Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: Soul Searching 
AUTHOR: AJ Rose
PUBLISHER: The Grim Writer Press
LENGTH: 235 pages
RELEASE DATE: 21 October 2017
BLURB:
Something lurks within the walls of the house Trevor Mathews and his best friend Merrick Taylor share. It watches them and their friends. It needs them. It knows their weaknesses.
Trevor’s in love with Merrick and hasn’t got the nerve to tell him. Merrick’s relationship is already failing, but he doesn’t believe he deserves what he truly desires. And the dark presence enjoys their suffering.
The entity wants to exploit them, push Merrick’s boyfriend into fits of jealousy and possessiveness, encourage Trevor to avoid the man he’s stood by most of his life, and frustrate their friend Tempest who’s tired of knowing Trevor and Merrick are perfectly matched souls, but they’re too scared to try.
The entity needs them to fight, to hurt, to scream at each other in anger and pain. It thrives on their helplessness and targets their insecurities. And it won’t stop until it has devoured their joy, destroyed their hope, and eventually, shattered their souls.
REVIEW:
What can I say about this book? Well, the first thing is that it’s 4 a.m. and I’ve just finished reading. It really is one of those kinds of book. The story takes of running and then completely runs away with you. There’s something comfortable about the writing that rather than sweeps you off your feet, takes you by the hand and leads you along, nudging you and saying – look at that. See the shiny over here. Don’t look at that dark corner. The pacing is absolutely perfect.
The book begins as a simple story of three friends – Merrick, Trevor and Tempest. Trevor hates Merrick’s boyfriend, because he’s in love with Merrick, and Tempest is stuck in the middle. Every now and again we’re given a teaser that all is not as it seems. Glasses multiply themselves, doors slam, Trevor keeps falling over the third step. Then all is explained. But it isn’t. Although some of the incidences are explained as part of a practical joke, they are unable to brush them all off as such, especially when they escalate in number and severity.
A visit to a psychic opens a whole can of worms and results in some pretty disastrous attempts to get rid of the spirit that’s terrorizing them and seems intent on tearing them apart, mentally and physically. From the time they carry out an almost deadly ritual to evict the evil spirit things pick up speed and one thing after another escalates the action to a grand finale I never expected and take off my hat to the author for.
There were some sweet and amusing moments around the drama. They spend quite a lot of time in the pub and we have a lot of descriptions of food, of which I heartily approve. In fact, the first three quarters of the book were about the everyday lives of the three friends (and Dave), their struggles and insecurities, with the occasional bubble of paranormal. The final third of the book turns on the engine and starts accelerating. Please don’t think of that as a criticism or that I’m saying the book has a slow start. It has a slower start which is a good thing. It rolls you along, lulling you into a false sense of security, creating an illusion that it’s one kind of story, then catapults you headlong into something unexpected and very deadly. I never saw it coming.
The characterisation is superb. All five main-ish characters are well drawn and individual. Everything from their physical descriptions to their personalities and voices are different and it’s very easy to visualise five very different people. Even though he is kind of a villain, I really liked Will as a character. He’s delicious, a spoiled, immature, insecure brat. Glorious. I also love Tempest. God what a great name for her. I feel for the poor girl with friends like Merrick and Trevor
RATING: 
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