Kevin Lucia’s first novel is a fun throwback to ‘80s tales of dread. The Horror at Pleasant Brook brings the reader to Pleasant Brook, an isolated town and community in the Adirondacks. Halloween is approaching and an ancient evil is rising that threatens to take the town and all within it.

While the premise is certainly one that has been heard before, Lucia is a skilled writer. A veteran of stories, he knows full well how to craft characters as people. The story contains a surprisingly robust cast with little by way of excess or waste. The book hits the ground running, with knockout horror that keeps the reader going.

Lucia’s love for the genre is self-evident throughout The Horror At Pleasant Brook, with Lucia injecting the book full of favorite horror tropes. He designs fun monsters, gruesome deaths and small-town terror with incredible enjoyment. The reader cannot help but follow along with a wide smile as the familiar remains delightfully fun.

The chief characters, Grace Matthews and Scott Carter, are fun to read about, with Scott being a young man who simply loves horror and brings his knowledge to bear on the growing situation. The monstrous, spreading evil is suitably nightmarish. Lucia wears his love of horror on his sleeve and wants the reader to enjoy it just as much with him.