emotional impact trope and the 2020’s pacing style, look no further. LaFaro has once again managed to create characters you instantly fall for and root for and scenarios that have you white-knuckling the pages!
5/5
