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A review by giroflee
Dark Debts by Karen Hall
3.0
I'm tempted now to seek out the 1996 version of the book, as ultimately I found the 2016 version to be disappointing.
Other reviewers have given good summaries of the plot, but for reference: the novel intertwines the story of two men whose lives intersect in small-town Georgia. Jack Landry is the last remaining member of the Landry family, a clan of criminals and outcasts, notable for his brother, Tallen, who committed a heinous crime. Michael Kinney is a sophisticated Jesuit priest from a wealthy Atlanta family, orphaned at a young age and raised by his architect grandfather.
When Jack's brother Cam dies in mysterious circumstances in Los Angeles, his ex-girlfriend Randa comes to Georgia to find Jack and help save him from something - though she doesn't know just what. Michael, meanwhile, has been sent down to the same small town from his post in New York City for participating in an illicit exorcism against his superiors' request.
I had a few issues with the book, namely:
1. The main plot with the demon ended rather abruptly. As I was reading, I kept noting the percentage of the book remaining and wondering how it would wrap up so quickly.
2. Knowing as I do that the novel was revised, it almost reads as if revisions were made to some parts but it wasn't reread as a whole. For example, the character of Gabe feels entirely tacked on, and Michael's relationship with his girlfriend Tess isn't particularly well fleshed out.
3. Randa and Jack's romance adds nothing to the book and isn't terribly romantic. I would love to read a book in which a male and a female protagonist in the same age group, both of whom are reasonably decent and attractive people, team up to solve a problem, get along fine, and don't end up in "love" at the end of the book. This is especially true given that Randa's relationship with Cam earlier is described quite well.
And so the quest for another compelling horror novel continues ...
Other reviewers have given good summaries of the plot, but for reference: the novel intertwines the story of two men whose lives intersect in small-town Georgia. Jack Landry is the last remaining member of the Landry family, a clan of criminals and outcasts, notable for his brother, Tallen, who committed a heinous crime. Michael Kinney is a sophisticated Jesuit priest from a wealthy Atlanta family, orphaned at a young age and raised by his architect grandfather.
When Jack's brother Cam dies in mysterious circumstances in Los Angeles, his ex-girlfriend Randa comes to Georgia to find Jack and help save him from something - though she doesn't know just what. Michael, meanwhile, has been sent down to the same small town from his post in New York City for participating in an illicit exorcism against his superiors' request.
Spoiler
It turns out that Michael's grandfather impregnated Jack's grandmother during a Black Mass, and the "dark debt" of the title is a demon that has decimated Jack's family and is pursuing Michael. With the aid of an older Jesuit priest, Gabe, Michael conducts an exorcism and is able to expel the demon from Jack and later banish it from his life.I had a few issues with the book, namely:
1. The main plot with the demon ended rather abruptly. As I was reading, I kept noting the percentage of the book remaining and wondering how it would wrap up so quickly.
2. Knowing as I do that the novel was revised, it almost reads as if revisions were made to some parts but it wasn't reread as a whole. For example, the character of Gabe feels entirely tacked on, and Michael's relationship with his girlfriend Tess isn't particularly well fleshed out.
3. Randa and Jack's romance adds nothing to the book and isn't terribly romantic. I would love to read a book in which a male and a female protagonist in the same age group, both of whom are reasonably decent and attractive people, team up to solve a problem, get along fine, and don't end up in "love" at the end of the book. This is especially true given that Randa's relationship with Cam earlier is described quite well.
And so the quest for another compelling horror novel continues ...