Review: A wonderfully paranoid decadent chocolate truffle of a story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 18, 2011
Intoxication (a psycho thriller) (As the Darkness Falls)is a wonderfully paranoid decadent chocolate truffle of a story. Someone is trying to kill the protagonist, Leslie. Or are they? It is not exactly clear what is happening to Leslie - or the people around her - until the bitter end. And even then, it's entirely possible that there was something else entirely going on all along.This is a great twisty story - in all the best possible ways. It contains more switchbacks than a Colorado mountain road, and the kind of dark tragic-comedy I associate with classic David Lynch or David Mamet (impressive compliments indeed, if you know me). This is a shortish story with a very large punch. You will alternate between feeling empathy for Leslie and wanting to kill her yourself - again, in all the best possible ways.Unfortunately, I must confess that I did not enjoy "Hitchhiker", the second story included in this book, nearly as much. I actually saw the first (primary) twist coming. Granted, I had just read "Intoxication", so was thinking in terms of twists and unusual outcomes. But still... This story felt like a rehash of the old "The Hitchhiker" television series. (I know, I know - I'm dating myself and exposing my dork potential here, but I don't mind. I'm willing to do a lot in the interest of books...)The story is interesting enough, but it didn't feel as original or startling or carefully crafted as Intoxication. Perhaps if I had read it separately, or first, I would have felt differently about it. But coming on the heels of the first story, I did not enjoy it as much.All in all, I think this series from Kizer has great potential. He has an easy and engaging writing style and more twists than a bag of cheese curls. I look forward to seeing the next installments!