4 out of 4 stars
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The Feud by Frank Heiberger is a book in the crime/horror fiction genre. It follows the story of India Hills as she tries to overcome all the malevolent forces that prevent her from chronicling the family history of the Duvall-Richards family.
India Hills is a struggling writer who is ready to accept any project that would pay the bills. Her problems are temporarily solved when she is handed down a simple project of writing a vanity book tracing the family history of the Duvall-Richards family, a rich business family based in Willow Creek. However, her troubles only increase when her entry into the small town coincides with the murder of a young girl who is horrifyingly beheaded. A psychopathic murderer on loose is the least of her troubles as she finds out disturbing secrets about the Duvall-Richards family and their feud with a coven of green witches living in the same town. Things take a turn for the worse for India when she learns about a curse placed on the family she is chronicling. Now attacked by ghosts, hellhounds and other supernatural terrors, India realizes that the only way to stop all this is to uncover the truth of the feud and end it forever.
The storyline is the strongest asset of this book since it’s extremely engrossing. There are new twists at every few pages and the author’s spacing of the horror elements in the book is quite apt. The book is written in first person and India’s thoughts on the scenes playing out about her are quite entertaining at times. Apart from the horror and suspense elements, what really made this novel stand out for me was the exploration of romance by the author. I really lied the idea of love as an emotion which is not bound by sexuality or sexual preference, as expressed by the author. The internal struggles of the protagonist and the dilemmas she is facing are expressed in an engaging manner by the author. India’s character is quite relatable, the confusion she faces, her problems with accepting the twists of life and how she messed up royally in one episode in the story, makes the storyline all the more interesting.
The author has also sketched believable side characters. The author’s treatment of other themes in the book like synergy with nature, superstitions, religious differences and courage is quite good.
There are a few typographical errors in the book which were not so bothersome for me, but other readers might find it a trifle bit annoying. Also, since the book is in first person, in many instances India’s thoughts may seem like a lot of rambling. Though I enjoyed the book as it is, I thought of giving a fair idea to the readers who may not like this writing style.
I rate the book 4 out of 4 for its riveting storyline and superb characterisation.
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The Feud
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