Endless Night by Richard Laymon

Richard Laymon has somewhat of a formula with his stories. They're mostly going to have women in various disturbing circumstances, with personalities different from what you would see in a real person, and they're more than likely going to either get naked of their own accord, or forcefully. It's a twisted and terrifying Laymon paints, but it's his all the same.

Endless Night holds every single little nuance that makes a Laymon story "a Laymon story", and you'll be hard pressed to find a fan out there that doesn't count this as his best.

This tale begins with a young girl named Jody Fargo and a sleep over at her friend's house. If you're a Laymon fan, you already know what's going to happen next. Killers break in a slaughter everybody but Jody and her friend's younger brother Andy. They somehow manage to escape the chaos and ritualistic killing performed by a group of stinky, skin-clad maniacs, and now have to run for their lives.

Simon Quirt, one of Laymons more twisted and despicable villains, is on the hint for the two he let slip from his grasp. Alone, he must find and capture Jody and Andy, before they can get to the anybody who will ruin the sweet deal him and his friends have going. He's motivated by one other thing though...the thought of having Jody for himself.

Seriously folks, this one has to be read to be believed. Laymon really outdid himself with the gore and the twisted stunts this villain is capable of pulling off. The story is tighter than anything else out there, and the pace is incredible. You'll be finished before you can believe you've just blown through just under 500 pages.

I'd count this as one of my Top 5 favorite books of all time. Not only because Laymon dared to take the reader to places many authors don't, but because Laymon does it so damned well.

Now, as a point of interest, there's a lot of talk about there being similarities to Dean Koontz's Intensity, but I don't really see the comparison. Maybe one day I'll get off my ass and take a side by side look-see, but not any time soon. Just know that, having read both books, I don't see the similarity in story, just in tone and subject matter. Hopefully I'll have a breakdown of Intensity up soon.

PBH.