A Song After Dark by Grant Palmquist

Norman thought he’d hit the jackpot when he met Zach, trading his boring straight A lifestyle for one filled with parties, drugs and more girls than he ever imagined he’d meet in his lifetime.

But there’s something dangerous about Zach, something not quite right. For Zach has a dark secret, that once revealed will drag his newfound sidekick into a nightmare world mired in death and destruction.

Be wary of strangers and careful what you wish for.

Sometimes A Song After Dark is one you don’t want to hear.

 

Full Disclosure: Thank you to Grant Palmquist for sending a review copy.

I’m letting you guys know up front, A Song After Dark by Grant Palmquist is (say it with me )not for the faint of heart…or stomach. There are some truly disturbing scenes that even I flinched at. But hey, that’s the goal when you pick up a horror novel, isn’t it?

The story follows Norman and Zack, two high school teens who come from completely different worlds. Zack’s popular by default for being a renegade. Meanwhile Norman leads a sheltered life under the iron thumb of his parents. When he’s not studying, he should be dreaming about studying, and very little else. Seems unlikely that they’d strike up a friendship, but Zack’s all about doing the unpredictable. It’s kinda his thing, being a serial killer and all.

The plot, while pretty straightforward, has a great pace. The unraveling of the two boy’s friendship and Zack’s sanity was like a train wreck, I couldn’t bring myself to look away. While I don’t think this book is suitable for kids, it does have a running theme about conformity vs. being your own person. In the case of Zack…it’s not really a good thing. He came across as “a very special snowflake”, but I do believe that was rather the point. Norman, who doesn’t have the luxury of conformity, being that he believes he’ll live and die a geek from now till graduation, comes from his friendship with Zack, not unscathed, but also his own person.  And that’s about as far as I can say without spoiling anyone.

Recommended for all Horror lovers. Animal lovers need not purchase.

You can purchase A Song After Dark at Amazon and Smashwords. I am currently unaware of any other venues but Mr. Palmquist? Feel free to kick an e-mail my way if I’ve missed one.