A few weeks ago, author David Massengill visited The Storytelling Blog to share thoughts on writing and his latest novel, Grave Regrets. Massengill provided me with a review copy of the book. 

Disclosure: I have a business relationship with Massengill’s publisher, Montag Press, which published my Sean Joye Investigations novel, The Big Cinch.

Grave Regrets: a Horror Thriller

Grave Regrets is an intelligent, thoughtful thriller in the horror/slasher story mode. Three former friends are forced to face the consequences of some seemingly harmless high school decisions. Set in a spooky corner of the Pacific Northwest, the tale has a decidedly Twin Peaks vibe, at least for me.

The story begins and ends with John. A young widower, restless in his career and regretful of missed opportunities to become a professional writer, he has recently rekindled a romance with a former girlfriend, Vivian. John is shocked to find an old horror story he wrote in high school has become the playbook for the murder of an old friend. 

And his story takes on a life of its own, inspiring copycat fiction and actual crimes, spreading through an online site and social media. Soon he, Vivian, and an estranged high-school friend, Brandon, are in deep trouble from an unknown menace.

Themes of Grave Regrets

This novel goes beyond a simple revenge plot to examine themes of redemption, consequences, and making amends. It contrasts the self-absorption of youth and the self-righteousness of middle age.

An urban legend becomes a vehicle for the antagonist forces to terrify their victims, and the book skillfully utilizes our newest societal horror: online bullying, doxing, mob mentality, and harassment. 

Regretful Characters

The story is told through close third person using several different point-of-view characters. They are often alone with their thoughts, and those thoughts and fears becoming their scene partners, of sorts.

            Antagonists

Stakes are high. For the antagonists, it is revenge, which the narrative makes believable. The story convinces the reader they believe themselves to be the real victims. John, Vivian, and Brandon ruined the antagonists’ lives, intentionally or not.

The most interesting person among the attacking forces is Ava, a teen-age girl who becomes swept up in events, her naivety mirroring that of John and friends’ high-school attitudes. This girl has no personal stakes in the plot except for being in the throes of early, intense love and rebellion against “the man,” but her involvement is convincing. 

            Protagonists

The protagonists, of course, are trying to survive the night: they are motivated by self-preservation, but also learn to protect each other and realize they must own their past mistakes.

The reader watches each of the characters make a series of bad decisions based on a rational view of the world. They are imbedded in their real lives: the jealousies, conflicts, and mundane concerns. They don’t realize they are in a new, irrational narrative until it is much too late. And while the reader might recognize their errors, we can’t really claim we’d do much different. 

The most interesting protagonist character for me was Brandon, already on an amends tour of his past. He’s ready to step up to help, above and beyond what John expects of him.

Whose story is Grave Regrets? As mentioned earlier, it begins and ends with John.  He has an arc of change, learning to cut people some slack, forgive them, and what inadvertent damage looks like. Life isn’t fair. 

Content

The book strikes body horror notes and contains scenes of coercion, kidnapping, murder, and mutilation.

If you found Grave Regrets interesting, you might enjoy reading my interview with David Massengill.

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor

Click here to order The Big Cinch, an award-winning supernatural noir novel from Kathy L. Brown. Sean Joye, a fae-touched young veteran of 1922’s Irish Civil War, aims to atone for his assassin past and make a clean, new life in America. Until he asks the wrong questions. . .

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Last year the St. Louis Writers Guild published Love Letters to St. Louis. This adorable letter-shaped volume of short stories, poems, essays, and illustrations includes my first science fiction story, “Welcome to Earthport Prime: A Self-Guided Tour.” Profits benefit the guild’s young writers’ program.