BOOK REVIEW | SOUR CANDY | KEALAN PATRICK BURKE

Sour Candy Kealan Patrick Burke

BOOK DESCRIPTION

At first glance, Phil Pendleton and his son Adam are just an ordinary father and son, no different from any other. They take walks in the park together, visit county fairs, museums, and zoos, and eat together overlooking the lake. Some might say the father is a little too accommodating given the lack of discipline when the child loses his temper in public. Some might say he spoils his son by allowing him to set his own bedtimes and eat candy whenever he wants. Some might say that such leniency is starting to take its toll on the father, given how his health has declined.

What no one knows is that Phil is a prisoner, and that up until a few weeks ago and a chance encounter at a grocery store, he had never seen the child before in his life.

REVIEW

Gosh, I have this book for ages and it wasn’t until it was chosen as the book of the month on the Wicked Fangs and Spells group on Goodreads that I eventually got round to reading it. 

The story centres around Phil Pendleton, who, planning to spend the day watching TV and eating chocolate. However, things go tits up when he witnesses a mother trying to manage her son’s temper tantrum.

Now we have to be honest here, Phil was a bit judgy about the situation, and was definitely having a bit of a looksee about the woman’s plight.

Leaving the store he ends up in a car crash which leaves him bruised and battered. It also leaves him with far more than he bargained for.

As a parent I can see where this book is coming from, the feelings of isolation that is experienced when a child comes into your life, and this book takes those feelings into a whole new level.

I must admit, whilst I have had this book on my kindle for absolutely ages, I actually had no idea what it was about. I knew that this played with the creepy kid trope, but had no actual idea where the story would lead. 

I have got to say, I was quite surprised, and I think that this is one of the good things about this book is that it surprises you in the direction that the story actually goes. I was certainly not expecting that!

Whilst this is a short book, none of the wors are wasted and using quite clipped prose, this is an effective little horror story. 

I have stayed away from the main gist of the plot in order to maintain the allure of the book, but let me tell you this is a nice little horror story.