CORNERED
Brandon Massey
Pinnacle
Suspense
ISBN: 9780786020850
Those familiar with Brandon Massey’s past work will be in for a bit of a surprise when reading CORNERED, his latest effort. Massey has primarily, though not exclusively, focused on the supernatural horror genre in his novels and short stories. CORNERED is horrific and possibly the most frightening book he has published to date. But the horrors one encounters here are very much of this world --- as close to any of us as, literally, a knock on the door.
Corey Webb has achieved a hard-fought and well-won piece of the pie. He has overcome a hardscrabble background thanks in part to Louise, his grandmother, who provided him with love, guidance and a home, and the Reverend Otis Trice, who moved him from Detroit to Atlanta and into an environment free from the deadly influence of the street. The largest share of credit, though, has to be given to Webb himself, who invested hours, days and years of sweat equity into bettering himself and his situation.
As CORNERED opens, we meet Webb in present time. He is the half-owner of a fabulously successful security company based in Atlanta, and even more importantly is husband to Simone, a smart, loving and attractive psychologist, and father to Jada, a precocious nine-year-old whose congenital deafness is on its way to resolution. However, Webb’s secure and hard-won world is threatened with almost immediate collapse when his past street history in Detroit suddenly collides with his present. The past is manifested by Leon Sharpe, a jittery, dangerous character who grew up across the street from Webb and who drew the teenage Webb into the dark shadows of the criminal life, culminating in a disaster that is his darkest shame and secret. Sharpe is accompanied by Billy, an almost silent giant of a man who is a pervert of the vilest sort.
But the most frightening thing about Sharpe is that he knows Webb’s secret past and wants a very large piece of what Webb has worked so long and so hard for. When Webb makes him an offer that he finds insulting, Sharpe goes berserk and does the unthinkable, kidnapping Webb’s family and holding them for ransom, with the brooding, frightening Billy hovering just off to the side. Webb, his unfortunate criminal past notwithstanding, is ill-prepared to function on the playing field that Sharpe has suddenly laid out. Reeling from an unexpected betrayal, and on the run from law enforcement, Webb has to turn to his own considerable inner resources to rescue everything and everyone he holds dear, even as he must confront and conquer his own past.
Massey is absolutely pitch-perfect. There are any number of scenes that are unforgettable: Webb’s first meeting with Billy, his initial reluctant reunion with Sharpe, and the abduction of Webb’s family are but a few. The show stealer, however, is Reverend Otis, a man of deep wisdom and strength of character who appears only briefly and in two separate scenes, yet whose words and deeds resonate throughout the book and even outside of it. It is worth reading simply for the privilege and pleasure of encountering him. Those who simply want to be scared to death will find much to love here as well. CORNERED, a novel shot through with love, hate, horror, and yes, redemption, is a must read for 2009 and beyond.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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