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Book Review: The Ragged | Author Brett Schumacher

The Ragged

By Brett Schumacher

172 Pages

Upon the passing of his grandfather Corvus, Andrew and his wife Celeste attend his funeral while chartering along the inevitable journey of grievance. Not long after returning to the locale of his upbringing Andrew learns the farmhouse in which he was raised was left to the couple in Corvus’s will. Sorting through the estate can be an ordeal in any circumstance, yet while the two sort through his estranged caregiver’s affairs they soon learn there were more than a few skeletons in the eccentric old man’s closet.

Evidence of a dark force exists within the four walls of the farmhouse. Meanwhile, in the town’s local pharmacy the long list of composites of missing persons continues to compile. Could there be a correlation between the secret passageways and corridors below the farmhouse and the evil force Corvus had unleashed? Will Andrew and Celeste have the capacity to unite as one to unravel The Ragged?

A significant number of novels have already been devoured so far in the summer of 2021. Reading has become a passionate pastime once again. While returning to classic favourites and chartering waters of previously undiscovered, the works of Brett Schumacher was exhumed. The Ragged is the inaugural odyssey undertaken with author Brett Schumacher at the helm.

An atmospheric, foreboding setting of a funeral is a welcome prelude to a spine-tingling read. We sense an undeniable state of dread, perpetually luring the reader into the fray from page one. The author does an exceptional job of enticing the reading audience, beckoning an investment into the story to see what unfolds next.

The relationship between Jax, Andrew, and wife Celeste seems quirky initially then alludes to something potentially amiss. Any triangle where love is involved has potential to run amok. Yet Schumacher keeps his reading audience guessing.

Character development is executed with expert ease. The dialogue reigns true and does not come across as jaded or scripted of contemporary interactions. The relationship between Celeste and Andrew does a complete 360, without indulging in too many plot spoilers. Conflict escalation spawning from the vulnerable to dominant is evident and its most fascinating to witness a complete trade off between the two. Schumacher seems to have a firm grasp on multi-layered characters that challenge his reading audience on psychological and emotional levels.

The story telling prowess and style of the author is astonishingly effective. Just when you think you have the pace of the tale all figured out, a swift detour erupts onto the road with continuous unrelenting twists and turns arriving in each chapter. Its evident the authors favourite subgenres are among the suspense, supernatural and paranormal.

Skeletons in the estranged grandfather Corvus’s closet are plentiful and create a most intriguing subplot. Without exorbitant degrees of exposition, we learn a great deal the darkness within and its origins of what made Corvus tick. Drifting back and forth from past to present accentuate the heightened suspense of the story’s pace, luring the readers deeper into the abyss.

Schumacher captures and manipulates a vast myriad of fears, common place within any psyche. Fears of isolation, desolation, the supernatural, unknown, the holy versus evil are all things that weigh heavily upon the common soul. The author beckons and conjures the most important question of all within each of us; what if?

A spell binding conclusion unravels that prompts the reader to re-examine everything he or she had just experienced and begin the story once again from page one.

Further Brett Schumacher endeavors: S79 The Horror in The Swamp. Leash and Other Short Horror Stories.

Narrated shorts can also be found at www.youtube.com/Creepyghoststories

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