True horror fans understand that the genre is more than just a rush for adrenaline junkies who love a good scary story. Horror is an interesting way to explore the darker sides of humanity and even the best of it. The conflict may be dressed up a bit, but a good horror story can be just as deep and complex as a classic piece of literary fiction. Author Mike Dineen recognized this when crafting his novel, Latcher, thinly disguising his metaphors for family, relationships, and a haunting past with things that go bump in the night. Below is my review of Latcher along with an interview with Dineen. Afterwards, enter to win a copy via the giveaway below!
Latcher book summary
Joanna Smith is a successful author who has made a comfortable life for herself. So, when her twin sister, Amanda, calls her out of the blue to tell her that their abusive mother has gone missing, Joanna is reluctant to return to her hometown to track her down. But she arrives only to discover that she was lured back under sinister circumstances, and not only her past demons but a generations-old family secret are out to get her.
The plot
Latcher is a genuine thriller, the kind that crawls into its reader’s head with its chilling tone, gruesome gore, and psychological mind games. The villain of the piece is a classic monster, though it comes across as more sophisticated than the average campfire story or creature hiding in the closet. This monster has a consciousness and a sophisticated method of stripping its victims from their humanity and slowly wasting them away to nothing in their most vulnerable moments.
Behind the horror is an intricately laid out tale that comments about abuse, heritage, and trauma. The story is unpredictable in the way it is set up to take the path of a classic missing persons mystery and then jerks the reader a quarter turn every few chapters to lead them down a different path and a new iteration of a classic horror trope, all while staying on track with its underlying themes and character development.
The characters
Latcher also draws on some hard-hitting suspenseful scenes to keep you rooting for the characters, these two sisters who, despite their genealogy, don’t share that traditional twin closeness. They’re more like opposite sides of a coin, neither being able to predict or sense what the other is thinking or seeing.
It’s Joanna and Amanda who take center stage in this story, with supporting characters coming and going. But for much of the story, they are alone in what is essentially their own backyard, a wilderness that houses a terrifying presence beneath the surface.
Dineen writes female characters so naturally and honestly. These sisters are well-drawn and relatable while still feeling unique and complex.
The tone
There’s a claustrophobic feeling to the story, despite the fact that the characters are on the move for most of the story. Characters are always being cornered, whether it’s in the aftermath of a mine collapse, the moments after a bad auto accident, holed up in a cabin surrounded by a ferocious dog, or trapped in their childhood bedroom with nothing but their thoughts to occupy them for days on end.
The story is a cat and mouse game that starts as an external chase and slowly collapses inward so that the layers of not only Joanna’s but her family’s trauma are peeled back, exposing years of suffering that branches out to other members of the town. That feeling of being tied down or trapped can bring out the most feral behaviors in a person, exposing all of the scars of the past.
It’s not hard to compare the horror in this book to the real life horror of the psychological and physical abuse that many endure throughout their lives yet still feel a responsibility to those who have hurt them the most. Joanna harps on the fact that her mother once nearly stabbed her to death and remains bitter about her obligation to find her abusive mother, but she goes and decides to stay even after she’s given the option to leave. That decision causes her to become entrapped, but it eventually leads to her freedom. Sometimes we have to lean into the flame in order to break the ropes and escape the heat.
The horror elements
The horror genre contains a wide spectrum of content ranging from gentle, even comedic thrills to the most disturbing content you can imagine. Latcher falls into the more disturbing side of the spectrum. However, the gore-level comes and goes. It’s not a constant avalanche of disgusting imagery, but it does intensify as the novel nears its climax, and it can become a little hard to digest and drag on a little too long, torturing the reader rather than entertaining them.
The suspense is especially effective as the sisters encounter one obstacle after another, whether it’s the very realistic threat of being lost in the woods and facing dehydration and hypothermia or the more supernatural threat of being assaulted by an otherworldly creature. Dineen has that Stephen King way of making the realistic elements even scarier than the supernatural ones.
My recommendation
I recommend Latcher to horror fans who can handle the gore but who also want some nail-biting suspense suspense and a deeper, underlying metaphor thrown into the mix. This book will grab you with its opening chapter and then keep your attention with its complex characters, maze-like twists and turns, and intense stakes.
An Author Interview with Mike Dineen
About the Author and Book
Author links (links will open in a new tab)
Genre: Horror Thriller
Latcher book summary
How do you let go of the past, if the past won’t let go of you?
When her abusive mother goes missing, Joanna Smith sees an opportunity to lay the past and the inner monsters that still haunt her to rest. But while en route to investigate her mother’s whereabouts, Jo and her sister, Amanda, become stranded and are forced to journey into a forest that grows stranger and deadlier the closer they get to the house they grew up in. To survive this homecoming reunion, Jo must untangle herself from secrets that have plagued her family for generations as she faces a skin-crawling possibility: Her inner monsters might not just be in her head.
Review excerpts
“An intensely dark and frightening look at the familial ties that bind us and the darkness that can attach itself to our very souls.” ~ Christine Folane, Reedsy Discovery
“A MUST for fans who thrive on superbly-written, unputdownable horror thrillers!” ~ Butterfly’s Booknerdia Blog
Talking Shop
What famous books can you compare to your own?
I would describe my book as The Ritual meets Sharp Objects.
What is a fun or strange source of inspiration that ended up in your book?
Similar to the book, the town I was born and raised in had a salt mine. Like the characters of the story experienced, every night at eleven PM you’d hear a little rumble as the dynamite was detonated in the mine to blast open new salt chambers for mining. Also like the book, there were three abandoned, creepy dynamite shacks in the woods near my house that set my imagination running as a child.
How long did it take to write your book from the day you got the idea to write it to the day you published it?
Though I had the idea for the book’s monster over ten years ago, the writing of the book took one year.
How long have you considered yourself a writer? Did you have any formal training, or is it something you learned as you went?
I have always been interested in writing and storytelling. I have an undergrad in creative writing and over ten years’ experience as a professional writer in advertising.
Are any of your characters inspired by real life people?
I drew some inspiration for the novel’s two main characters, Jo and Amanda, from my own sisters (I have three!).
How well do you handle criticism, either while writing, editing, or reviews? Do you ever use that criticism to change your story?
Working in advertising where I pitch story and campaign ideas to a room of others has given me the gift of a very tough skin when it comes to criticism. Now I find I crave criticism because – at the end of the day – I want the story to be the best it can be.
Did you consult with any professionals or people who lived through a particular event to help you craft your story?
I did ask some of my early female reviewers to help me ensure my first-person female protagonist was accurate.
“What If” Scenarios
If your book ever becomes a movie and you get final say over the cast, which actors would you hire to play your characters?
I could picture Anne Hathaway as Jo and Jessica Chastain as Amanda.
If you could be in a writer’s group with up to four famous writers, who would they be?
Paul Tremblay, Josh Malerman, Gillian Flynn, and Stephen King.
You’re offered a contract to rewrite your book in another genre. Which genre do you choose and why?
Cosmic horror. Perhaps because I’m reading Annihilation right now and I’m loving the existential themes and deep interiority of the narrator.
You’re given $10,000 to spend on marketing for your book. How do you spend it?
I’d run an out-of-home campaign on billboards across major cities.
What famous artist or photographer would you want to create or capture your book cover image?
I’m obsessed with the atmospheric photography of Henri Prestes.
Just for Fun
Your favorite childhood book or story.
I read Wuthering Heights as a teenager and have re-read it several times – I love the haunting, dark atmosphere of it.
A movie or a piece of music that changed your life.
Mulholland Drive by David Lynch is my favourite all-time movie and, when I first saw it, couldn’t stop thinking about it for a whole month.
Your favorite book format.
Paperback.
Your favorite genre to read.
Though I love reading and writing horror, I also love thriller, sci-fi, mystery, suspense.
The activity you’re doing when you’re not writing.
I have a green thumb.
Favorite Halloween costume ever.
I once recreated and wore the Frank the Bunny costume from Donnie Darko, complete with voice manipulator.
Pin it!
This sounds like the perfect book to kick off spooky season. I’ll be adding Latcher to my “to be read” pile!