Eat the Dark

A psychopath with supernatural connections is loose among a small group of people locked in a soon-to-be-closed hospital in Hershey, Pennsylvania. And the inevitable murders begin. Joe Schreiber's EAT THE DARK is wordy and heavy on mood and tension reminiscent of Stephen King--but a little short in the delivery department. There are several subplots roiling under the surface, which sometimes move the plot along and sometimes slow it down. Reader Renée Raudman is a pro who gives the performance all she's got, but her voice is a bit too gentle for the scary bits. The predominantly male cast of characters also puts her at a disadvantage. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

August 20, 2007
Set in what appears to be Pennsylvania, Schreiber's sturdy second novel (after Chasing the Dead
) features a classic thriller premise: people trapped in an enclosed space with a serial killer on the loose. When the police bring Frank Snow, a ruthless and possibly supernatural mass murderer, to soon-to-be abandoned Tanglewood Memorial Hospital for an MRI, Snow, of course, escapes and starts dismembering people. Security guard Mike Hughes, along with his wife and son, must travel through the hospital to find a way out. Cast members who are more than mere victims include the enigmatic Dr. Walker; the requisite beautiful woman, Jolie Braun, who may be having an affair with Mike; and the ghost of a suicidal ICU nurse. Luckily, there's a deeper mystery involving Dr. Walker and Snow, but unluckily it turns out to be irrelevant and ordinary. Working from the principle that less is more, Schreiber offers a lean scare tale that will resonate with slasher-film fans in particular.