A quick and compelling read. Janz pulls no punches and this book, which contains a prequel novella as well, is definitely not for people just dipping their toes into the horror genre. There is language and gore and not many characters to root for, just like in real life. ( )

Unfortunately I am not finishing this book - the first part of the book was great which was the story of Exorcist Road and with that part I will leave a small review, but the story of Exorcist Falls just went off the rails and it became very strange. I have been struggling with that part of the story and I will put my thoughts about it in here on a spoiler so that readers can read the spoiler if needed to make a decision of how they want to proceed on reading the book.

So the review for Exorcist Road is as follows:

Women are being murdered across Chicago by a serial killer dubbed the "Sweet Sixteen Killer". While that is happening within the city something else begins to happen in the home of the Hartmans as their son Casey begins to attack his family. The parents called the police, but what they find is beyond their control and priests are called in to help Casey as it seems that he has become possessed by a demonic entity.

Priests Sutherland and Crowder try to assist the family with their son, but when Casey starts revealing things about the serial killer murders is when things go into overdrive in this story as the police along with the priests need to find out if Casey is behind the killings or is it all lies told by the demon.

Thoughts on Exorcist Road:

This story is saturated in demonic themes that I could feel it radiating off the pages along with very graphic descriptions of things that happen to the character Casey as the demon possesses his body. This first story is very fast paced and moves along at a high rate of speed to the very end of the story keeping the tension and suspense high with what was going to happen next.

Thoughts on Exorcist Falls which is contained within a spoiler:

The demon that had resided in the son Casey in the first story is now being harbored within Priest Crowder and this is where the book gets strange as within the story the Priest and the demon chat with each other in the mind of the priest as the priest lets the demon take over in situations that get out of control and brute force is needed for those situations then it flips back to the priest when he is in calm mode. It is an interesting concept but not one that I really care for as it is almost like a split personality with one personality taking over and it goes back and forth like that through the story. Now just because I didn't like the way the story played out doesn't mean that no one else will like it. If you think you would like to take a chance on it then go for it, but it was just not for me. Giving this book two stars for both stories.




( )

A quick and compelling read. Janz pulls no punches and this book, which contains a prequel novella as well, is definitely not for people just dipping their toes into the horror genre. There is language and gore and not many characters to root for, just like in real life. ( )

4.5/5 stars!

EXORCIST FALLS was so much demonic fun, I don't even know where to begin!

Narrated by Matt Godfrey, this audiobook starts out with the novella EXORCIST ROAD. A completely off the wall story of demonic possession with so many twists and turns, this reader didn't know which way was up!

I'm not going to get into the plot-exorcism is involved- which is plain from the get-go. What makes this book exciting and different is the twists and the loads of action within. Not only do we have the demon and the priest, we have an extremely depraved serial killer-and perhaps more than one. Father Crowder, the protagonist, isn't a completely good guy either-he often gets a bit over- zealous, (over-righteous?), in his thinking, which leads him down some uncommonly sinful roads.

My only criticism is the fact that towards the end of the tale the twists began to feel contrived. Honestly, though? I was having so much fun by then that I really didn't care. The final scene was such a gleeful delight, I would have overlooked a LOT worse. I'm grinning just thinking about it!

As I mentioned above, Matt Godfrey narrated (the hell out of)this story, and his voice and pacing were perfect. There were a few hairy scenes that I'm sure must have been difficult to get through, but he made it sound easy. He also sounded like he was having a great time, which only added to MY enjoyment.

If demonic possession all mixed up with a mysterious serial killer and sketchy priests sounds good to you, I highly recommend you give EXORCIST FALLS a try. I've never read anything else quite like it!

You can get your copy here, (tell 'em Char sent you): https://amzn.to/2EZv54z

*I received this audiobook free of charge from Audiobook Boom! in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.* ( )

Exorcist Falls continues the story of the Sweet Sixteen Killer first introduced in Janz's earlier novella Exorcist Road. I first read Exorcist Road back in 2014 and loved it so much that it made my best of 2014 list. Exorcist Road is included within Exorcist Falls and I re-read it so that the story was fresh in my mind and, I have to say, I enjoyed it just as much second time around.

Exorcist Falls was a great read and I enjoyed it, but not to the same extent that I did Exorcist Road. There are more characters in this one and I think perhaps one or two of them missed the mark for me. There were two in particular that I wasn't feeling at all, their characters felt off and seemed to be a little inconsistent throughout. I struggled with Liz in particular, her character felt like a shell and I couldn't see through the cracks to the person inside. She didn't feel solid or fleshed out enough for me to be able to connect to her. The male characters outshone her in every way.

Father Crowder is by far the most memorable character in the book, his character was well written and fleshed out. I saw into the furthest corners of his mind and I got to experience his inner thoughts and struggles. In fact, all but one of the male characters were well fleshed out, consistent, and felt like real people which is why I think I was so disappointed that Liz didn't. In a cast of mostly all male characters, she was the one that I should have been able to connect to the easiest, both as a mother and as a female.

Possession is one of my favourite topics in horror and Exorcist Falls didn't disappoint. There were many scenes that had me turning the pages desperate to know what happens next, but at the same time not wanting to because it was so visual and horrifying. The cringe factor was real with this one. You know when you're watching a horror movie and it reaches that point where you're cringing and covering your eyes, but at the same time still desperate to see what's happening? I found myself doing that during one particular scene while reading, only to remember I was reading and how ridiculous it was to cover my eyes cause now I couldn't see the words. I just couldn't help myself.

I had a lot of fun with this book and it's one I would definitely recommend. I just hope there is more to this story, especially after that ending... I need more! ( )