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October 15, 2008
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 | Twelve Steps from Darkness by Karen E. Taylor | Reviewed by Harriet Klausner |  | Publisher: Juno
http://www.juno-books.com
ISBN: 0809557886
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Horror
Release date: Apr 07
Format: Trade
Pages: 248
Price: $12.95
| Alcoholic and prescription drug abuser Laura Wagner has destroyed her marriage to Professor Tony; and her addictions cost her any chance of custody of their two daughters, eight year-old Lizzy and twelve year-old Mandy. She comes out of a bar and hits the accelerator while in reverse, smashing into the vehicle parked behind hers, a police cruiser driven by Woodland Heights officer Mike Gallagher, who remains haunted by the unsolved disappearance of five children.
Three months sober blur by, as she is finally considered a candidate to attend the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program. Following her time in rehab, she goes to her new home but begins to hear voices coaxing her to end her life, insisting she would be better off dead than fighting her craving for a drink. Meanwhile Lizzy suffers nightmares that her mommy is hurt and in danger, as she insists the voices want mommy dead. As Mike is attracted to Laura in spite of her addictions, Tony is marrying Susan. The voice continues to coax Laura that she is better off dead. She finds the first corpse in her basement, as Lizzie becomes depressed that something wants her mommy dead and will kill those her mommy cherishes to force the final act.
This is an exciting psychological horror thriller, as readers will wonder until the climax whether Laura suffers from psychoses or if there something or someone trying to push her over the edge of sanity. Laura keeps the exhilarating storyline focused, as she struggles with inner demons while trying to remain sober; but the twelve step method that she follows seems to be failing once she begins hearing the voice and having the dreams, just like the nightmares haunting her daughter. Karen E. Taylor provides a deep tale of a woman trying to regain her equilibrium but in trouble, with the readers wondering whether it is mental or demonic. | | |
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