Helpful Score: 2
If you've not previously read anything by Jeff Strand there couldn't possibly be a better place for you to start than with his new release, Pressure. Though Strand is the author of over a dozen books, including the outstanding Andrew Mayhem series, with the publication of Pressure Strand has taken his already incredible talent to another level entirely.
What would you do if your best friend turned out to be a sociopathic killer? One who was obsessed with you and everything about your life? That's the situation Alex faces when his friend Darren becomes increasingly manipulative and violent over the course of their relationship. Starting when they meet at boarding school, Pressure follows the twisted relationship between Alex and Darren as it builds from kids being cruel, to young men pushing boundaries, to adults who end up in the fight of their lives, figuratively and literally, against each other.
Pressure is very aptly titled because the pressure in this book builds relentlessly... almost to the point of uncomfortableness at times it is so skillfully written. Strand pushes Alex to the brink over and over, seeing just how much he and the reader can take, before finally pushing him over the edge for a climactic showdown that will leave you both stunned and impressed at its unflinching, uncompromising resolution.
What would you do if your best friend turned out to be a sociopathic killer? One who was obsessed with you and everything about your life? That's the situation Alex faces when his friend Darren becomes increasingly manipulative and violent over the course of their relationship. Starting when they meet at boarding school, Pressure follows the twisted relationship between Alex and Darren as it builds from kids being cruel, to young men pushing boundaries, to adults who end up in the fight of their lives, figuratively and literally, against each other.
Pressure is very aptly titled because the pressure in this book builds relentlessly... almost to the point of uncomfortableness at times it is so skillfully written. Strand pushes Alex to the brink over and over, seeing just how much he and the reader can take, before finally pushing him over the edge for a climactic showdown that will leave you both stunned and impressed at its unflinching, uncompromising resolution.
Helpful Score: 1
I received this from my LHBC on Thursday, and I finished it Saturday; it's a can't put it down book, and pretty good for a new author. I look forward to reading more of his books.
Helpful Score: 1
very well written scary horror situation
From the contents of the 'forward' -- The title tells you in one word what the book is all about. There's the ticking-bomb pressure of a one-on-one relationship that's increasingly out of control. There's the chronic itchy-palms pressure of waiting, with paranoid certainty, for things to get bad, really bad. And there's the more subtle pressure of social conformity, the pressure to disregard your own scruples and instincts in order to make or keep a friend. This last is the deadliest pressure of all, becaause without it, the nightmare would never get started.
and no one would want a friend like Darren!
From the contents of the 'forward' -- The title tells you in one word what the book is all about. There's the ticking-bomb pressure of a one-on-one relationship that's increasingly out of control. There's the chronic itchy-palms pressure of waiting, with paranoid certainty, for things to get bad, really bad. And there's the more subtle pressure of social conformity, the pressure to disregard your own scruples and instincts in order to make or keep a friend. This last is the deadliest pressure of all, becaause without it, the nightmare would never get started.
and no one would want a friend like Darren!
