Dead Morning Sky (Experiment in Terror #3) – Thrills and chills ON and OFF the pages!

I decided to knock out the first three Experiment in Terror books, and I can say book 3 was by FAR the scariest one yet! They are easy reads, but the writing quality gets better book by book.  This series follows amateur ghost hunters Perry Palamino and Dex Foray as they investigate locations near and far that exhibit paranormal activity. Something’s always been a little special about Perry. She may not be the most beautiful or glamorous (in her eyes), but she has a special affinity with the dead, making her skills (unintentional as they may be) invaluable to producing good content for the show.  Dex has his own demons as well, unraveling more and more by the book as he tries to keep Perry safe.

This particular investigation will prove to be their most dangerous and terrifying yet as they travel to a remote island between British Columbia and Washington state.  There’s no romantic getaway here, unless a former leper colony with dozens of unsettled souls somehow qualifies.  And to make matters worse, that’s the least of their problems; moment by moment, the ones they need to fear most may be each other…

I definitely came into this series wanting good creepy storytelling. The first couple of books had its moments, but it was clear that the primary focus was the evolution of Dex and Perry’s relationship. It’s great if you’re into the slow build, but that wasn’t exactly what I was looking for…until this book. It struck a much better balance with their development and the story’s horror element.  I got some occasional “The Shining” vibes which really worked in its favor.

One thing I notice with these books is that there’s not total resolution for a case.  Perry and Dex definitely get more answers, but they don’t completely solve the crime or remedy things. They just get the hell out of dodge when the gettin’ is good. If you want a little more resolution to the mysteries then this may not be the series for you, but I actually find this aspect somewhat refreshing. I’m curious as to if the sequels follow that pattern as well.

But now I’ll switch to a personal experience with this book. I initially started this series reading the first two books during my daily commute, but I decided read the bulk of this one at home and at night just to amp up the spook factor. And let me tell you, some peculiar things happened:

1. So here I am innocently reading the book at a particularly creepy moment and then all of a sudden the power goes out completely. It’s eerily quiet aside from a leaky faucet and those random noises a house tends to make.  I’m alone at this point aside from the cat who was sitting next to me.  Then the lights come back on a few seconds later. We rarely lose power for anything other than a storm, but it is completely dry with nary a cloud in the night sky.  So I chalk it up to randomness and continue reading.
2. And then it happens again…and again…and again. So I decide to put the book down for a bit. Power is finally going strong so then I pick it back up because I want to finish the story. I just make sure to turn on every light in my vicinity.
3. No power outages this time, but the cat (who is clean of catnip at this point) is mysteriously staring at something out in the hall.  You can tell because his posture is rigid and he’s looking up.  He even gets off the bed to get a closer look.  I follow him, wondering if he’s spotting a fly or something. But there is nothing there. I sort of have Paranormal Activity 2 flashbacks when the dog was presumably barking at the demon that we can’t see.  But of course that’s just poppycock in the real world, right?

So I finished the book thoroughly freaked for more reasons than one.  I will certainly continue the series, though it will no longer be in the comfort of my own home, but I’m going to take a break to read a few other books first.

Be careful what you wish for.