World of Hurt, by Brian Hodge **7/8

I like Brian Hodge. So far, he's 2 for 2 at creating smart, readable, tense, and thoughtful horror, at least by my count. I've also read his collection, Lies and Ugliness, which I enjoyed at a similar level. Hodge is good at creating characters you care about, and he knows how to avoid the predictable, which is important for this book, because in many ways it's a standard thriller concept. Unlike the majority of thriller novels, Hodge's solution isn't simply to come up with meaningless twists. Instead, he lets his well-rounded characters guide the direction of the story. By this I mean that his characters don't make stupid choices (don't go in that room, don't stay at home alone, etc.).
(Winter 2007)

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