Dark Friday by Jeffrey Leever

A horror novel.

Published by Capital Crime Press

Reviewed by MAGGIE GRINNELL

The cover of Dark Friday caught my attention right away––a paintball mask, looking like a skull, looming over a small town on a dark cloudy night. You know something evil is developing and for a horror/suspense fan that is inviting. You want to open the book and get started.

Dark Friday also grabbed my attention with the first five pages. A young boy runs into the street only to be hit by a cop car driven by police chief Bertrand Rix. A mask he was wearing flies off his face. The boy gets up, much to the chief's surprise, and runs into a graveyard with the chief giving chase. They both end up in the town's mausoleum: Tyre's Tomb. The boy, already showing signs of a killer rage (dark eyes, blood on clothes and knife in hand), traps the chief and himself inside. He doesn't hesitate to drive the knife into the shoulder of the chief. After a long struggle, the chief takes down the boy and applies the handcuffs. Though obviously suspect, the chief still can't believe someone so young could commit a series of murders that just happened.

A young girl, Hope Redmond, who was just stabbed and managed to escape, runs to the nearest house she can find. Before knocking on the door, she feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns around to find someone she knows. But for some reason, she jumps back unable to trust him, thinking he has something to do with the attack on her, and her friend is puzzled by the reaction.

And that's just the beginning.

I love the ORDER: a group of young boys who get together every Friday night to watch and discuss a different Friday the 13th movie. These guys also discuss which girl they would kill and why. They think it's game, until things change.

Leever, when referring to Friday the 13th, did his research. He has incorporated just what teenagers would say and react to with those types of movies.

In many ways this book reminded me of the movie, Scream, especially when I read the way the murders took place. However, while I am a fan of Scream, in Dark Friday, Jeffrey Leever went a lot deeper, giving the characters real emotions and heart. The writing is very smooth so it isn't hard to keep up. The characters are regular people, which to me, makes them far more interesting than the Hollywood types.

Anyone who loves Friday the 13th movies or to be kept on their toes, will be enthralled by Jeffrey Leever's novel.

Maggie Grinnell has been writing since 1992. She writes short suspense stories, children's stories, and poetry. Some of her work has been published online and in booklets. Writing is a part of her soul. To check her work, visit her website.