The Price of a Lie is Very High. Review of The Liar of Red Valley

 

Walter Goodwater wrote a book about some really bad water and a lot of other bad things. In fact, the little town of Red Valley is so god-awful that the major thing I didn't believe is that anybody would stay in this crappy one-stoplight village. Then I remembered the price of houses in California and realized citizens were stuck in Red Valley because it costs ten-bizillion dollars to buy a house in San Fran.

Once I got over the fantasy that people actually wanted to live in a town where the river ate anyone unlucky enough to fall in, and where "King's Men" showed displeasure by biting a hand off (That seemed a harsh reaction to getting a parking ticket,) I really got into the book. Not literally, because then I would be eaten by a river.  Emotionally I got into the book because the characters were sympathetic (even the King's Men I kind of had sympathy for even if they bit) and the story was action-packed with plenty of villains and weird characters. For instance, hard-core drug users were sucking demons up their noses when other snort-type drugs were no longer enough. How awesome is that? They were called Laughing Boys until they turned into Crying Boys. Having a demon up your nose is not as cool as it sounds.

The people of Red Valley have huge problems, yet they go to The Liar to fix things like receding hairlines. Yeah, sometimes they go to forget the past, but the price of a lie is expensive. Binge watching RuPaul's Drag Race would cheer them up and be cheaper than a lie, but that wouldn't be much of a book, would it?

So, even though a lot of The Liar of Red Valley takes more suspension of disbelief than the average horror book, it's quite a bit of fun. As long as you don't wade in the river. Or upset a King's Man. Or snuff a demon up your nose.  Lots and lots of action. If it can happen, it does. Oh, the two Victorian brothers with the roving, time-traveling Victorian mansion were a real hoot. I hope Mr. Goodwater writes a sequel starring these two guys.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review The Liar of Red Valley. It's a rollicking and spooky ride.