Review for I Excess Of Dark by Red Lagoe

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I’m not sure what’s been happening with horror lately, but I’ve read a lot of books with grief themes.

I’ve read a few books by Red and loved them. This book hit a little differently.

I attempt to find myself in the character while doing a review. This book is close to home.

My brother passed away a few years ago. It was sudden. It took us by surprise. I think about him often. He popped up a lot while reading this one, as did my father-in-law, who passed a few years before my brother.

This story opens with the main character and her family going on a trip. She thinks about their trip but has the idea that they’re going to die. This is a thing with her, something she and her mom fought about.

The grief and thoughts of grief. The pain of being left and thinking she did something to cause it fills this story.

I thought about my brother and wished I could have been there more for him. I never thought I caused his death. It was a fluke thing, but we all dive into the deaths of our loved ones in different ways.

I wanted to bring them back and solve the problems we had with them while they were alive. Those thoughts permeated my mind while reading this. I think about my brother once a week anyway, but this book brought it out more.

I enjoyed this book, even with the emotions I felt while reading it. A good book will always bring out emotions. I loved how Red dove into the underlying issues with her mom. How she found a way to bring things back. How she was able to confront her mother. All of these things made the character believable. It gave the story a richness that made me blow through it.

I can’t wait to reread this one.