Book Review: Chatroom With A View by Glenn Maynard
The Details
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Media Type: Ebook
Title: Chatroom With A View
Author: Glenn Maynard
Publisher: Cactus Moon Publications, LLC
Pages/Length: Paperback; 321
Release Date: January 8, 2021
Source: Author
Lizzie Borden took an axe . . . and so goes the song depicting the 1892 axe murders of her father and step-mother. Research indicates that a killer gene could be passed down through generations of family members, and evidence begins with Lizzie’s ancestor who murdered his mother in 1673. Chatroom with a View opens with a bone-chilling episode, and what’s left of Troy Cullen’s dysfunctional family keeps him even further from the normal integration with society. Troy’s life further unravels when his ex-girlfriend, Veronica, announces that she is pregnant. Troy loses control and plots to do unto others as they have done unto him. When Veronica digs into his family’s past, she exposes this killer gene; she must try to balance her obsession for a family with shielding herself and their baby from evil. But Troy has his own agenda, resulting in an epic showdown.
The Review
When I tell you that this book is dark, I am not kidding around. Glenn Maynard has created a story about characters who are all, for various reasons, at battle with their inner demons. Whether it is because of a past trauma, the need for medication that is being ignored, or the need to manipulate others for self validation, each one of them has something that they need to tackle. Or rather, that they refuse to tackle. Because instead they all lean into the worst parts of themselves, and the result is a story that was fascinating and wholly uncomfortable in equal measures.
As always, I’ll start with the things that I enjoyed about this book. First, I have to say that the characters that Maynard has written are well fleshed out. Although I loathed Troy with all of my being, I could also understand his motives at first. It was much appreciated that Troy’s descent wasn’t based entirely on his familial history. Instead there are actual events that slowly pile on top of one another. His back story is a tragic one, and it’s really no wonder that he ends up pushed into a space he was previously attempting so hard to avoid.
The writing is this book is also really solid, with the exception of the very start of it which was a bit a rocky. The dialogue felt especially realistic, chatroom conversations included, which was something that I thought added a lot to this story. These portions were a great way to get into the minds of the characters. The inner monologues of Veronica were the most chilling to me. I felt myself shrinking away from the idea that her and Troy would have to meet at some point. Both of them were such a mess that I knew it would be a disaster. Oh, how right I was.
In terms of what was a miss for me in this book, it was honestly the manic pace of the events. As I said above, I really disliked Troy pretty much the entire length of the story. I felt like it was hard to get into to his head after a certain point, and his actions felt more like a means to add sensationalism than true decisions. By the time that the ending approached, I was finally able to catch up again. In fact, the ending was rather satisfying. That made me a happy reader. So I’m more than willing to give this a solid 3-star rating.
