{I've Been Reading} The Murals

The Murals by William Bayer

Jason Poe breaks into the house on Locust Street to take pictures for a project about abandoned houses. He's not expecting the murals that confront him in a tiny upstairs room. Completely covering all four walls, sinister figures have a powerful impact on the viewer. He made his career photographing the horrors of war, but these figures have an intensity to him that he can't look away from.   Locust street has an awful reputation and he knew about the crimes that took place in two other houses that were demolished long ago, but he didn't know about the "cult house." Now that Jason has seen the paintings, he's determined to find out who created them and why.

This book wasn't what I was expecting, but the story pulled me in and kept me turning pages. It's told "in the voices of the participants" and has almost a documentary feel to it. (My reaction might also have been influenced by the fact that I'd watched Candyman late the night before I started reading and couldn't stop picturing the murals from that movie.)

Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. This post contains affiliate links.