THE LANTERN MAN by Jon Bassoff

This creative and fascinating novel blends murder mystery, horror, small-town rural legends, and family secrets into a highly satisfying tale coming in just over 200 productive pages. It tells the story of a small-town detective named Russ Buchanan driven to reopen the cases of recent violence in his Colorado town, including the fire-suicide of a girl named Lizzy Greiner. As Buchanan investigates, the story is told with a variety of narrative conventions, including Lizzy's journal, Buchanan's footnotes, articles, photographs, etc. All of this provides an absorbing tapestry that builds as the story unfolds.

"I was not looking for a confession. I only wanted her soul to be freed."

It was awesome getting sucked into this short novel. The epistolary and multiple-point-of-view style it's presented in makes everyone an unreliable narrator and you never quite know what's true and what's not as you're reading. And while it has elements of horror and crime, it ultimately tells a story that shows the tragic disintegration of a family and tackles mental health issues like depression and obsession. The author's innovative style lends an interesting mood throughout the novel and a tense, uneasy reading experience. This is my second novel by author Jon Bassoff and while it couldn't be any more different than the first one I read, it's further proof of how much of a singular talent he is.

"It's only flesh my darling. And flesh is meant for the fire."

GRADE: A-

CORROSION by Jon Bassoff

For a few minutes I wished that I were dead but then I worried about hell and what it would bring.

I would describe myself as an avid reader of noir and dark fiction. I feel like I've read lots of great work in these genres. But every now and then I find something that takes me by surprise. Author
Jon Bassoff has been on my radar for a while and I've finally made it to his work with this pitch black, mind-blowing debut noir.

Back up the mountain, shotgun over one shoulder, bride over the other. And now, forever, snow falling, wind howling, boots crunching, breath wheezing, devil laughing.

I don't want to talk too much about the story but it treads familiar waters in regards to content but in an original and creative way that makes it totally addictive and compulsively readable. From its fiery, crackerjack prose, its parallel POV structure, its evolving narrator, and its heavy themes, this is sly, sneaky, and nimbly controlled work that is constantly surprising as the revelations are slowly revealed. And most importantly, it's a brave examination of its troubled protagonists. This one puts Bassoff even more on my radar in a major way.

I used to not believe in God, his father has said, but now, I'm a changed man, a true believer. Only a Supreme Being could create such misery and mayhem.

GRADE: A