A review by jonathan_von
Amara by Richard Laymon

4.0

On the subject of mummy boobs, philosophers have been suspiciously silent. Until Laymon, that is! Yes, Laymon does a mummy novel and I was surprised how much I liked this one. The story juggles multiple plot lines as a killer mummy breaks loose from a museum seeking babies to call her own and kill anyone who gets in her way. It’s a fun update of the old narrative with some unexpected twists and various scenes of mummy violence. But where does this fit with the authors penchant for rapiness? Well, I’d say roughly sixty-percent of book revolves around sexual and rape anxiety. But this one somehow seemed a little more compassionate, maybe because it’s one of the author’s later books. Some of the scenes are very suspenseful. A road trip leaves a pair of teen girls vulnerable to roadside predators with only the window glass to protect them. A deranged female drug addict takes a shine to a police officer and will do anything to possess him. A young stud is kidnapped and held against his will where he’s forced to perform through a partition. The story is composed of several long sequences which wring every ounce of suspense from the premise, dipping its tow in the comedically politically incorrect along the way. It’s kind of a perverse comedy for a lot of it, until it isn’t. There’s also a long sequence in an old diary when the mummy was first discovered that’s pretty creepy. Some scenes really grossed me out (in a good way). And others were like an off-putting sex comedy. It’s an original take on the subject and you’re not likely to see too many “horny mummy books” pop up if that’s what your looking for. There’s also a scene where a character mentions a fondness for the band Grandaddy which had me going, “huh?!”. Full of surprises that Richard.