Sunday, February 28, 2021

Condemned by Christopher Renna

 

The suburb of Newman, Connecticut, nurtures its upper-middle class clichés. It's a picturesque community that boasts ambitious career-oriented parents and overachieving children. The residents prefer to keep family matters behind closed doors, locked away in their high-priced Colonial homes, hidden from the eyes and ears of curious outsiders.

Conner and his two best friends, Trevor and Adam, are enjoying their senior year of high school. Competitive and popular, they're focused on academic and athletic successes paving their way to college. But the sudden death of their former friend, Jared, forces them to tackle a new challenge, a growing interest in the unofficial cause of Jared's death: Possession by the devil.

Gossip threatens to reveal secrets. A paranormal investigator arrives in town seeking demons and fame. As media attention mounts, Conner and his friends must confront the rumors head-on to salvage Jared's memory. Then they must accept the reason why they allowed their friendship with Jared to crumble. Because the devil is in the details.


The sudden death of a healthy high school boy brings a flurry of attention to the town when it sparks rumors that he died during an exorcism. His former friends set out to find the truth, and grapple with the guilt of not having made enough of an effort to remain friends with Jared when they first noticed the strange changes to his personality that may have marked the beginnings of demonic possession.

The beginning of the book was a little slow and seemed more like a mystery than a horror. It took a while for anything scary to happen and I was anxious for it to pick up speed and get to the good stuff. Some of the actions and reactions of the parents seemed unrealistic but the friendship between the boys felt genuine to me.

There were some creepy happenings revealed when the boys look back at a week they spent together in a cabin on the lake which was the beginning of the end of their friendship with Jared. It was not until that point that I felt fully invested in the story. I think at it's heart this was a story of good against evil, deep and abiding friendship, and the sacrifices someone may be willing to make for those they love.

I received an advance copy for review.


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