Still recovering from the shocking revelations they uncovered deep in uncharted territory in the Grand Canyon, American myth and legend investigator Nolan Moore and his team take on a new mission, investigating a rumored case of witchcraft and possession.

Nolan hopes their new case, in a quaint village in the middle of the woods, will prove much more like those he and his team investigated prior to their trip to Kincaid's cavern. But as the residents accounts of strange phenomena add up, Nolan and company begin to suspect something all too real and dangerous may be at play. A force that may not be willing to let them escape the village unscathed.

The Possession is a story that is best enjoyed whilst surrounded by a fuck ton of people. Just make sure you know those people well, make sure their personalities don’t change at the drop of a hat. This was a story that reminded me of a mash-up of Inception and The Twilight zone. The people that we love and cherish are like home to us, we see safety in their eyes, a warm hug after a bad day is sometimes all we need to feel better.

Tragedy has struck a small town in the middle of the woods after a teenage girl has gone missing. There’s no sign of her anywhere, and the girls that were the last to see her are cagey and adamant that they did everything possible to find her. Podcast creators, Nolan, Ken, and the rest of the crew head to the area to check out some unexplained structures that seem to date back to medieval times. A decision Nolan made after discovering his ex-wife is in the area investigating the disappearance of the missing girl, Alaina. The case is deeply personal to her and slowly she gets in too deep. How on earth do you move on when the fog clears and every corner you investigate reminds you of what you’ve lost?

Nolan has a polarising relationship with his ex-wife. It’s clear that they aren’t remotely over each other but the two can’t seem to bridge the gap that is needed to move forward, whether that’s separately or together. Both the study of the strange wall-like structures in the woods and the missing girl seem like the perfect opportunity for them both to be in the same place at the same time, but will it push them together or irrepressibly apart?

The Possession is a fantastic novel of both strengthening relationships and a palpable sense of tension mounting – think of a coiled spring ready to be let go. The plot was excellent, and I spent a good majority of it walking on hot coals. I was interested in the wall angle and just how all the little threads came together was both clever and terrifying. The second half of the story unsettled me with the ethereal presence the story took on. Everything about the entire story just works, it’s the tale of two halves, family, and fear.

The Possession is that damn scary because it feels REAL. We aren’t reading about pretentious characters that are overinflated, these characters could be you and your friends. You and your friends dealing with an extremely terrifying ordeal and trying to stay loyal to those you love.

The Possession gave me the right details and gave me a precise image of what the author imagined. I closed my eyes and prayed to the bookish gods that these realistic characters would make it to the end.

Reality bends into the sinister. A dark and twisting narrative that will have you avoiding mirrors for all eternity.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Rutger is a pseudonym of thriller, horror and science fiction writer Michael Marshall Smith. Under this name he has published the novels ONLY FORWARD, SPARES and ONE OF US, and nearly a hundred short stories — becoming the only author ever to win the BFS Award for Short Fiction four times. He also works as a screenwriter in LA. 

Writing as Michael Marshall he is also the author of the internationally-bestselling STRAW MEN series (currently in television development), along with other novels including KILLER MOVE and THE INTRUDERS (televised in 2014 starring Mira Sorvino and John Simm, and introducing Millie Bobby Brown). 

Further information can be found on his website.