A slim volume from the stacks of books I've yet to read, Alarums looked like it was going to be a horror or at least a thriller. What actually happens is that Melanie has a vision of her father being hit by a car, she travels with boyfriend Bodie to check up on him and discovers that her sister Pen has been receiving nuisance phone calls and that her stepmom may be shagging her dad's business partner.
brilliant...
I liked Alarums from the beginning, it was fast paced and dialogue heavy, not too much time spent on describing the set-ups, so I was looking forward to a thriller like Creepers. What the novel turned out to be was more of a slow-burn relationship drama between Bodie and the two sisters, Melanie the jealous, suspicious one, and Pen the strong yet frightened sexpest victim. Laymon writes believable characters and realistic dialogue and creates a compelling sense of intrigue that kept me going to the shocking last chapter.
but...
The trouble with Alarums is that it all seems to build to that last chapter revelations, which turns some of what has gone before on its head and leaves you pondering the morality of the characters. This is all well and good but I would have liked a less straight forward mystery with my shock ending, even if the characters were almost enough to keep my interest. The supernatural thriller element - Melanie's visions - is under-used, although its integral to that final twist. I think Alarums would have worked better as a short story, even shorter than this slim 300 page volume.
briefly...
A good set up and cast is let down by a too-linear mystery and not-quite-worth-it ending.
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