Dead Daughters: Tim Meyer
Reviewed By Steve Stred
KR: This review originally featured on the blog back in April last year. Dead Daughters has now switched publishers and so I felt it appropriate to reshare (Albeit slightly edited) Steve’s review with the fiends of Kendall Reviews.
Meyer is an amazing author and one who sometimes seems to fall under the radar for some readers. I’m hoping this one will continue his ascension as one of the leading voices in exciting dark fiction.
What I liked: ‘Dead Daughters’ is psychological horror done masterfully. From page one, Meyer had me riveted, wondering just what the heck was going on and as things begin to unravel, he does a fantastic job of having our main character spiral out of control – not sure who to trust and what to believe. We are introduced to Drew on his birthday. At the end of the party, he decides to check the mail and within finds a Polaroid photo of his and his wife Eve’s daughter. It depicts just her dead and with this discovery, all bets are off. They rush to her room to find her alive and well and from here Meyer builds a story filled with plenty of moments that left me stunned.
I loved how much the tension is ramped up in this book. Meyer’s has a cast of characters that come and go and every one of them worked to add to the story.
What I didn’t like: Honestly – I hated the truth behind what was going on. I really can’t say exactly what it was (spoiler-free, yeah!?) but when it was revealed and a bunch of pieces of the puzzle fell into place, I just loathed what it was. Saying that, it works incredibly well for the story and it never once made me consider DNFing.
On a minor scale – I was not a fan at all of the detective that is featured. The character was hard to figure out and some of his actions seemed off. Again, it allowed the story to flow and carry on, and some readers may very well love this guy, but for me, I found some of his moments truly frustrating.
Why you should buy it: The story within is stellar writing and dare I say – it shows Meyer once again rising and showing just how much he brings to the horror world and dark fiction world. This was had some truly heart wrenching moments. I couldn’t get enough of this book and once again Meyer has hit a home run.
Dead Daughters
Drew Lowery is living the American Dream. He has the perfect family, a stable job, and a beautiful home in the suburbs of central New Jersey. Things can’t get much better. But what seems like the ideal life is suddenly upended when he receives a blank envelope in the mail.
Inside lies a picture of his daughter, a photograph of her violent murder. Only it can’t be her. He just tucked her in and kissed her goodnight ten minutes ago. But the mysterious Polaroid is only the beginning.
There’s the van following his daughter to school. The man she sees outside her window late at night. The fact someone entered her room while the Lowerys slept peacefully.
Local authorities are clueless. No leads, no clues, and ultimately—no answers. Drew launches his own investigation, falling into a hole of lies and deceit, a truth he never saw coming.
You can buy Dead Daughters from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Steve Stred
Steve Stred is the author of a number of novels, novellas and collections. He has appeared in anthologies with some of Horror’s heaviest hitters.
He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with his wife, son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
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You can visit Steve’s Official website here
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