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By:  Ania Ahlborn

ISBN:  9781476783741

Publisher: Gallery Books

Publication Date:  4/21/2015

Format:  Paperback

My Rating:  4 Stars 

A special thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Nice Cover.

WITHIN THESE WALLS by Ania Ahlborn, a haunting mix of horror, mystery, evil, supernatural, psycho, and a crime thriller; reminiscent of Stephen King – so lock all the doors, turn out the lights with your e-reader, grab a cup of tea or coffee . . . . and settle in for a chilling read.

Lucas is a crime writer and he needs a bestseller. His marriage is not in a much better position than his career. At the end of his rope, he receives a letter which may be his opportunity for a second chance. The letter of course is so seductive and charming, making the recipient appear as a lover of literature, and complimenting Lucas, as special and “chosen” to tell this story.

Jeffrey Halcomb is an inmate at a maximum security prison, Lambert Correctional Facility, Rainier Unit, in Lambert, Washington, a death row cult leader. With an opportunity to tell his story, Lucas jumps at the chance. Lucas wants to be the one with the exclusive story –he knows this will make his career.

The terms he will grant him --interviews but all communication must be in person and the next term is he has to take up residence at 101 Montlake Road in Pier Pointe, Washington –the scene of the crime. “You want my story—you live in my house”. All has to be done within four weeks of the postmark of the letter. The clock is ticking. Can he be trusted?

From the eighties, Audra Snow, the daughter of Washington State congressman was found dead in her Pier Pointe Washington home (something out of a horror movie). Cult activity was strongly suspected. Ten dead, one caught. Her body was not the only victim at the scene. The bodies of eight others were found arranged in a circle with Ms. Snow at the center. Her unborn child was not spared. Police suspected suicide on the part of the eight currently unidentified victims. Thinking the acts were of satanic activity; however, this was not the first time the small community of Pier Pointe had been rocked by tragedy.

The novel switches back and forth from the events leading up to the murder and suicides and the present day with Lucas and his daughter in the Halcomb home—and as cult leaders go, they are charismatic and have followers inside and outside the prison continuing their work – true to form with the main antagonist. The protagonist is a true-crime writer, and the author does a good job of incorporating the police procedures, and elements of a crime thriller tying together the past with the present.

My first book by Ahlborn, - typically not a big fan of supernatural; however, enjoy suspense, crime and psycho thrillers . . . . As the storylines connect, an engaging, intense, yet lengthy read with many twists and turns. Fans of this genre, will delight! 

“It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but retire a little from sight and afterwards return again. Nothing is dead. People feign themselves dead, and endure mock funerals and mournful obituaries, and there they stand, looking out the window, sound and well in some new disguise.–Ralph Waldo Emerson