REVIEW: The Dead by David Gatward

Lazarus Stone is about to turn sixteen when, one night, his normal life is ripped to shreds by a skinless figure drenched in blood. He has a message:

The Dead are coming.

Now Lazarus is all that stands in their way. To fulfil his destiny, he must confront not only the dark past of his family, but horrors more gruesome than even Hell could invent. And it all begins with the reek of rotting flesh ...

A big thank you to Waterstones for sending this new horror book for me to review. I don't read much YA horror books, but I really should. And I think that I will very soon, as The Dead is the first in a new series of books by David Gatward.

It follows Lazarus Stone, nearly 16, as he learns some very surprising things one night as this really creepy and horrific thing appears in his house and tells Lazarus that unless something happens very quickly, a torrent of angry demons will start ripping through the veil that separates Lazarus's normal life from The Dead. Didn't you just get chills just reading that synopsis? I did.

The book is quite short, but action-packed. Lazarus and his best mate, Craig are on a mission to find some answers. Specifically to find out about these demon-visits and the dead, but also, what has happened to Lazarus's dad?! What I loved about The Dead is that it isn't all one big gore-fest. Yes, it is gorey and some gruesome things do happen, but it also seemed to really concentrate on this idea that Lazarus has no idea who his father is. It's so easy to scratch our parents off as being nothing but parents and Lazarus really has his eyes opened to the fact that his father in particular is very a different person to who he thought he was. Maybe all of our parents are.

The horror aspects of the book were done well. I was sufficiently creeped out and I really would not recommend reading this book late at night, or on your own. There's a scene in a hospital that I would like removed from my brain because everytime I think of it, I am a little bit afraid.