The Bookshop From Hell

David Haynes at his best, with a nod in the direction of some of the classic horror fiction I used to read. Good news! It's still being written.

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Book description

Horror is what Dan Law enjoys.

He loves to read horror novels as a way to escape from his teaching job, from his loneliness, from the everyday dullness of life in Silver Lake. That’s what Dan lives for.

When a new bookstore opens in town, every visitor receives a free book of their own. A book that tells their own personal story…a story they have to follow to the brutal end.

As Silver Lake’s population descends into violent savagery, Dan finds he is no longer living for horror novels – he’s living inside one.

My review -

An empty shop unit in Silver Lake is fitted out as a bookshop. The elderly owner gives visitors a free gift, a little volume which they become very attached to. They can read ‘their story’ in it, but to other people the book is blank. This is a classic horror story and I found it very enjoyable, but also food for thought. When people’s sense of entitlement is fed and stoked, their inner spitefulness can rise to the surface. I fear we are seeing this in modern day politics. There’s more than that here, though. The worst side of human nature comes to the fore. The disintegration of societal norms is a car crash and gruesome to watch. This isn’t for the faint-hearted but if you enjoy old-fashioned horror there’s a lot in this to make you think. Brilliant!

About the author

David Haynes has been making up stories since he was very young. His first story entitled, "How the Greenhouse Actually Got Smashed, Dad!" got him into trouble and went unpublished. Nevertheless, the stories continued and the desire to write them down grew stronger. 

David now writes stories in the genre he loves the most - the dark, mysterious and delicious world of horror.

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Just a thought -

The problem with books is that they end.”
― Caroline Kepnes