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[simpleazon-link asin=”0825442915″ locale=”us”]Unholy Hunger: A Novel (Lure of the Serpent)[/simpleazon-link] by Heather James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Unholy Hunger was not the book that I was expecting it to be. I knew it involved a murdered child and a mother’s quest for vengeance. I expected to empathize with the mother, being that I’m a mother myself. I was hoping for an engrossing mystery and investigation by the police. I thought that the mother who was so bitter and angry would eventually forgive and leave vengeance to God. None of this happened. I disliked Evelyn, the mother, from the moment I met her. She was full of herself, pushy, obnoxious, and sarcastic. It was hard to feel any empathy for her despite her tragic loss. I never met the daughter that was murdered. As horrible as it is for a child to be murdered, it’s difficult to connect to the story when the author doesn’t develop the characters beyond two dimensions. Evelyn interferes with the police from day one and never stops; she doesn’t empathize with her husband’s grief; and she remains bitter and angry despite the fact that she knows she’s doing wrong.
“I’ll take a college kid over a buried one.” (p.33) -Evelyn’s bitter and sarcastic remark to the police who are working the case.
“Besides, I had already concluded today that I hadn’t made a good decision in quite some time; there was no point starting now.” (p. 192) -Evelyn obviously hasn’t grown much and this is almost the end of the book.
“Anger wasn’t one of Eddie’s shades. He wore spring tones better.” (p. 257) -More of Evelyn being sarcastic and unsympathetic. It’s also a rather corny line by the writer.
In summary, I was very disappointed in Unholy Hunger. Perhaps Evelyn grows in later books. I’ll never know. I don’t plan to read any further. Just when you think Evelyn may have grown a bit and be ready to let go and let God, she remarks at the end that the killer, though in custody, is not finished. The true killer is a demon that has moved on to find another host and has already begun to kill again. Although, this statement has some biblical backing, it seems to come out of left field at the end of the book. This is not one I’d recommend.
In compliance with FTC guidelines, please note that I received a free review copy of this book from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review.
#BookReview: #UnholyHunger (Lure of the Serpent Bk 1) by Heather James j.mp/WR9QQW @kregelbooks
— The Loopy Librarian (@Loopy_Librarian) March 9, 2013
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Website: http://heatherjames.net/