Book Review: Dark Teardrops – Author Catherine Tramell

Dark Teardrops takes me back to my youth to the days of experiencing “devil movies” for the first time. Not your typical afternoon haunts or latest monster showcase, they were something quite entirely of their own device.

Dark Teardrops embraces this era by taking us thru a familiar and unnerving story building on well thought out circumstances that are rich in descriptive phrases and narration. This, all the while, prepping us for a brutal blow that breaths evil and despair thrust into a spiral of chaos.

Catherine Tramell is a thoughtful writer. She takes great care into building her characters and their backgrounds over several pages before hitting us with the punch line. I was about 40-some pages in when I realized that I still had not gotten into the meat of the story. Per synopsis, I “knew” this was a possession novel, however I was beginning to think I had missed something along the way that would have ignited the terror aspect a little sooner. As in the case of slow grind films, “Dark Teardrops” did indeed have a purpose, one that would arrive with a bang once it found its footing.

Main character Brisia becomes saturated with something dark and diabolical almost in the same manner as I remembered the sweet Reagan of 1977’s Exorcist crossover into a unrecognizable version of herself.

As in similar cases that often mistake “acting out” as some form of child tantrum or teen angst, our main character Brisia is subjected to a blanket of evil as her innocence is quickly consumed by the root of a dark and loathsome demon.

Brisia is of course analyzed, examined, and questioned before the realization that something diabolical has indeed set in. This echoes the helplessness parents often feel when they suddenly are faced with their children transforming into troubled youths that are all but recognizable in their misguided maturity. i was reminded of this as Brisia started to evolve and horrify.

Author Catherine Tramell indeed knows how to paint pictures with words always taking her readers into consideration as to the journey that lies ahead. Dark Teardrops is frightening in the same way that our imaginations tend to envision the presence of something evil and unwanted taking us over into the point of transformation.

Dark Teardrops is a great read that keeps things interesting enough to take you for a spin when the darkness sets in. It sets a pleasant tone that sneaks up on you with great surprise and intention that delivers a solid bang when you least expect it. “Dark Teardrops” gives good reason to fear the other side.

Link to ebook