Hell: The Possession and Exorcism of Cassie Stevens by Tom Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
High schooler, Cassie Stevens, is a bit of a loner. Especially after the death of her father, she struggles to connect with people at school, and even her mother. She begins to hang out with a trio of friends, ‘goth kids’, and they start doing goth type things together.
For example, attending ceremonies worshipping Satan.
The main event Cassie attends, Black Mass, is a drug and alcohol fueled orgy to Satan. Unfortunately, Cassie goes home from the Mass with a lot more than a hangover.
Things get really crazy after a car accident leaves Cassie technically ‘dead’ for a few minutes. After that, her fate seems sealed. She now feels a presence around her; a dark and evil presence lurking just in her periphery. She begins to cause noticeable disturbances while at school and at home.
Cassie needs help and it quickly becomes apparent that main-stream medicine is not going to ‘cure’ what ails her.
You guys, this is a really fun possession story that I have no problems recommending to my horror-loving friends. Was it perfect? No. There were a couple of things that I picked up on that I think could have been improved upon; repetitive phrasing, things of that nature, but overall, this was creepy AF and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
For me, it did offer up a unique take on possession. The way it was described, and viewing it through Cassie’s perspective, made it different from your standard tale where you exclusively follow people on the outside. The non-possessed characters. I liked seeing things from Cassie’s perspective. What it felt like for her. What she saw and how confusing and desperate it was for her.
The story really drew me in as well. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about reading it and therefore got through it rather quickly. Lewis excels at building up suspense and there were parts that definitely got under my skin. I tried not to read it directly before bed without a palate cleansing Contemporary or Fantasy to read for a bit after.
Thank you so much to the author, Tom Lewis, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I always appreciate the opportunity to provide my opinion on a book. I 100% would pick up more books from this author and look forward to doing so!
Original: …”for fans of The Exorcist and Stephen King…”
