Beatrysel by Johnny Worthen—Book Review

There are horror stories that make you jump from the unexpected. There are others that make you feel the creepiness of a deranged individual or situation. There are also that come back to you to make you think about the story, looking for the little details that made the story, and you jump. Beatrysel by Johnny Worthen is one of the latter.

Beatrysel is a great combination of the classic horror thriller combined with a murder mystery being solved by the police. The descriptions were intense.  Characters were presented with enough detail to give you reasons to question everyone's motives or connection. I was drawn into the characters because they have traits like myself or people I know. They are presented as real people dealing with real problems, who, by their own design or the design of others, found themselves needing to deal with a horrific situation.

Beatrysel deals with the occult. A magus has created and summoned a demonic presence of love. He puts all of the aspects of love he can comprehend, but he neglects anything taken to an extreme can turn dark. Putting those attributes with a creature that doesn't have flesh and blood, but desires to live in that state, what could go wrong? That is the premise of the events taking place. The story is picked up after the creation and the initial summoning. You are along for the ride to figure out what happened and who did it.

The various aspects of what love is are also dealt with as the main story unfolds. As a reader I was taken through the thoughts and feelings of characters learning their motivations and their responses to their lives to understand how each defines love. From the different perspectives I think there is at least one character every reader will identify with. I am not saying every reader is one of these characters, but, they are relatable. These are intertwined with their personal path of beliefs.

Johnny Worthen

The backdrop of using different belief systems provides a level of the unknown most people are not familiar with. Even if you are, you can allow that this is not trying to present the alternate religions in a bad light, just another means of living and understanding life and its many aspects, and in this case love.

The different storylines come together to an understanding of what has been happening. But with dealing with love, and the different aspects that can lead to other emotions, is it ever really ended?

Beatrysel was a fun read that kept me moving through the book. If you like psychological horror, I think you will enjoy it also.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).