Purgatory
Purgatory
Sin Series Book 3
By A.I. Nasser
The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):
Well, I’ll be jiggered! This book ties in things that happened, and brought back characters from the Slaughter Series. Darville is where we find our Soul Collector, inhabiting Tara Frey’s body, which is the town that Fiona Bright’s last stand took place (as far as I know the bitch actually survived). Turns out that the Sheriff of Darville was having an affair with the Sheriff of Melington. And not only that, but he apparently also knew about the council feeding children to Copper Tibet! I bet he even helped his mistress dispose of some of the families. It also appears that our informative pub owner Joanne Pullici, whose pub has seen guests such as Dr. Fanning and Alan Carter, feels a smidge guilty for the good doctor’s death. A very interesting development. I mean it’s not surprising that these communities collided. They are not that far from one another. So this is a stroke of cleverness from our lovely author. Which is why I’m going to recommend that everyone read the Slaughter Series prior to this one. There will be a deeper meaning to what is being revealed, plus I love it when things like this happen. It’s that “oh shit” moment when that little light goes off. It’s a very satisfying moment.
Throughout this story we have had one character that has been the focus, Patrick Lahm. And now it seems, my little Ghoulies, that our Mr. Lahm has lost his fight with the monster. In the previous installments it has been said that the Soul Collector is interested in Patrick because he want him as a vessel but I’m not sure that is true anymore. I’m wondering if it is now wanting him as a Keeper for his new farm, his soul farm. Because of the idiot sheriff and his well-meaning, and naïve son Patrick is stuck in the void. They left him to rot in a jail cell, assuming that he is dead from spider bites. Now tell me this sheriff, how does a prisoner who is locked in a holding cell die from spider bites? I feel like that’s not the most common of occurrences. I can understand why Jack may still be in denial about what is happening but the sheriff? Come on dude…why all of the sudden is your deputy shooting at you and revealing things that only you probably knew? Not to mention that fact that he is well aware that the supernatural exists. He was aware of what was happening in Melington, not exactly a rational series of events. In lieu of this, it frustrates me to no end that he is still sticking to his bullshit rational explanation. Oh yeah, and the fact that Patrick is being blamed for the things that happened at the Kurtain Motel and supposedly “kidnapped” Jimmy is absurd. There are witnesses that tell a different story. Jack the sheriffs own son is telling him that Harold wanted him to contact Patrick as a warning. Not because Patrick was responsible for any kidnapping or murder. There is no evidence proving he had anything to do with the actual deaths or inciting them so how is it that he is on the top ten most wanted list? It pisses me off to no end because I believe that locking Patrick up in that cell allowed him to be captured thus making his possible demise the good sheriff’s fault. Law enforcement in horror is atrocious! They are all a bunch of idiotic morons that refuse to follow the evidence. They are stuck on the rational and not the logical. The two are not always synonymous.
We have a new and exciting character that is introduced at this 11th hour. His name is Philip Tucker and while I am not 100% sure of his situation it reminds me very much of the situation Vincent Valentean’s character Michael Merlyn finds himself in, keeping a dangerous entity contained within. Philip just happens to be keeping a Soul Collector within who’s apparently a conversationalist. I guess it stands to reason that if Jimmy and Tara were hunting these creatures that there would be other people doing the same. I like Philip very much and have many questions about his back ground and how he was able to cage himself a Soul Collector. I am also very curious about the origins of the Soul Collectors because we get a description of the one that Philip has trapped and to be quite frank it sounds an awful like what Copper Tibet turned into after he was murdered. Hell it stands to reason that the red lit corridor is his version of a soul farm and Victoria was his keeper. I mean there were no confessions as he was going after children but just a small snack to munch on there. It’s also implied at the end that he and Tara were already known to each other. Friends even, possibly more than friends.
As far as the end is concerned. I figured that Tara was not long for this world. Funny enough it is not her or her son that I feel the most sorry for. It’s Patrick. Jimmy ends up going with Philip and leaving Patrick behind. So now we have a man that is sensitive to all of these other worldly things and has no one to help him learn how to deal with it. I mean he has a rudimentary knowledge but I don’t think he has enough to truly protect himself should another Soul Collector aim its sights on him. Also I kinda feel like after three books of focus on Patrick as an intragyral character to just abandon him like this with nothing more than a new book idea…I have mixed feelings.
We are left with many questions so I hope that at some point there are more stories surrounding the Soul Collectors and Philip. Now that Jimmy is with Philip I smell perhaps another series. There are definitely enough ingredients in the fridge to support several tasty morsels. I hope that we get to savor these characters again.