Book Review | Bad Man by Dathan Auerbach

Five years ago, Ben’s 3-year-old brother Eric disappeared while they were at the grocery store. Now, guilt-ridden and determined, Ben takes a job at the same store as an overnight stockist. He soon realises that the place hides secrets, and his search for Eric will lead him down a terrible road. What Ben doesn’t realise is that he should have stopped looking.

…as hope comforts us, it becomes easier and easier to forget that it too was in the jar that Pandora carried. It’s the one horror of the world that wasn’t loosed when she opened the lid.

It’s the one horror that lives in us.

I love the author’s first book Penpal, originally a creepypasta from the NoSleep subreddit. That book is written in short sections; brief but enough to have a devastating impact.

Here though, Bad Man takes its time to tell a story. You’re immersed in Ben’s life, from the horrifying moment his brother went missing to his brutal, neverending search for answers. He has a limp from a car accident, his parents barely acknowledge his existence, the cops are tired of his questions and nobody seems to care about Eric. His only good friend is his co-worker Marty, whose compassion Ben sometimes treats with mistrust. I thought Ben was the perfect protagonist whose narration occasionally comes into question, but I fervently hoped that he discovered what happened to Eric.

The grocery store setting turns creepy in the dead of night, and Ben’s nightmares are scarily intertwined with his daily life. A recurring bit with a child’s toy disturbed me just as much as the terrible incidents that befell Ben and his co-workers. All the pieces fall into place in a shocking reveal. I didn’t see the ending coming! This is a story about lost children and forgotten towns, where poverty, neglect and grief can keep you stuck in memories that may not even be true. It’s also the story of a brother’s love and enduring quest for truth. Read this book, you won’t regret it!

About the author: Dathan Auerbach

Photo by Clark Young