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Book Review: Isolation
Author: Travis Thrasher
Pages: 296
Reading Level: High School-Adult

After being fairly disappointed with the latest offerings from Ted Dekker (Sinner, Kiss), I went in search of a new author of thrillers that I could enjoy. I saw Isolation at the local bookstore, and on somewhat of a whim, thought it sounded pretty good. And boy howdy -- was it good. I creeped myself out a couple of times while reading, and definitely had a couple of "gasp moments" when the plot twisted up a bit.

The story centers around a young missionary family that moves out into an enormous house in the middle of the North Carolina mountains. Strange things start to happen like bloody piles of meat falling from nowhere on top of Stephanie's car and secret passageways that lead to secret rooms. But when a killer heads toward the house, and a snowstorm traps them inside, they have nowhere to go and no way to escape.

The writing moves along very swiftly, and the chapters are all fairly short -- I think the longest one was around six pages or so. The character development is very strong, which was a good change for what really ends up being a horror novel. The inward battles that Jim, the father, faces with wondering where God even is in his life felt real and grounded. And definitely the creepy factor was notched up here. Thrasher definitely digs into his love of Stephen King novels for some of the meatier sections of just downright terror. I made the mistake of reading part while alone in the house, later at night, and I had to stop. The book just freaked me out that much.

Definitely a good one that leaves quite a few good twists until the very end. Don't pass up on reading Thrasher's Isolation. I know I'm really looking forward to his next one, Ghostwriter.

--originally posted on Amazon.com