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[Book Review] Romance Author Strikes Horror Gold With ‘The Darkling’
Author Carolyn Haines is into a little bit of everything. Primarily known for a series of humorous crime novels set in the Mississippi Delta (The Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries), Haines is a prolific author who has published in multiple genres under multiple pseudonyms. Not only has she penned a dozen or so Harlequin romance novels (seriously), she even dispenses online relationship advice in the Southern Belle drawl of a ghost named Ms. Jetty. This Haines lady is the ultimate multitasker.
Pegasus Books is releasing her upcoming novel The Darkling under yet another pseudonym, “R.B. Chesterton“, a sweet mobster alias if I ever heard one. Although a few of Haines‘ previous novels have dabbled in the supernatural, The Darkling is a shockingly good horror novel for an author who merely dabbles.
In this unsettling piece of American gothic, the arrival of a 16-year-old foster child results in the unraveling of a close-knit family, arousing the suspicions of their young nanny. With its 1974 setting and slow burn narrative, The Darkling is a throwback to a time when the novels of Ira Levin and Thomas Tryon ruled bookshelves, when the most popular horror novels were both literary and scary.
The hardbound release hits bookstores on April 1. Read on for the full review.
In The Darkling, narrator Mimi has found her dream job as a live-in nanny for the wealthy Hendersons. As full-time educator to children Margo, Erin and Donald, the 21-year-old college girl lives with the family at Belle Fleur, a run-down Alabama mansion with a mysterious past. Mimi is content in her place in the family, and conflicts are rare, at least until 16-year-old Annie, an amnesiac orphan found wandering the streets of Mobile, is invited to live with the Hendersons.
With Annie’s arrival comes mind games and mounting jealousy, especially from teenage Margo, who seems to view Annie as a threat. When Margo unexpectedly vanishes, the family assumes she’s left town with her thug boyfriend, but Mimi suspects that Annie is somehow involved. Mimi has seen a strange girl lurking in the woods near the mansion, watching the children from afar––a girl that looks just a bit like Annie. Does Annie have a mysterious accomplice, or is the naïve, virginal Mimi merely imagining things?
When crafting a horror novel centered on a malevolent child, it can be hard to capture the subtle manipulations that children and teenagers are capable of. Haines hits all the right notes with Annie, a wide-eyed, sweet-natured innocent with the power to morph into an unassailable bitch once the adults have their backs turned. She’s one of those villains you love to hate; I found myself openly rooting for her comeuppance with each passing chapter.
But it’s Haines’ knack for good, old-fashioned storytelling that truly sets The Darkling apart. The scares are parceled out sparingly, but assuredly. After the first few chapters, I found myself saving the novel for late nights, when I could pour a cup of coffee, light a lamp in a dark room, and allow the hyper-eerie visuals to seep into my bones. While Haines has found previous success with crime and romance, The Darkling may be proof of her true calling.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Skulls
Toho has just dropped another teaser for their highly anticipated sequel to 2023’s monstrous hit, Godzilla Minus One. While the confirmation that Takashi Yamazaki is returning for another round of emotionally resonant kaiju action is exciting enough, fans have also noticed a not-so-subtle detail hidden away in the trailer’s accompanying poster/promotional imagery.
The upper right corner of the newly released image initially appears to show golden rays of sunlight peeking in through the clouds behind Godzilla, but the unnatural bursts of lightning and hurricane-like winds surrounding the monster (not to mention the light’s vaguely draconic shape) may actually be teasing something far more dangerous.
Die-hard kaiju fans are more than aware that Godzilla’s arch-enemy King Ghidorah is a flying golden monster often associated with storms, with this three-headed dragon also being capable of breathing out lightning-like “Gravity Beams” to counter his mortal enemy’s atomic blasts. That’s why it seems like the imagery is hinting at a second kaiju threat this time around.
Combine this information with what we see in the teaser itself, and it appears that Godzilla Minus Zero may very well involve former weapons engineer Kenji Noda using nuclear weapons to awaken another giant monster capable of defeating Godzilla for good – a decision that could have disastrous consequences for our protagonists and the rest of Japan.
This is all just speculation at this point, but Minus Zero’s tagline, “There is no third time. Everything ends here,” and official synopsis make it clear that humanity will stop at nothing to end the kaiju threat once and for all. Yamazaki has also gone on record saying that he’s a huge fan of GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, the only Godzilla movie where Ghidorah is portrayed as a hero – though I doubt that will be the case this time around.
Either way, we’ll have to wait a little longer before we know for sure. However, in the meantime, don’t forget to comment below with your own theories about where Yamazaki intends to take the story next, as we’d love to hear what our fellow Monster Movie fans have to say!
The first Japanese film to be filmed for IMAX, Godzilla Minus Zero releases November 6 in theaters around the globe.
Godzilla chomps down on King Ghidorah in ‘GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack’
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