Have You Read This? Silent Key by Laurel Hightower

 

When it comes to combining genres, horror, like chocolate, goes with everything (if you are allergic to chocolate or simply don’t like chocolate, please insert your favorite food into this analogy). Like chocolate, when horror is drizzled onto a story, it becomes something delicious. Drizzle some horror on a western, and you get something like Alex Grecian’s Red Rabbit, drizzle it on comedy, and you get just about any work from Grady Hendrix. There are plenty of examples of genre mashups involving horror, but one that isn’t as prevalent is the action/adventure thriller (think if Stephen King wrote a story with James Patterson or C. J. Box). Laurel Hightower, however, has given readers a near-perfect blend of action/adventure and horror with her pulpy delicious tale Silent Key.

This tale features former Detective Cam Ambrose, who recently lost her husband Tony and discovered he was having an affair. Fearing those responsible may be coming after her and her family, including her young daughter Sammie and her brother/protector Dimi, she heads to Texas to her Uncle Bert’s place. What was an escape from New York turns out to be even more dangerous as there’s something haunting Bert’s place, something Sammie can see, but something that Cam will barely see coming. To save herself and her family, Cam must find out what is haunting them and what secrets her husband was keeping from her.

It might be an oversimplification to say one simply drizzles horror into another genre when sometimes it requires a balance. Too much of one genre creates a constant shifting in tone and atmosphere that dilutes the final product. Hightower, however, has found the proper balance: a suspense-driven thriller that also utilizes haunted house tropes that will genuinely frighten readers. These kinds of thrillers tend to be full of plot elements and characters that propel the narrative at the risk of losing readers, but Hightower maintains the story’s focus throughout, even creating a potential story universe that can be explored in later books. This is why horror is drizzled into these stories and not poured. Like any good chef, Hightower shows the importance of just the right blend of ingredients.