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A review by craigmatthews87
Every Time I Die by Jay Bower
4.0
How far would you go to uphold your end of a Faustian bargain?
Every Time I Die is a story about Alex, a man who died in an accident but was given another chance by someone or something to return to life. All they ask in exchange is for him to kill for them, and the frequency and intensity of those demands is ramping up. Can Alex keep it together for the sake of his family, or will this cycle of violence cause him to unravel?
Jay Bower grabbed my attention immediately with an opening chapter that thrusts you into the deep end, revealing the mysteries this story holds in dribs and drabs. Despite the short length our protagonist feels fully fleshed out, and I flew through the book in one evening, eager to find out his fate. I was also excited to get to the next of the relatively frequent, gore-soaked death scenes. This is my first time reading Bower's work, and his engaging writing style ensured it won't be the last.
I do have some minor criticisms. The structure of the book is set up in such a way that the story can occasionally feel a bit repetitive in setting up the next set piece - although these usually end differently enough to not make this too much of an issue - and perhaps the emotional stakes would feel a little higher if we spent a little more time with Alex's family. These in no way effected my enjoyment of the story, but I do wonder if they could have helped to bump my rating up from four stars to five.
I feel I can strongly recommend Every Time I Die for most horror fans, and if the synopsis interests you, I highly doubt you'll be disappointed.
Every Time I Die is a story about Alex, a man who died in an accident but was given another chance by someone or something to return to life. All they ask in exchange is for him to kill for them, and the frequency and intensity of those demands is ramping up. Can Alex keep it together for the sake of his family, or will this cycle of violence cause him to unravel?
Jay Bower grabbed my attention immediately with an opening chapter that thrusts you into the deep end, revealing the mysteries this story holds in dribs and drabs. Despite the short length our protagonist feels fully fleshed out, and I flew through the book in one evening, eager to find out his fate. I was also excited to get to the next of the relatively frequent, gore-soaked death scenes. This is my first time reading Bower's work, and his engaging writing style ensured it won't be the last.
I do have some minor criticisms. The structure of the book is set up in such a way that the story can occasionally feel a bit repetitive in setting up the next set piece - although these usually end differently enough to not make this too much of an issue - and perhaps the emotional stakes would feel a little higher if we spent a little more time with Alex's family. These in no way effected my enjoyment of the story, but I do wonder if they could have helped to bump my rating up from four stars to five.
I feel I can strongly recommend Every Time I Die for most horror fans, and if the synopsis interests you, I highly doubt you'll be disappointed.