What would you do if your entire family was gone -- all victims of unspeakable violence or suicide? What if you thought insanity ran in your family, and that all the men killed people after having gone crazy? What if you thought you were losing your mind and and were desperately afraid of what you are capable of? And what if you thought you had met the love of your life just as you were losing your mind?Dark Debts begins with the story of Jack Landry. Jack is the last living member of a family referred to in town as "those Landrys". His youngest brother, dead - he thinks by his father's hand. His father, an abusive alcoholic, suicide. His oldest brother - executed by the state for a mass murder he had no recollection of committing. His mother, a suicide on the 1 year anniversary of Tallen's execution. And his youngest brother Cam. The golden child - best-selling author, the one who got out. A suicide, from the window of his high-rise apartment. Jack is barely existing - no steady job, no friends, no contact with anyone. He is having headaches and nightmares - visions so real they leave marks when he wakes up. He is certain that he is losing his mind and following the path set by the rest of his family. He is desperately afraid of what he will do if he ever loses control of himself. He hasn't killed himself yet; he "wasn't sure it was because he was gutless (yes, you chickenshit coward ) or just that he wasn't convinced that it was the only answer." Randa is Cam's former lover - and received a call from him the night of his death asking her to see him. When he didn't show up, she goes to his home and is met by flashing red lights and the news that Cam has jumped to his death from his window. She has to identify his body and is questioned by the police, who think that Cam robbed a liquor store and killed the clerk prior to his suicide. Cam's best friend tells her how strange he had been acting - nightmares, feeling that he was 'going somewhere in his sleep' - including believing that he had seen his dead brother Tallen. Fortified by grief and 2 pitchers of sangria Randa goes to Cam's apartment - for closure, she thinks. Instead she sees Cam's uncle Rylan. He urges her take Cam's family albums to his brother Jack in Georgia - and to give him a message. "I want you to give Jack a message for me. Word for word, please." He was looking her dead in the eye. "Tell him that the thing is real. You have to make him believe that, no matter what it takes."What we discover, in the second half of the book, is that 'the thing' is indeed real. And it means business.Father Michael Kinney is a Jesuit priest from Manhattan. He writes for a magazine and, like any good Jesuit, he doesn't believe in the devil. Until a friend asks for help with his teenage son and Father Michael is fighting something he didn't think he even believed in. It ends horribly and Michael defies his superiors by testifying about those events in court. It changes him forever and when we meet him he is teeteering on the verge of a crisis of faith. It doesn't help matters, of course, that Father Michael has fallen in love. And that conflict is added to the ever-growing pile of doubt that he carries. He is punished by the church by being exiled to a parish in rural Georgia - where the Catholic community is small and stories about "those Landry's" are fodder for coffee shop gossip.Father Michael's beloved Uncle Vincent passes away and leaves him with a cryptic audio message about having done something terrible. Michael tries to unravel the mystery of Vincent's message, a mysterious woman kept by Vincent in secret and the events surrounding his parents' death in a hotel fire when he was a baby. As he gets closer to uncovering Vincent's past Michael is horrified to learn that nothing in his life is as it seems - and he questions everything he has ever believed in. Vincent, his God, his choices. As he uncovers Vincent's terrible secret and the 'debt' that is owed (the title for the novel is taken from a poem by executed murderer Gary Gilmour - "too few dark debts are ever paid". How apt.) he realizes that his story is irrevocably tied to Jack's - and that he must save Jack in order to save himself. I struggle to find the words to describe this book, or why I like it so very much. It's not because it's an "Exorcist" type novel - although it is. It's not because it's a mystery/thriller - and it has those elements. And finally, it's not because I love romance novels - and that's what this one is as well. The book in written in a style that I particularly like - I'm not a writer nor do I have an english degree so I don't know how to describe it - it's like third person, but their thoughts are right there in front of you. And they are so REAL. And sometimes funny. The narrative is engaging and draws you right in from the first page. I loved all of the characters in the novel and found something to identify with with each of them, no small feat when there are four.I read that the author spent five years researching and writing the book and it shows. Her knowledge of the Catholic church, demonology and exorcism and the Jesuits was remarkable. Even the hotel fire, a major event in the novel, was real - the worst hotel fire in US history. As much as I liked the characters in the novel, and how the story itself kept me turning pages long into the night until I finished it, ultimately for me the story was one about faith. It came from Michael's perspective -- his questions about his beliefs, his faith and how he resolves them in a way that he can live with. This book made me re-examine my own faith and affected me long after I was done reading the book. Some of it, in fact, made me feel as though I had undergone a fundamental shift in my way of looking at it. I could almost literally feel the shift as I read the book. It was one passage in particular that did it:"A sudden force slammed into Michael, pinning him against the furnace....But the physical pain was nothing compared to the other - the aloneness. Total. Absolute. A black pit with no end. Everything within him cried out in an ancient plea: Why have you forsaken me?The pain was so intense, it was all Michael could do not to scream. And then, as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. And Michael realized it had not come from the demon.Had Jesus expected a deal, too?Didn't that question imply an expectation? In fact, the same expectation as Michael's: "I did what You wanted, so why aren't You here to save me?"What answer did Jesus get?None.Anybody show up to save Him?No.And what did He do next, Michael asked himself. He'd said "Into Your hands I commend my spirit." In that moment, when He could have condemned God with as much justification as anyone in history, instead He announced - to all present, and to generations to come - that He still chose to trust God. There never was a transition, Michael realized. There was simply a choice.Maybe God had not lived up to his end of the deal because there had never been a deal. And maybe that was the entire point. A new thought came to Michael, fully formed.The jump is not a leap of faith. Not really. It's an acknowledgement that there's a gap between us that nothing can fill. Uncrossable, by any means we understand. All we can do is declare ourselves to be on the other side. Like Jesus. ."I spent a lot of time thinking about what that meant - and I look at the whole meaning of the word 'faith' differently because of it. Christ is the ultimate example of faith - and if you look at it from the p.o.v. that maybe He DIDN'T know what exactly His Father had in store for Him...it's staggering.Anyway. I don't consider myself a overtly religious person and this book affected me in a way no other book ever has. I think it is brilliant. I've read it many times since it was published and I haven't changed my opinion one iota. If I were to recommend this book to anyone, I would borrow the words of Donna Seaman of Booklist: Hall should be applauded for writing genuinely entertaining commercial fiction grounded in serious thought instead of wasting paper on more pulp nonsense.
I read this book when I was 13 and on a family vacation. I plucked it out of a bargain bin on our wat to Tennessee. I remember being completely captivated by it, at the time. I stayed up late in the cabin reading it and loved when we were going somewhere with a long drive so I'd have time in the car to devour the book and try to figure out the end. I even called it my favorite book for a long while after I finished it. I plan on going back and re-reading it soon. Maybe it's not as good as I remember, but maybe it's better.
Do You like book Dark Debts (1998)?
Where to start? It's a book about Demon possession in the Exorcist tradition. It's about the sins of the fathers/grandfathers being visited on the children. It's also rather earnest with a good smattering of violence.Some spoilers coming up here; One of the female characters (Randa) discovers her ex boyfriend has killed himself after killing someone and finds out there is a family history. She tracks down last remaining brother to return photographs. He is dangerous and interesting. Do they end up in bed? (What do you think??!!)Meanwhile a disillusioned and rebellious Jesuit with a girlfriend and a guilty conscience(did I mention rebellious), is struggling with belief.Enter the demon into both sets of lives ... wait for collision. Does good triumph over evil (Again; what do you think?!!)Well written but complete tripe. What also annoyed me that 2 minor characters died horribly at the hands of one of the main characters while the demon was in control. This is apparently ok and the police were deceived and justice avoided because the police would not have believed the story. This left a nasty taste in the mouth; murder is justified because the devil made me do it.
—Paul
Anne Rice on her facebook page asked the question "What is your favorite ghost story and why?" A lot of people added the usual responses... Stephen King, Shirley Jackson etc. And quite a few people said "Ghost Story" by Peter Straub, which in my opinion is the most overrated horror novel that I've read. I thought it was boring and a convoluted mess. But that's just my opinion. And I was thinking about horror novels that I thought were brilliant and didn't set the bestseller lists on fire. Karen Hall's Dark Debts is one of those books. Beautifully written (her style actually reminded me a lot of Pat Conroy), scary (and my favorite horror sub-genre "demon-related), and the plotting was perfect. If you haven't read this one take my advice and pick up a copy you won't be sorry.
—Mark
This book was okay. Nothing really stood out about it and it was really predictable at times. I also found the author's excessive use of similes to be really annoying after a while. I would have given it two stars, but some of the humor in the book genuinely made me laugh. A personal favorite: "Here's one I've always wondered about. 'Four out of five dentists surveyed recommend sugarless gum...' What did the fifth guy say? 'Rot your teeth out, what do I care?' "Also, (view spoiler)[ the fact that the fire at the Winecoff Hotel actually happened (hide spoiler)]
—Kristin
