Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
In Clarion, the townsfolk plan on celebrating Halloween with costume parties. However, instead of fun and games, in different families someone loses it killing all the others. Nothing makes sense as these are good people slaughtering loved ones. The mass murderers all share one apparent common link besides their hometown; they all wore costumes designed by Wormwood Costumes.
The FBI sends Agent Monar to assist Clarion Police Detective Thakien on the investigation into homicides that defies logic as these were happy caring people who committed the atrocities against loved ones. As they investigate what happened, how and why, a shocked Mayor Delcet joins the two cops. The only lead the costume making company Wormwood Costumes sends the investigators looking into the activities of its owner Lucas Grier though his software empire is worth billions making him seem above reproach. At the same time teen hackers Trial by Fire insist they know the truth. After insuring that the teens were not behind the atrocities Monar fears that Grier will come after them next because they seem to be the only threat to expose his evil.
This exhilarating Halloween thriller starts off like a simple police procedural and in fact Monar assumes the case will be over in a few days at best; however the plot soon twists into a terrific horror tale with mystery overtones as the two cops and the mayor struggle with what occurred as much as why and how. The key threesome seem genuine especially their reactions to the calamities while the villain is creepy malevolence personified though the Trial by Fire teens seem a bit of stretch, but also a fun intriguing addition. Readers who appreciate a fast-paced action thriller will want to read OCTOBER 31ST which cleverly blends a delightful mystery inside a battle between innocent and 200 proof pure evil.