Review: The New Flesh by Keith Deininger

I decided it was time to read darker fiction and Keith Deininger's The New Flesh supplied that fix, but not in the typical way I imagined. Three years after Jake starts a fire in the woods behind his school, he begins to have increasingly realistic dreams of fire and a figure he's named The Melting Man. Because of the terror and realism in the dreams, Jake senses that the The Melting Man is increasing in strength.

The New Flesh is dubbed as a horror novel, but I find that most of the action was done off-screen. There were moments that eluded to something terrible about to happen and then it would be cut off... or just incomplete. And I'm left to my own imagination to fill in the gaps. Although there were two moments involving graphic violence, I could have had more.

The pages of The New Flesh fly past rapidly. The characters are ever changing. The only one I really grew to like was Jake. He's the quinessential child-hero that makes readers want him to be ok. His parents and their inconsistencies only help with the darkness of the novel. They in no way will win parent of the year awards. They do have moments of normalcy, but they are brief.

Overall, I enjoyed The New Flesh. My eyes were glued to my Kindle the entire length of the novel. I suggest this read to anyone in need for a quick, dark read that you can finish in an hour or three. I'd be interested in reading more by this author.  ***