A History of Fear

This book sucked me in, had me flipping through pages, and then left me with so many questions. It was perfect.

After Grayson Hale's father dies he decides to explore the legacy his father left by enrolling in the University of Edinburgh. However, his time in Scotland morphs into him becoming one of the most infamous murderers in Scotland and he becomes the Devil's Advocate as the headlines name him. The reason Grayson is written about in every major Scotland news outlet is not just because he is an American who murders his classmate, but because he claimed the Devil made him do it. Grayson doesn't seem to be your typical murderer and after Grayson commits suicide while in prison people are left with even more questions.

First, the way this book is written really pulled me in. Reading the details through Grayson's eyes with anecdotes from the case and media reporter helped answer questions while also providing more questions. Grayson was an academic student and reading what was his words I very much felt that's what I was reading - an academic manuscript. While that lead me to have to look up some words, I'll never be upset to add to my vocabulary.

As a horror fan and someone that appreciates the mental health struggles that many people face, I do enjoy stories that make you question if things are “real” or apart of a mental health episode, if done well, and this book delivered on that. After finishing this book and allowing days to pass to let it sink in I still am not sure what was what. There was also an LGBTQ+ undercurrent throughout the book that came full circle by the end of the book that I really understood.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. There are parts that are very sad and horrific so I recommend checking TW's but if you're cool with them I highly recommend!

I just finished A history of fear by Luke Dumas and here is what I thought

The devil made me do it... This was what Grayson Hale had to say after admitting to killing a classmate.

After Hale was found dead in his cell. Suicide. The officers found a manuscript, the one he was supposed to write for DB. A dark stranger with money to spare and a deep knowledge of the devil.

Hale had a rough upbringing and while some people close to him seem to think he is capable of the very crime he was imprisoned for, this first person narrative of a man with a deep fear of the devil will keep you on your toes the whole time.... Is Hale a delusional murderer or is the devil really at his heel making him do the very things he fears the most.....

I really enjoyed the format of this book. Told from the first person perspective, Graysons, we learn about his cultish run household and a little of the things that plagued his father before ultimately killing himself. The book has doctor notes and interviews which help piece together an elaborate tale of darkness, abuse, loneliness, homosexuality and mental health.

The book leaves you guessing and I have a love/hate relationship with that. The undertones of supernatural weaved in with the dark realities of a fractured mind really elevate this novel to dizzying heights. Hale isn't relatable because of the nature of who he is but it really is a trip to hear it from his own perspective. How he is seeing things at the time and who doesn't love an unreliable narrator!

Might be one of the best debut novels I have ever read.. A horror with the right amount of suspense! Genius!

4.5 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for my review copy! This book is out NOW!!

I completely understand anyone who finished this book, and could not fully enjoy the horror-mystery aspect due to the heavy weight the story places on themes of ‘internalized homophobia and childhood abuse and neglect can lead to violence and mental break' and ‘is it all in that character's head' ? There are certainly many times in the past where homoerotic subtext, blatant homophobia, trauma survival and mental health concerns have been exploited in the most sensational ways, with no regard for the communities such ‘representation' affects. As neither a gay man, a survivor of abuse, nor a person currently struggling with mental health, I cannot comment on the specific representation, but I think this was a sharper, more empathetic read on such themes, from the angle of what fear makes us do, and the tragedy of being made to fear a part of ourselves. Whether you go with ‘repressed homosexual man with abusive childhood struggles with sexual identify and mental health and turns violent', OR ‘man with that past is goaded on by supernatural force to become violent', it's tragic, and depressing either way. But the way this story is built up, the multimedia elements by turns supporting and contradicting the main narrative, those moments when you can see the characters revealing things they might not have intended to, even in their own POV, the creeping increase in uncanny, violent, horrifying circumstances... It did a very good job of presenting the Devil as a plausible boogeyman (clandestine, shape shifting, friendly, seductive), in the best tradition of films like The Devil's Advocate. [If there are other books like this, I would love recommendations.] I guess what I'm saying is ‘your mileage may vary', but I had a damn good time, quality chills, especially after that last line. 😉

⚠️Fatphobia, child abuse, neglect, suicide, animal cruelty, internalized homophobia, homophobia, homophobic violence, child death