A review by readswithdogs
A Voice So Soft by Patrick Lacey
4.0
A VOICE SO SOFT intrigued me right from the start because we've got mainstream Pop music being the devil's music instead of the traditional Metal or Rock. Not only is Pop music the devil, but the possessed evil-doer is none other than a beautiful teenager girl named Angie.
Angie's won an American singing competition and her hit single "Forever With You" is taking over radios across the country and causing more than just an earworm. Her fans (called Glitter Critters) are driven wild by the music and seem to be working up to some big event...
Patrick Lacey weaves a compelling take that seems probable-- especially around Halloweentime in Salem, Massachusetts!
I loved the altering viewpoints from Angie's twin sister (who predictably isn't an Angie fan), a police officer who connects some bizarre murders to "Forever With You", his friend a record producer and a psychology professor as they try to piece together the madness and try to stop Angie from ending the world.
However, there was a character I didn't care for whose storyline soured everything for me. A magic shop owner named Esmeralda who is consistently described as an overweight panting woman who is always eating fast food. Esmeralda deserved better than diabetes jokes and I didn't need to read about the struggles of a fat woman as fodder, it didn't add anything to the story and just made me angry that so much attention was placed on her weight. Why was it necessary?! The constant mentions of how all adult men wanted to fuck Angie was annoying, but I figured it was part of the lull of the power of her music. Esmeralda's high cholesterol levels didn't need mentioning and just was weird.
Other than that A VOICE SO SOFT was thoroughly entertaining popcorn Horror and has made me want to seek out more work from Patrick Lacey.
3.5 stars
Angie's won an American singing competition and her hit single "Forever With You" is taking over radios across the country and causing more than just an earworm. Her fans (called Glitter Critters) are driven wild by the music and seem to be working up to some big event...
Patrick Lacey weaves a compelling take that seems probable-- especially around Halloweentime in Salem, Massachusetts!
I loved the altering viewpoints from Angie's twin sister (who predictably isn't an Angie fan), a police officer who connects some bizarre murders to "Forever With You", his friend a record producer and a psychology professor as they try to piece together the madness and try to stop Angie from ending the world.
However, there was a character I didn't care for whose storyline soured everything for me. A magic shop owner named Esmeralda who is consistently described as an overweight panting woman who is always eating fast food. Esmeralda deserved better than diabetes jokes and I didn't need to read about the struggles of a fat woman as fodder, it didn't add anything to the story and just made me angry that so much attention was placed on her weight. Why was it necessary?! The constant mentions of how all adult men wanted to fuck Angie was annoying, but I figured it was part of the lull of the power of her music. Esmeralda's high cholesterol levels didn't need mentioning and just was weird.
Other than that A VOICE SO SOFT was thoroughly entertaining popcorn Horror and has made me want to seek out more work from Patrick Lacey.
3.5 stars