Hands Down, My Favorite Read for 2022! If you love a unique & interesting horror read, you have to pick this story up!

Synopsis

REMEMBER WHEN A BOOK SCARED YOU?

Carrion Comfort meets Apt Pupil where a uniquely gifted boy falls into a dangerous cat and mouse game with the arrival of a monstrous protector.

Neurodivergent, young Dwight Skinner considers his mental challenges to be a super power, but it’s a pure bloodline that will put him in danger. When a tragic event brings a mysterious Romani neighbor, Mr. Mortimer, out of seclusion and into the Skinner family’s lives, Dwight and his emotionally overloaded mother find an unsuspecting protector in this dark whisperer. Death and horrific secrets trail the unfolding life of Mr. Mortimer’s past, and questions soon arise as to who has the more sinister of intentions, Dwight or the “Gypsy” he unconditionally trusts. The whispers have the answer.

Whispers of a Gypsy brings fear back to horror and psychological suspense the way we remember classic Stephen King and Thomas Harris novels, while adding Patten’s trademark penchant for hair raising twists and capturing some similarities to current horror favorites of Alma Katsu, Stephen Graham Jones, and Gabino Iglesias.

My Review

This is an amazing book. How do I quantify that statement? This is the FIRST BOOK I have had the pleasure of reading this year that I read in ONE SITTING!!

Whispers of a Gypsy is an engrossing read from start to finish. JT Patten has conjured a real winner in this tome. From an engaging opening to the creation of a fantastic cast of characters laced with a historic rehash of one of the darkest parts of global history, Mr. Patten draws you in and doesn’t let go.

He pulls you into our past to the creation of a strong, horrifying protagonist to lay the groundwork for the events unfolding in present day in a way that moves the story forward without ever feeling like an info dump.

I appreciated learning new things about the treatment of the Roma during World War II and Nazi concentration camps. He builds on my existing knowledge without ever feeling like the information was preachy or condescending, just the fact that it is. The story interweaves the past into the present in a way that outstrips the power of The Apt Pupil.

His story follows a Nazi experiment gone awry, and the longstanding effects of that monstrosity. And while the monster he created in Mr. Mortimer is indeed monstrous, he is a hero to his people and does the work to correct the horrors done unto them all.

When he engages with the Skinner family, amid a torrent of gore and retribution, he finds kinship with the young Dwight. The oldest son in a domestically abusive household, Dwight is a misunderstood boy, unloved by his father and younger brother, who cannot be protected by his mother alone. Able to see colors or auras of the people around him, he is not hindered by the aftereffects of a car accident he endured at an early age. No, Dwight is special, and through Mr. Mortimer, seen as the special child he is.

I cannot laud this story enough, and I will be recommending it thoroughly and wholeheartedly to all of my like-minded friends. If you love a good, fascinating horror, you will love what Mr. Patten has painstakingly built for us to read. I will be reading it again.

Fantastic job, Mr. Patten. Bravo.