Jarad's Choice Monday Book Club: The Merciless II




The Merciless II 
by Danielle Vega
         
Review by Jarad Johnson
 




Vega delivers a chilling horror story in the second chapter of The Merciless. This time, after her mother mysteriously dies, Sofia finds herself in a Catholic preparatory school known as St. Mary’s. While there, surrounded by an atmosphere of penitence, she is still haunted by that gory night when she and her three friends performed an exorcism that spiraled horribly out of control. Still, she works through it by letting her therapist convince her that it was all in her head. That is, until similar events begin occurring outside of her head. Her roommate’s pet dies, killed presumably by Sofia herself. The owner of the pet then breaks her leg onstage, and later dies whilst fleeing a fire.

After hearing all of this, Jude, a boy that Sofia is extremely attracted to, becomes convinced that she is possessed by the devil. What follows are the chilling results which put Sofia in danger.  And it turns out that not everyone is who we think they are.

When Vega writes, she doesn’t play around. Her grasp of the horror genre is immense. She really knows how to build tension throughout her novels. This, first expressed in the first book, is again fully realized in its sequel. Throughout, there is an overshadowing feeling of suspense, slowly building up with each chapter.  She is extremely capable of keeping her readers glued to the page with her unique brand of horror.

Overall, I liked this novel, but not as much as the first novel. I found it to be a little bit slower, and it took a little longer for the suspense to be fully realized. It was still a great read, although for me, it did not quite live up to the first Merciless.

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Jarad attends Middle Tennessee State University, loves tea, and tries to spend every spare second reading.  Jarad is majoring in English.  Bless his heart!  Let's all light a candle for him and send him happy thoughts!

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