Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved reading this book, which feels weird to say because of the content.
It is horrifying, grisly, stomach-churning, haunting, and I loved every minute of it.
I mean, what can I say, it’s what I like.
Sour Candy was my Halloween night read. I lit a pumpkin scented candle, grabbed an adult beverage, snuggled into my bed and read it from start to finish.
Coming in under 100-pages, this novella packs a lot in.
Phil Pendleton has his head in the clouds, straight off a hot night with his lady, as he enters his local Wal-Mart looking to buy them chocolates.
As he stands in the candy aisle making his choices, he hears a blood-curdling scream.
Glancing over he notices an ill-behaved child, pitching a fit, as often occurs in Wal-Mart, and a bedraggled mother who looks to be at the end of her rope.
When a manager intervenes, the situation, if anything, escalates.
Phil tries to assist, but as we all know, no good deed goes unpunished. That’s the last moment of normalcy Phil will have.
Certain aspects of that moment, and the debilitating health effects that followed, reminded me a bit of Thinner. I love Thinner, so comparing these is absolutely a compliment from me.
I also loved how Burke built the intensity in this. The story gets more strange as it goes along, and with that, the horrific nature builds and builds.
Playing off the classic creepy kid trope, this story took that to the next level. I was horrified for Phil.
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a quick and memorable horror story!
You know who you are.