A Demon Inside by Rick R. ReedRating: 5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


A Demon Inside…once again Rick R. Reed demonstrates how he is much more than just a simple romance writer. This hair-raising tale of horror and folklore will most assuredly leave you loathe to turn off the lights at bedtime and find you starting at every telltale noise your house makes as it settles every night. Now a second edition, re-released by DSP Publications, this is not your typical m/m romance—far from it, in fact. Instead you are lured into a tale of murder and mayhem that features a foul creature rising up against an innocent and slightly deluded young man.

Hunter Beaumont is the last of his line. Behind him is a family history of violence and mystery. Losing his own parents at the age of five while on a camping trip, Hunter barely recalls the circumstances behind his parent’s brutal murder. Raised by his elderly grandmother, Hunter is indulged and given every comfort money can buy, except his freedom.

Raised at home, with tutors and a somewhat cloistered lifestyle, Hunter, now in his early twenties, is faced with a lonely life and a naïve outlook that will find him at the mercy of con artists. Having been burned and scorned by his first lover, Hunter goes directly against the dying wish of his grandmother and moves out of the city to the remote Beaumont estate. Rather than destroying the home as she asked him to do, Hunter sinks a good portion of his trust fund into renovating the place in order to move in and live what he fancies will be the quiet life that suits him best.

Once settled in, Hunter meets the man who lives on the edge of the adjoining estate, Michael Burt. It just so happens that Michael is writing a fiction tale based loosely on the “curse” that supposedly plagues the Beaumont House. Before long, Hunter is visited by a chilling presence, one that is most assuredly both violent and deadly. Determined, Hunter remains at the house, even when he realizes that the ghostly apparition that haunts his waking and sleeping hours means to do him harm.

A Demon Inside was a horror story worthy of standing toe to toe with the greats like Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Macabre and horrifying, the “demon” that haunts Hunter’s family line is determined to see its destruction before it leaves the earthly realm for good. Hunter could have so easily come off as both whiny and remarkably naive to the point of stupidity were it not for the deft handling by Reed. His extraordinary ability to write characters that are wholly believable and grounded in reality created a heartbreaking innocence in Hunter that made Michael’s tenderness toward the young man inevitable.

However the true main character in this story was the house itself and the demon that resided within its walls. Honestly, I would have never stepped foot inside the place. Still in pristine condition after more than 50 years being empty, the level of malevolence and gut clenching terror the house evoked was staggering. This was one scary place and the brilliant Reed played on every dark emotion the worst of creatures could have when it came to creating this macabre home. Quite frankly, there were times when I had to stop reading at night and finish in the daylight—yes it was that good and that bone chilling a story!

If you are looking for a thrilling horror story that will keep your heart firmly lodged in your throat, look no further than A Demon Inside by Rick R. Read. It is guaranteed to make you wary of things that go bump in the night.

A review copy of this book was provided by DSP Publications.

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