The Occupied
By: Craig Parshall
Available: September 1, 2016
Publisher: Tyndale House
ISBN: 978-1-4964-1135-8
Official Book Description:
As a youth, Trevor Black unleashed spiritual forces he couldn’t comprehend. Years later, Trevor is a high-flying criminal defense lawyer in New York City, with a six-figure Aston Martin and a trophy wife. But in an extraordinary turn of events, he receives a burdensome gift: the ability to perceive the invisible. And the dark forces he now sees are all gunning for him.
When one of Trevor’s hometown friends is murdered, the MO is eerily similar to a shocking trail of murders that have already crossed the lawyer’s path. So Trevor must return home to find the killer. . . and face not only his own personal demons, but supernatural ones as well.
Review:
I like a good suspense story, so I was excited to read this book.
It also presents a bit of a problem to review as I don't want to give away too many clues. In other words, please forgive me for being a little on the vague side. It's for good reason.
The prologue starts out in the middle of the story to give us some mystery and a teaser of what's to come. Our protagonist is no longer a lawyer, but a disbard man who sees "monsters" everywhere!
Surprisingly, the next several chapters overcorrect the timeline in the opposite direction, dealing with him 25 years earlier as a youth. His life back then is filled with death, deamons, spiritual encounters, teen sex, and pretty much "the desires of the flesh" type stuff.
At long last, about halfway through the book we finally get to "now". The first stuff was a little bit tedious, but here it begins to get good. (Basically, don't expect to put the book down from here on out!)
Here we see Trevor do what he is best at -- being a criminal defense attorney. I felt like I was right there with him every step of the way from here on out.
I love how this story is written from Trevor's point of view. You feel like you are with him every step of the way as the story unfolds.
The author's law background really shows, what with vivid descriptions of judges and jails, etc. You get the impression he knows what it is like, and he is taking you along into that world.
I loved the suspense and the exceptional mystery woven throughout with so many double meanings and red herrings, that you don't know who the real bad guys are until it all comes together in the end.
Cautions:
This is a crime fiction story, so if you are looking for a sqeaky-clean Christian book, this ain't it! On top of the teen sex, slash, demonic stuff mentioned earlier, there is also violence and drug abuse.
Probably not suitable for teens.
The good news is that there is a definite separation of light and dark with good and evil choices that have to be made, so all that darkness makes a valid Christian point.
Conclusion:
If you love suspense and mystery and do not mind reading about the darker side of the world, this is a great story! I, for one, can't wait to read more about Trevor Black and what trouble he finds himself in next!
Author's Promo:
(This is pretty good. You probably ought to watch it.)
