Graeme Reynolds knows how to make horror hurt. By Dawn’s Early Light, the sequel to Night Bleeds Into Dawn, drags private investigator Jack Carlton out of his AA meetings and back into the dark, this time hunting a serial killer called The Witchfinder whose medieval cruelty turns out to be far more than metaphor. What follows is supernatural horror with a procedural spine: blood, black magic and dismemberment, yes, but also real people you genuinely care about. Reynolds balances slapstick and savagery without dropping either, then builds to a finale that earns every drop of gore. This is splatterpunk with a heartbeat.
By Dawn’s Early Light | Graeme Reynolds | Horrific Tales Press
A fast-paced mash-up of police procedural and gory supernatural horror that never loses sight of the people at its heart. Reynolds writes carnage like cinema, precise, frantic, alive, and characters real enough that every horrible thing lands twice as hard. Blood, guts, black magic and a hero worth following.
Anyone picking up a copy of By Dawn’s Early Light and expecting to read a novelisation of the 1990 action thriller starring Powers Boothe and Rebecca De Mornay will be sorely disappointed, but anyone expecting a fast-paced mash up of police procedural and gory supernatural horror will be rubbing their hands in glee. (As far as films using lyrics from The Star Spangled Banner go, Twilight’s Last Gleaming starring Burt Lancaster is much better anyway).
The novel is a sequel to Night Bleeds Into Dawn which introduced the character of private investigator Jack Carlton whose story continues in this second book, along with those of his friends who survived the events of that first novel.
The battle with demonic forces in Night Bleeds Into Dawn have left Jack scarred, both psychologically and physically and the fight against his personal demons plays a big part in this book with Jack attending AA meetings in an attempt to break his dependence on alcohol.
Unfortunately, a call from an ex-colleague in the police force drags Jack back into the depths of human depravity as he’s called on to provide assistance in the hunt for a serial killer known as The Witchfinder – so called because of his use of medieval torture techniques that were inflicted on those unfortunate women as his modus operandi when killing them.
This being a horror novel, that name turns out to have a more literal aspect to it than was actually intended and Jack soon finds himself embroiled in another battle against malicious supernatural forces.
As with the first novel, there’s a healthy dollop of humour mixed in which acts as a kind of relief from the overt horrors. Jack’s pithy and sardonic asides are still there but the humour this time round feels a bit broader with one set piece in particular, featuring a possessed guinea pig, verging on slapstick.
Importantly, amidst all the carnage, the characters feel real, as do the relationships between them. The writing shows a real understanding of the often complex interactions between friends and family members and these scenes help ground the more outré elements in reality. You care about these characters. (Which makes the horrible things which happen to them all the more effective).
Also in keeping with the first book, the plot develops realistically; there are no characters inserted merely as plot devices here, everyone has a significant role to play and the changes in them (and the readers’ loyalties towards them) as the plot progresses are handled very well indeed.
The narrative twists and turns ultimately lead to a finale where the author really lets rip – rip being the operative word as there’s much of it in evidence with regards flesh and bone; fans of dismemberment and evisceration will have a field day here. It can be tricky writing an action sequence, to convey the momentum and frantic activity taking place but it’s done with aplomb here, the prose so precise that reading this sequence was like watching it unfold on a cinema screen. Blood, guts, supernatural weapons and black magic – what more could you ask for? A knowing nod to a classic line from the Alien franchise and maybe a biblical reference? Sorted.
I enjoyed the hell out of By Dawn’s Early Light. Mr Reynolds has created a fine character in Jack Carlton and it was great to see him back in action, and also to see that character develop – there’s definitely an over-arching narrative going on here, one I’m sure will be developed further in the next book. Which has been nicely set up, with hints as to what foe Jack will be facing next seeded into this book’s narrative. I’m looking forward to it already.
By Dawn’s Early Light: A Supernatural Thriller (Jack Carlton Thriller Book 2)
by Graeme Reynolds
Jack Carlton thought he’d left his demons behind. He was wrong.
After crawling out of the bottle, Jack has rebuilt a fragile peace. He’s sober, his private investigator business is ticking over, and he’s working things out with his daughter, Stephanie, in their old family home. But his relentless insomnia and dreamless existence hint that something dark still lingers within him.
When an old police colleague asks for Jack’s help on a chilling case, his carefully reconstructed life begins to unravel. The Witchfinder, the serial killer who drove Jack to leave the force, has returned. This time, the killer’s twisted game feels eerily personal.
As Jack teams up with his former partner to investigate, they uncover disturbing links between the new murders, a missing journalist, and whispers of an ancient, malevolent force operating in the shadows of London. The deeper Jack digs, the more he’s forced to confront the horrors of his past—and the terrifying truth behind his own sleepless nights.
Will Jack have the strength to face the darkness, or will it consume everything he’s fought to save?
Prepare for a heart-pounding blend of crime, mystery, and supernatural terror in this gripping thriller you won’t be able to put down.
