Master Of Games

       In The Dark - Richard Laymon

                                                             

 

      Jane is a librarian working through rhe last of her shift when she spots an envelope with her name on it and inside is a letter inviting her to play with someone named the Master Of Games. The simple task sets of a chain of events that slowly escalate to the point where the money becomes more important than Jane's safety. Who is The Master Of Games? What's his motivation? This is what drives the novel as well as the escalation of each dare. At any point Jane can quit, but the pull of easy money is far too hard to ignore even though she sees first hand just how dangerous things are becoming. Laymon stacks the novel with a great deal of suspense while throwing in his usual trademarks. At its core is what Laymon calls bad people doing bad things. While its clear that Mog could be crazy, Jane herself does some questionable things as well. It shows you just how far people will go for money and Jane may see things escalating slowly out of control, she's in too deep to simply stop. 

       While Laymon's dialouge may be his weak spot, his stregths in plot and pacing make up for it. Sometimes his characters do things that leave you scratching your head at times, but there is a method to Laymon's madness. Brace is an interesting subplot but as the novel goes on, he becomes more than a love interest, he becomes the voice of reason trying to pull Jane back from the edge of the abyss she is slowly inching toward. At the heart of it all is The Master of Games who appears while Jane is sleeping and leaves written notes on her body while she sleeps. Laymon has a knack for creating scenes that make you cringe and In The Dark is no exception and here we have quite a few of them. These scenes only add to the sadistic nature of Mog and the kind of character he is. While he's a faceless character his presence is well felt in each letter he leaves for Jane. 

         This is one of Laymon's most interesting books and one that could have propelled him onto the best seller lists, but this is Richard Laymon. He's a great storyteller but his style of writing would never go over big with most readers. He's an acquired taste who loves to make his readers feel uncomfortable and present a side of human nature most of us will never see. It's a mixture of thriller, mystery and horror that hooks you in from the opening paragraph. You almost can see yourself as Jane and you ask yourself would you play the game and if so, how far would you go? 

Four stars