Kevin P. Keating

I think this is not a novel that suits everyone. Personally, I just found it too wordy, there were just too much and too lengthy descriptions that made me lose track of the story that and made me wonder where the point of the story was? And, that is too bad because in essence we have an interesting story with interesting characters, but they get lost in all the prattle.

I admit that I took I break from the book after I had read 60% and read some other books and then I returned to the book to see if the book felt better to read. And, it was still wordy, but it was a bit better because before it felt that nothing really happened to the story. I could read pages after pages, but the story felt that it didn't move forward. But after my break, at least, the story felt a bit better, things started to happen at least.

My native language isn't English, but I usually have no problem with reading English books. With this one was I happy that it was an ebook so that I could easily look up words that I didn't know and I'm used to it. A good way to learn new words, but I just don't like books that feel like the author is really trying to use as many difficult and less known words as possible. I don't even like to read that kind of books in Swedish.

I can't say I truly enjoyed reading this book. But it had its moments. I liked the story about the twins and Morgan and Lorelai. The professor, Martin Kingsley, and Emily Ryan's story was just not that interesting and that made everything involved Edmund Campion just as uninteresting to read. I like the background of the town as explained in the beginning of the book. But alas this was just not a book for me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for a blog tour at TLC Book Tours.… (més)

The Captive Condition by Kevin P. Keating is a modern Gothic horror novel set in Normandy Falls a small Midwestern college town. Edmund Campion is pursuing a master's degree at the college while also working for the college growns-crew and physical plant. He notices that his professor, Martin Kingsley, is having an affair with his neighbor, Emily Ryan. One drunken night Edmund discovers Emily has drowned in her pool and he begins to obsess on the dead woman. Adding to the creepy mix is his boss called the Gonk; Emily's malicious twin girls (picture the hallway scene in the movie The Shining); Edmund's ex-girlfriend Morgan Fey who works for a chef/drug dealer Xavier D’Avignon (who supplies hallucinogenic carrot juice to the town), and an exotic dancer called Lorelei who has fish tattoos. The whole town is haunted by a strange history and many would say evil spirits who mean to harm the living.

This is a very dark, mysterious novel with an overabundance of drinking or intoxication of some variety. Although, at the beginning, there are glimmers of humor in descriptions, The Captive Condition quickly turns horrific and frightening. Keating writes in a very stylistic manner that is reminiscent of old Gothic horror novels, which adds to the bleak mood he creates. While I can't fault the writing or the plot for any drawbacks, as the novel progressed I wasn't quite as engaged with it as I expected to be and felt disconnected. There were parts where I admired the writing a great deal, but, as the novel descended into horror it left me behind. I would recommend it based on the quality of the writing alone and would highly recommended for anyone who enjoys complex, frightening Gothic horror novels.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Knopf Doubleday for review purposes.
… (més)

The Short of It:

Dark and sinister, yet funny and smart.

The Rest of It:

Edmund Campion’s thesis is rejected by Dr. Kingsley so Edmund takes a job as a groundskeeper, working for a guy called The Gonk. Unfortunately, The Gonk is not a good guy and has some secrets of his own.

Dr. Kingsley has secrets too. The woman he’s been having an affair with, Emily Ryan, is found by her two daughters, face down in her own swimming pool. Charlie, unable to raise his daughters on his own, literally abandons them by leaving them with Kingsley and his wife. The girls, however, are more “in the know” than the adults think and they do things to their adult counterparts to keep them on their toes. Oh, these girls are beyond creepy and do their best to make Kingsley afraid of his own shadow. Twins, no less. Reminded me of The Shining a little bit.

This story has a great setting. There’s the highbrow academic side, set against the backdrop of a small Midwestern town. But there’s the other side, the darker side complete with a graveyard and cottage. The promise of something sinister lurks on every page. I enjoyed this part very much.

Kingsley, is an interesting character but the story, I think, is meant to be Edmund’s and he didn’t hold my interest as much as some of the other characters did. The first half was fairly strong, but in the second half, things became a little disjointed. I admit to skimming through a few parts just to get back to Kingsley.

This is a black comedy. Have you read one lately? I think I expected more of a ghost story. There are ghostly elements and graveyards and murders to keep you turning the pages, but it’s peppered with humor which gives it a different feel.

Although the ending did not hold my interest as much as the first half did, I’d absolutely read another novel by this author.

For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter.… (més)