Gothic Horror Novella: A Heart-Thumping Tale!
My 5-Star review in entirety published at Amazon for 'A Dark Covenant' by F.B. Hogan:
At once, the reader is purveyed by horse-drawn carriage to the Gothic horror which awaits at Thurmond Abbot. Narrated by Peter, the nephew who stands to inherit his Aunt Augusta’s entire estate upon her death—we tiptoe with trepidation through the gloom, mustiness, macabre, wretchedness, and unease.
A dark covenant, indeed! How hard could it be, Peter keeps telling himself, to endure being secluded, overnight, inside the mansion with his aunt’s dead body lying in her coffin. An unlikable, greedy fellow who squanders money on drinking and gambling—he’ll certainly have to earn his keep.
While one could dismiss the premise of this novella as a Gothic horror cliché, it is anything but, due to the author’s way with words. Which, on occasion: grab you by the throat, cause you to gag, or make you want to avert your eyes.
F.B. Hogan artfully and artistically channels the finesse of yesteryear’s masterminds who penned Gothic novels. In that vein, I highly recommended this heart-thumping tale.
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Ron