Review | Devil’s Creek by Todd Keisling

At the Lord’s Church of Holy Voices in Stauford, Kentucky, Jacob Masters leads his congregation to pray to a nameless god, and sacrifice their flesh and blood for him. The church burned down in 1983; his followers dead in a mass suicide except for six children and their grandparents. In the present day, the nightmare isn’t over. Jacob still has followers awaiting his return. Only Jack Tremly and the other Stauford Six survivors might be able to stop him.

The path of the Chosen is gilded in fire, forged in blood, and patterned across the bones of the damned. The people of Stauford will remember the Old Ways, and soon.

If you love cult horror you won’t go wrong with Devil’s Creek! The writing is engaging and the setting of a small town stuck in the past is perfectly rendered. Jacob is a charismatic and terrifying villain as the head of a death cult intent on spreading his influence. His whispers reach his followers from beyond, and it’s super creepy. This is a no holds barred, super dark read! The characters engage in the occult and Satanic rituals. Child abuse, sexual depravity, and incest all make an appearance. But the story has humour and heart as well. There are enough levity and emotional depth for the characters to leave a mark.

The theme of fatherhood hangs like a shadow over the characters. The Stauford Six share the same father in Jacob but different mothers. Their struggle to reconcile where they come from with who they are is illustrated every time we spend time with them. While Jack takes center stage, the rest also features – Steph is the owner of a hard rock radio station, Chuck is a lawyer, Bobby is a pastor, Susan is estranged with plans of her own, and Zeke has turned to drugs. Bobby’s rebellious teenage son Riley is pulled into his father’s history when his friends go missing. In addition, Jack’s late grandmother, Imogene, plays a large part in bringing the threads together through the notes she left behind, with the view of ending Jacob Masters’s reign once and for all. I was rooting for Jack and the good guys to make it out alive!

I found the history behind the founding of the Lord’s Church interesting as the book touches on the racist past of the town and how it’s hidden like a dirty secret. However, I wish we get a clearer correlation to how it affected Jacob. I would have loved more information on Jacob’s childhood and his ultimate turn to the dark side. I also found the book repetitive at times, and I wanted the ending to go all out when the stakes are so high. I can definitely see why the story ends the way it does though.

Overall, I really enjoyed Devil’s Creek and it affirms my decision to not join any cults in the future!

I received a digital copy from the publisher for review purposes.

About the author: Todd Keisling

Photo by Sergio Souza