Devil's Creek was the site of a religious cult back in the early '80s. There was a church located there, home to the Lord's Church of Holy Voices and the head of the cult, Jacob Masters preached the gospel of a nameless god. In 1983, Imogene and her other friends rushed to the church to save their grandchildren from the sacrifice. A mass suicide occurred on that night, and they burned the church after they buried Jacob Masters. It seems over for them, but the nightmares of the six children wouldn't begin for another thirty years.
This story is separated into a few parts. The first part sets in 1983, introducing us to the church and Jacob Masters as well as other characters in the town. The second part tells the story of the present-day when Jack returns to Stauford to settle the estate after his grandmother (Imogene) passed away. When Jack is in the town, several mysterious incidents are occurring there. Two children are taken away from the tent during a camping session. Residents are behaving strangely since that night. "He lives" is chanted by some of the people and the creepy vibe seems surrounding the town.
The third part creates more mysteries surrounding the town, and Jack is investigating the past after he finds Imogene's notebook and a disgusting idol in the house. In this part, the story also puts more focus on the lives of the six children of Jacob Masters. The remaining two parts (there are five parts in this story) will reveal the strange behaviours of the residents and the possible revival of the cult.
To be honest, I don't know what to say about this book. The only thing that I'm struggling with is the length of the book, but that is a personal struggle which is not related to the story or the author's writing. Another difficult thing for me is to catch up with the large cast of characters due to the story is based on a small town.
I'm a big fan of Stephen King, and it's hard to find another author as good as him nowadays. But to be frank, this story is quite close to Stephen King's storytelling style. The detailed and lengthy descriptions to create the horror atmosphere and reading this story gives me the feeling of reading classic horror stories dated back in the 80s or 90s. This kind of story is hard to find these days. I strongly recommend this book if you love cult or horror stories based on small towns. Hopefully, someone is interested in making this story into movies or tv series.
Thanks to NetGalley and Silver Shamrock Publishing for providing me with a free review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)
More reviews can be found on Goodreads: Devil's Creek by Todd Keisling.