An all-time favorite author of mine for this genre is Ted Dekker. His books extend the spectrum from Horror to Thriller to Speculative. Choose any one of them, however, and your craving will be satisfied while at the same time leaving you aching for more.
One of my favorite Dekker books is The Bride Collector, published in 2010. On Wikipedia.com the book has been listed under the category of Thriller. But The Bride Collector is much more than a few unsuspected jolts and a climax. The story follows the work of a detective as he pursues a serial killer responsible for four deaths already, with more anticipated. Mixing in a love-triangle, odious executions, and some comical entertainment, Dekker goes far beyond the confines for a novel simply dubbed Thriller.
Dekker writes different parts of the story through various characters, the majority of it though, is from the standpoints of Brad Rains and Quinton Gauld. (For those of you hesitating to read any further, don’t worry. I’m not letting out anymore than Dekker blatantly shares.) Brad is a troubled FBI agent focused on catching a man nicknamed “The Bride Collector.” The killer, Quinton Gauld, is confident (nearing arrogance) as he calmly goes about his life without fear of being found. Besides the physical pursuit, there is a supernatural, spiritual chase. The characters struggle through past demons to finding out how to love and be loved by God. Okay, I promise I won’t tell you anymore about the characters or plot details.
Ted Dekker is a brilliant author. His books continue to engage and amaze me. The Bride Collector is no exception. One aspect that kept me peeling back pages was the force that drove this story past being just a thriller. The complete neglect of the typical rhythm of books. You know the classic pattern: Conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and then resolution. I’m pretty sure The Bride Collector went somewhere along the lines of: Beginning, conflict, rising action, climax, conflict, climax, conflict, climax, climax, and resolution. I kept gasping and thinking “This is it! This is the end!” Until I remembered I still had basically half of the book left to read.
Dekker knows how to keep you on your terrified toes.
For those who want more dread and dismay (and don’t mind a little elaborate bloodshed) in your daily dose of Horror Fiction, Dekker concocts a serious stimulant with The Bride Collector.
To find out more about Ted Dekker and his books, check out his website (http://www.teddekker.com/) or even like his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/teddekker)!
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