|
Fiction Review by The Mortician
|
09.26.02
|
I think no one can sum up Jack Ketchum better than Stephen King: 'Be warned, Ketchum never stops, never flinches, never turns aside. He is...on par with Clive Barker, James Ellroy, and Thomas Harris. You may be shocked, even revolted, by Jack Ketchum's hellish vision of the world, but you won't be able to dismiss or forget it.'This tale is no exception. When Lydia Danse discovers her husband, Arthur, has been molesting their young son, she leaves him and takes her son with her.She files charges against Arthur and divorce proceedings begin. But the 'nice guy' she knew under the surface quickly disappears, and Arthur reveals himself to be quite the opponent.Manipulating the law, destroying Lydia's credibility, and finally threatening his son's life, Arthur makes Lydia's life a living hell and begins to win the legal battle, even though he is as guilty as the original sin.As Lydia's life crumbles and the tables are turned, she is forced to take the law into her own hands and nothing will prepare you for the end results. In Ketchum's world, nothing ever works out the way you'd hope and that's what makes it that much more horrifying.Ketchum's work is based on real incidents that happened, and sadly, this work is no exception. It's postively enraging to realize how easily America's legal systems can be manipulated by people with wealth, influence, and power, and this book really hammers that really nasty fact home with a vengeance.Not a pleasant book to read, but definitely an eye-opener that will make you think twice about the very legalities (or loopholes) that have developed in our once great nation. The 'little people' sometimes have very little recourse and very little say amidst the awful predicaments that they inadvertently end up in.Ketchum is a man with an agenda and a statement, don't you forget it. His work is always engaging and well-written, but the reality of it all makes it that much more horrifying to digest.
|
Rating: nan out of 10.0 - votes cast total
|
|
|
|
|
