Review: Excellent and Terrifying! Shudderville 2 Reminds Us Why We Shouldn't Speak to Strangers
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 12, 2012
When I reviewed Part 1 of Mia Zabrisky's Shudderville series, I stated in my review that I would never again underestimate her as a master storyteller. That said, when I read the second installment of Shudderville, I was once again struck by Zabrisky's ability to delve, not only into the wickedness of the human mind, but into the battle between good and evil that rages---to varying degrees--within each of us.Set in the turbulent Vietnam War era, Part 2 is the story of serial killer Leonard Sipes. Part Jack Kerouac, part Hannibal Lechter, Sipes travels across a divided America, preying on its most vulnerable citizens. With his average looks and Ted Bundy charm, Sipes insinuates himself into the lives of his victims, then moves in for the kill to achieve power, purpose, and enjoyment. He is pure, unadulterated evil, yet like many serial killers, he possesses a strange moral code known only to himself.  When he rents a room in the home of a mysterious widow and her children, Sipes vows to do the `right thing'; however he will soon learn there are forces in world even he can't control.While I couldn't bring myself to pity Sipes, his backstory certainly gave me pause.  If things had been different, would he have used his intelligence, charisma and adaptability to achieve success? Or would he have simply become a different kind of monster?  It is these deeper questions that separate Zabrisky's work from run-of-the-mill horror.The time period and characters of Shudderville Part 2 are completely different than Part I; so is the voice and the mood. They are equally as terrifying, however, and only a writer with Zabrisky's skill and versatility could create two such separate yet finely drawn universes.