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"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

With shotgun shells and walking hell and dead men all in a row."

4.5 stars out of 5. Sex, drugs and out of control violence! Mine by Robert R McCammon is a fantastic, edge of your seat thrill ride from one of the finest authors in the horror genre.  I've been reading a lot of books by this author lately and he may just be my number one. A true hidden gem.

In this one Robbie Mac gives us a relentless chase thriller and completely departs from the supernatural elements that had been a feature of his previous work.  The premise centres around the kidnapping of a baby and the mother's frantic pursuit to get him back.  It's intense, taught and a believable with brilliant pacing.  McCammon uses his background in horror to add terrifying elements throughout.

The star of the show in this one without question is the villain Mary Terrell (Mary Terror to her friends). A former left-wing extremist and complete psychopath, the authors characterisation is captivating and frightening in equal measure. She's maybe the best antagonist McCammon has written and the scenes involving her are highly memorable.  Without question as terrifying as any supernatural entity ever written and the way he delves into her psyche is fascinating.



"They fed on hate, day and night. They breathed it in, in their attics and cellars, while they burned their incense and candles. I wonder what they did with that hate when the candles went out."

There's a number of other memorable characters and McCammon weaves these into a real page turner. He's not reinventing the wheel here but he does write it to an extremely high standard.  There's a lot of emotion packed into this one as McCammon focuses on the maternal instinct and the depths that Laura (the mother) is prepared to go to when her child's life is at stake.  Honestly, if you're looking for something that's fun and action packed this is the book for you.

So what stopped this one from getting full marks, a rarity when it comes to McCammon novels? I recently finished reading Freedom of the Mask, one of his latest novels, and the progression in his level of writing is mind-blowing. I don't think I've ever seen an author develop so much. Don't get me wrong, the writing and dialogue is good in Mine, but he's now on another level all together. So for that reason this one isn't an all out five star blockbuster.

It's not the most intricate story. Intense, relentless and brutal in parts with a satisfying conclusion. I'd give it a strong recommendation for horror fans. Great to see a truly great female villain, up there with Stephen King's infamous Annie Wilkes. Would be great to see an ultimate showdown between these two. My money is on Miss Terror. Peace out!