“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”
? Edgar Allan Poe

I was a bit apprehensive of this one at first, I won’t lie. The synopsis of Golem sounded extremely intriguing, but it sounded if not done just right, it would feel oversaturated.

Thank God it didn’t. More of that in a bit.

I won’t speak anything at all about the plot here, because I believe the synopsis on Goodreads says more than enough. Any novel of the psychological horror genre is a better experience when you know the least about the storyline, probably just some vague idea of whatever trajectory it may take, or to which group of readers it may cater. So, let’s just say it’s a blend of the early hardboiled crime fiction with supernatural elements that are inspired by the s of Poe and Lovecraft, told in a psychological space not un Daphne du Maurier, with a stylization that is a homage to Dickens.

Big names, I know. But yes, the storytelling lives up to it, and the psychological aspect of the story is brilliant. One of the most frequented aspects of this genre is the existence of an entity, say, of which one of the primary characters has been a witness, but fails to convince the rest of the world about it, instead getting asked questions about his/her mental stability. Now, in 50% of the examples of this specific aspect, it is cliché overdone (let’s just cite an example, your wife suspects someone is stalking her. And there’s a psychopath loose in the city, then why the hell would you dismiss her as a hypochondriac from the very start? When Roman Polanski used this, it wasn’t so generic but now if I sense a similar storyline in any literature/movie I stay a mile apart from it).

In the rest 50%, the entity spoke of appears so ludicrous when you hear of it you as a reader enter a state of dilemma, as in ooh, does that really exist? Or is it all in his/her head?. Also, as said previously, if not done just right, it may end up being ridiculous and hilarious instead of horrifying. At all.

“The Devil pulls the strings which make us dance;
We find delight in the most loathsome things;
Some furtherance of Hell each new day brings,
And yet we feel no horror in that rank advance.”
? Charles Baudelaire

Golem falls in this second category. And it must be obvious by now, that I felt it was well done. Or else I wouldn’t have gone to this much elucidation.

One of the things that elevated the reading experience here is the spare use of non-linear storytelling, which maximizes the emotional impact we’re supposed to feel for our characters. Especially when we are getting acquainted with Alena’s character, it’s not that the backstory provided for her is something phenomenal. To be frank, it feels a bit ordinary at first glance, excluding supernatural occurrences. But it is as the story progresses that we begin to root for them. If the story frequented the different perspectives and timelines too much, it would’ve minimalized the impact, as do many novels nowadays. Instead, the author here decided to get out Alena’s entire backstory almost at once, a creative decision I enjoyed.

“I think perhaps all of us go a little crazy at times.”
-Robert Bloch

It's not just Alena, either. Even our protagonist Ashton, we’re not given a very profound exposure to him at first glance. His character does feel a bit underutilized, though, but in a way that you wish you got to see more of him in the story; however, on second thoughts, I might be the only person to be thinking along those lines. His character is a kind of amalgamation of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe with multiple Stephen King characters who have a traumatized past. But despite all of that, he will stay with you after you finished the novel (at least with me, he stayed longer than Ian Fleming’s 007).

So, of course, there’s scope, but this is still a very well-written addition to the genre. I’m looking forward to rereading this one soon, and if Alleva decides to continue with Ashton, I’m already in for it. Thanks to the author for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.21st-century american-literature fantasy ...more19 s Rainz ??rainnbooks??(on a break)1,366 73

HELL, I believe would be a better place than the torture PD Alleva puts us thru in his horror novel GOLEM.

Phew, psychological horror is a genre I don’t read too often, well, there is only so many nightmares I can stand to bear. The last book I remember reading with thousand of breaks of keeping it down and picking it up instantly was IT BY STEPHEN KING and honestly, that was 20 years back.

GOLEM, I feel is a genre by itself, the author succeeds in scaring the bejesus out of any living soul with a heart.

The blurb of the book says “Fans of The Silence of the Lambs, Clive Barker, John Connolly, old Stephen King, and Anne Rice will be fascinated by this edge of your seat psychological horror thriller with a story that tears out the heart of humanity and throws it on a slab to be feasted on.”

AND that is a fair warning by the author as he incorporates the scene into the book and left me reeling. The violence described in the story is pretty extreme with scenes of torture and abuse, even those involving children so readers who have issues about the same should stay away from this novel.

Alleva’s writing is visceral, the effect created is highly terrifying. The setting of the story in the historical times was fascinating as the author explores the wickedness that hides behind most faces irrespective of the class of society that they belong to. The story proceeds thru three main characters John, Alena, and Annette but it was the characterization of Golem that mesmerized me. As his formation is completed, we can’t help but be charmed by his personality Alena, but as the horror is unveiled and the true colors brought to light, his mere presence is enough to fuel our rage and hatred.

There are parts of the story that I felt were lagging but as Alena keeps reiterating, the DEVIL is in the DETAILS so I could let it go. It was interesting to see how Alena manages to deal with Golem although she has been admitted to the psychiatric facility. The ending was as expected in perfect sync with the story even though I did wish for a different one. The author, however, has left a small crumb which was reassuring.

I have never been scared of ghost stories but it is always books that deal with DEMONS and DEVILS that have me hiding under the blankets freaking out and this one is definitely topping the list. PD Alleva in his acknowledgments explains the process of how the story was formed and in his own words “Golem is a story about isolation, paranoia, and division, and, as unfortunate as it is, reflects our current society in a nutshell. Who opened the front door and invited the devil in? Well, we all did, didn’t we?”

Highly recommended to readers who love horror fiction with psychological elements as the story explores the dreadful human vices which will have us hanging down our shameful heads.

Many thanks to the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This review is published in my blog Rain'n'Books, ##Goodreads, ##Amazon India, ##Book Bub, ##Medium.com, ##Facebook, ##Twitter.ar kindle12 s Sherry Fundin2,028 142

I read the blurb for Golem…for fans of Silence of the Lambs, Clive Barker….and had to read it. I love the dark side and reading about the demons who walk there.

Newly pinned Detective John Ashton is on his first case and he is following up the lead for the District Attorney’s missing daughter and the criminally insane Alena who swears she has seen her.

John has his own secret. He has psychic abilities and he will need them.

Alena…Annette…

A battle between good and evil, humans and demons. The humans…their goodness… does it give them a chance against a crafty and evil Golem?

P D Alleva has no qualms about putting his characters through hell, suffering and torture.

I would have hope that thing were going well, standing strong, then something would kill it and I would wallow in despair with P D’s characters. I do villains, but…

I love that P D Alleva was able to give me some of those spine tingling moments where I was afraid to read on,afraid to see what would happen next…and it sure didn’t end the way I thought it would. That is worth a star and solves the problem I had flipping back and forth between a three and a four.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Golem by P D Alleva.

See more at fundinmentalangels-and-demons fiction horror ...more10 s Kat (Katlovesbooks) Dietrich1,287 166


4.5 stars

Golem by P. D. Alleva is a psychological and gothic horror novel.

First, let me thank the author, for providing me with a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
On the day in 1951 that John Ashton made detective, he met Alena Francon.  After seeing a picture in the newspaper of a missing child,  Alena insists that the same child -- the district attorney's daughter,  had been at her hotel.   But it's hard to believe anything Alena says. Alena has been in a mental institution for a while.  She freely admits to burning down her own hotel.  But that's not why she's in Bellevue.

Her story is a little strange, hence the mental institution.  Alena is an artist, and after the loss of her unborn child and her dissolved engagement, she became a bit of a recluse.  She spent her time sculpting from a large piece of marble.  She sculpted a man.  Alena tells the detective that she literally breathed life into this statue, and the sculpture came to life.  His name is Golem, and he is a demon, who (with Alena's help) has infiltrated high society, and he is using children as vessels for other demons to come to into the world.  Needless to say, John is not buying Alena's story.

He is rather surprised when Annette Flemming, an acquaintance of Alena's, confirms that Golem actually exists.  He will be even more dismayed when he meets the man himself.  John will soon be wishing he had never heard of Alena, much less Golem.



My Opinions:
Well, this was an interesting, captivating read.  Be warned, it's fairly graphic and gory.

The story is broken up between  John's investigation, Alena's story, and that of Annette.

The author states that the book is about loss.  I see that.  Loss of  family, loss of sanity, loss of self, and loss of freedom.  Basically loss of control. The book is also about demons, about fear, and about evil.  It is a deep, and dark tale, reminiscent of the old masters of horror - Poe and Lovecraft.  Good vs evil, demons with a touch of folklore thrown in.

It was interesting how the author took his story about a statue coming to life, and centered it in New York City.   He then included the political scandals of the time.  In his notes, he mentioned that the hotel actually existed (although he changed the name).  A lot of research was done into both the location and era.

There is no doubt that PD Alleva is a talented writer.  Although sometimes repetitive, the book flowed well.  He created a demon that manipulated everyone, and took great pleasure in their distress.  Golem was a truly disturbing character.   I found myself cheering for a mental patient, and a rather naive police officer, while knowing in the back of my mind that things are just not going to end well.

It's a fairly long book, and a couple of times I felt it dragged, although I can't really be specific, so perhaps that was just me.

On a side note, I loved the cover.

So, overall, this was quite good, and I'll be watching for more from this author.



For a more complete review of this book and others, (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, as well as author information and contact details), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/netg-edel-author-publisher reviewed-in-2022 reviewed-in-20239 s Corrina Morse676 85

This is my first from PD Alleva, so I didnt know what to expect from him, but what I got, was an awesome psychological horror that I had a hard time putting down! It even had me checking around after seeing things out of the corner of my eye!
Its a good sized novel, coming in at 429 pages, and it starts off slowly, but builds up steadily and ramps right up about ¾ of the way through!
Paul uses some really great, descriptive prose that had me properly chilled at the first chapter!

Newly promoted detective, John, takes on a case involving a woman called Alena, now in a psychiatric hospital, claiming to have seen missing children in a burnt out hotel, and someone calling themselves Golem is said to be the culprit…… but there is much more to her story, oh so much more!
Alena, after some personal heartbreak, retreats to her mansion to recuperate, alone, and whilst there she proceeds to sculpt a marble figure of a man, a very special, very life man….
John has supernatural insights which he hasnt used since being a child, as he was told by his father his talents were poison and not to be used, but will they come in handy now…?

This book was full of great mystery and intrigue throughout, with lots of creepy, shivers down the spine moments, it was haunting and chilling, and also quite brutal and bloody in places. Full of satanic rituals, dark ceremonies, cannibalism, sacrifices and possession! The possession by Baphomet was described in a terrifying way, watching through his eyes, hearing through his ears, feeling everything yet knowing there is nothing you can do, you are trapped, looking out in complete terror!

A great, creepy read…. 4.5/5
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