The Lazarus Prophecy is a supernatural/horror/crime story that involves attempts by the Catholic Church to contain an ancient evil. Unfortunately, not everyone believes in the concept or the prophecy, and as a result a terrible demon is loose in London. The first victims are prostitutes, and in spite of the distressing mutilations of the bodies, the killer has left no clues. With each victim, the killer has left a message, written in archaic languages requiring linguists to decipher them.
Always a step ahead, the killer enjoys taunting the police and leaving them hand-delivered messages directing them to the next body. DCI Jane Sullivan is in charge of the investigation, and in spite of her impressive solve rate, the investigation remains stymied.
When the killer moves from prostitutes to a well-known and respected actress, the media attention becomes pervasive, whipping up public fear and putting pressure on not only the police, but the government itself.
What are the connections to the Whitechapel Murders of 1888? To the secluded monastery in the Pyrenees? To historical characters and their descendants? Who hopes to profit from the frenzy of blame? What is the end-game of the killer?
This is a horror story, and even if you can't fully accept all the details of the premise and have some questions about a few gaps in explanations, you may not be able to avoid the feelings of dread and trepidation the novel evokes.
This is my third book for Carl's RIP IX challenge. It certainly kept me on tenterhooks.
NetGalley/Bloomsbury
Horror/Supernatural. Sept. 2, 2014. Print length: 289 pages.
I love that word, "tenterhooks". :-) I don't hear it used that often anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe Lazarus Prophecy sounds intense!
Oh this sounds creepy and I'm a huge fan of horror so I'm definitely intrigued. It sounds like it has some good horror vibes and atmosphere, too! Great review!
ReplyDeleteWendy - It was pretty creepy, and I stayed worried about who would be next!
ReplyDeleteGiselle - Definitely horror; not believable, but kept me involved. :)
It sounds like this book has a lot of similarities to Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough (which is also a great read). I've liked the F. G. Cottam books that I've read in the past; I'll definitely have to give this one a read. Great post!
ReplyDeleteSounds intense and horrific at the same time. Both of them is a good combination for thrillers fans, like me. :)
ReplyDeleteLark - I'll have to check out Mayhem. This is my first book by Cottam; I usually lean more to suspense than horror, but it was a perfect book for RIP!
ReplyDeleteMelody - If you read it, I bet you will worry about the victims!
OOOhhhh! dread and terror, tentahooks! Sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this review - still trying to catch up with everyone since my holiday - don't think I'm going to achieve it!
Lynn :D
Lynn - I'm trying to catch up, too; my computer went haywire and now I have a new one to get used to! Hope you had a great holiday!
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