Book Review: The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn
Title: The Devil Crept In
Author: Ania Ahlborn
Series: None
Published: February 2017
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 374
From: MyBookBox
Rating: 8/10
So. Soooooo. Ania Ahlborn is a horror genius. This book creeped me the eff out.
I started reading this book one night because I wanted something to read that I hadn’t read before, genre-wise. And I definitely found it in this odd, horrifying, unsettling read.
Ania Ahlborn’s novel The Devil Crept In tells the tale of a boy named Jude who has gone missing. His cousin, Stevie, wants to help find him, and soon, when the people in their small Oregon town stop their searching, picks it back up. He learns disturbing facts about the town, such as how animals seem to go missing, but still he searches for his long-lost cousin.
What I enjoyed about this novel was how down-to-earth the characters were, in the sense that they are day-to-day people I might see out on the street in the small Iowa towns I live and work in. These characters are not so out of the ordinary; at least, the main ones in the initial storyline.
Ahlborn soon adds a second storyline partway through the novel, and here we begin to understand the story unfolding. Here, we meet a young woman who only wants to be pregnant. She is married to the local doctor, but for some reason, they cannot have children. Soon, she cannot take it anymore and leaves for several days on a sort of trek. During her time away from her husband, she meets a man named Ras. And, insert icky creepy goosebumpy feelings. Because what comes next is a possible reason for the entire story Ahlborn needed to tell us.
This was the first novel by Ahlborn I’d ever read, and I am quite glad I read it. I received it in a MyBookBox monthly package, and WOW. I did have a hard time reading this without cuddling my cat, and then part of the way through decided I didn’t really want to do that anymore. But, overall, the unsettling and normal atmospheres combined into a maelstrom of emotion and horror. Also, that twist ending. Holy crap.
Need to read another review of The Devil Crept In before picking it up? Check out 52 Book Minimum’s review here.