Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Book Reviews
Book Review: Garden of Darkness
By Sandy Amazeen
Nov 28, 2007, 1:51 GMT

This is a dark tale about the little town of Tounela, Wisconsin, a place residents find as difficult to escape as the history buried in the older abandoned part of town. Tounela medical examiner Rachel Burton thought she was on her way to a new life in California when Tounela chief of police Alastair Stroud dragged her back to look at a crime scene. Pregnant with Evan Stroud’s child, Rachel vowed to give her baby a better life far away from the taint of betrayal, a plan sidetracked by the gruesome discovery of a skinned corpse in the woods just outside of town. With the upcoming town museum opening featuring the mummified body of Richard Manchester, better known as the Pale Immortal came a group of collage kids looking to make a documentary of the event. Evan, driven by forces he can’t begin to understand, continues to dig up remains in the long abandoned part of town and succeeds in unleashing events that threatens them all as history seeks to repeat itself.

Frasier has created a compelling take on the vampire myth that leaves plenty of room for more in this suspenseful series of sinister secrets and unspeakable evil. There are modern day parallels with Manchester and his followers that add a ring of authenticity to the main storyline. Taut action and excellent character development make this one of the better horror offerings.