Deadly Communion

by Owen Brookes

Using her telepathic powers, Leigh, an American doctor, helps Steven, her British lover, track down the psychopathic killer who has formed some sort of mind link with Steven

Genres: Horror

276 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 1984

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an odd novel to be sure, DC, while marketed as horror (part of the 80s horror boom to be sure), this is really more of a thriller/mystery. Our main protagonist, Steven Cole, is a mild mannered administrator at a hospital in London. The book starts with Steven, way out of it and with a pounding headache, suddenly striking his wife Georgia. Steven is not a wife beater, however, though he has been having some strange problems like the headaches and lapses of memory. After a through checkup a the hospital, everything seems normal except his EEG, which is way off-- spiky. Our other lead, Leigh Duncan, is a psychiatrist 'on loan' from the States; she is also a psychic with the ability to read auras and even other people's thoughts. It is pretty convenient, but Steven and Leigh meet at the hospital and she sees his aura as black and full of flames.

Meanwhile, some maniac is running around London killing boys in horrible ways. Steven somehow manages to see through the killer's eyes and feel his thoughts. Is he going crazy, or is there some sort of telepathic link between them? Leigh settles on the telepathic link and tries to get Steven to use his ability to track down the killer. She has the time to do so as Steven's wife through him out and he is staying at Leigh's place.

There is lots of family drama here to flesh out the story so to speak. Georgia is having an affair and is about to leave Steven (she comes to think he hit her because he found out). Mark, Steven's 14 year old son, is torn, stuck in the middle of what looks like a nasty divorce. Steven falls head over heals for Leigh as well. So both parents are having affairs. Steven is getting worse, however, as the 'mind link' seems to be able to control his moods, and even perhaps his actions. Is he being used to kill boys? Even Steven does not know.

This was definitely a quirky read. Decently written, Brookes spins out a tale of strange mind powers and a killer. We get (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) to spend some time in the killer's mind, and that is not a very nice place to be. Can Steven track down the killer before he kills again? Will Steven go insane, or even start killing boys himself? You will have to read it to find out. I would not go out of my way tracking down a copy of this, but if you find it, it is a decent read. 3 stars.