Waking Lazarus

 by T.L. Hines

 

The Story:  

 

Back in his boyhood Nebraska, Jude Allman died and inexplicably came back to life three times. After the last time, he wrote a book about his experiences, hoping to satisfy public curiosity. The public continues to hound him and soon he realizes "Jude Allman" will never lead a normal life. He drops off the radar and assumes a new identity. As "Ron Gress," Jude has a five-year-old son, a low-stress job as janitor of an elementary school in Red Lodge, Montana, and a fervent desire to become invisible.

 

That proves impossible when a madman starts killing children across the region. "Ron Gress" experiences huge gaps in his memory. In fact, he's plagued with paranoia and only half-remembers his strange nightmares. He's boarded over his windows with Sheetrock, installed an elaborate alarm system, and has multiple padlocks on his apartment door. His bizarre behavior draws the attention of the police chief and makes Ron the prime suspect when two local children are found imprisoned in a cellar.

 

Jude Allman leaps from the page, fleshy and genuine as a thirty-something man who has failed to complete his developmental tasks. In short, Allman buries his problems until he, like "everyman," is forced to make a stand. Psychologically speaking, how well a man knows himself by the time he's thirty determines how well he'll deal with dramatic changes in his life. With everything Jude Allman has heaped on his plate, he should crash and burn.

 

Despite his best efforts, Jude Allman can't hide from who or what he is -- nor from the mysterious woman who tracked him to Red Lodge and refuses to leave him alone. Must he die a fourth time for the killings to stop?

 

The Review:

 

"Waking Lazarus" is a skillfully rendered amalgam of psychological thriller and horror with a strong metaphysical side. Early on, author T.L. Hines reveals the bizarre workings of a monster's mind and sets in motion a series of plot twists and turns that feel like a wild carnival ride through the mythical Labyrinth.

 

The book didn't catch fire for me until Jude reconnected with his father (more than a quarter of the way through the book, and the reason I gave it only 8/10 candles). At that point, the fire blazed and I couldn't put the book down. The plot twists are delicious and the main characters quirky and three-dimensional. Author Hines led me through his Labyrinth, careful neither to tangle the string nor show me the way out until the climax. I don't believe in spoilers. Let it suffice to say that "Waking Lazarus" is a compelling story of physical, emotional, and spiritual rebirth.