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The Keeper
Sarah Langan
ISBN (Advance Readers Edition):13-978-0-06-087290-8
I SBN (Advance Readers Edition): 10-0-06-087290-X
September 2006
Harper Torch, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishing Company

Rather than going on for a couple of paragraphs to build up to what I really want to say about this book, I'm just going to say it right off the bat, and in the simplest terms possible. The Keeper rocks. I loved it. There. Got that out of the way. I feel better. I've been itching to tell a few people about this novel, but I held off until I finished it. Didn't want to say something I might change my mind about after another 50 or 100 pages.

The Keeper encompasses everything I love about the horror genre: it's dark and creepy, mysterious and intelligent. Best of all, it's fresh, which is often hard to come by. Set in the small town of Bedford, Maine, The Keeper opens by introducing us to Susan Marley. Susan is many things: the town crazy, the town slut. The villain. And more. For me, she became the character I most sympathized with. I particularly liked the name Susan. It's pretty. I think of something soft and sweet when I hear that name. Like that soft yarn my mother used to tie my hair up with, or flowers. Great name for a sort-of antagonist. This particular Susan turned out to be anything but soft and sweet, yet at the same time, her name fit her perfectly.

Bedford is a dead town in many ways. I'd give away too much, I think, if I said more than this: Bedford just keeps dying. And it's fascinating to watch. It all leaves a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach. Centered around a closed (er, should I say dead) paper mill and a drowning annual rain, The Keeper is dreary and depressing more than anything else, and I think that's something lacking in horror not so much the depressing feeling, specifically, as emotion in general. Too seldom do the novels I read elicit some sort of emotional response from me.

The characters in The Keeper are depicted clearly despite the fact that there are a lot of important ones, and everyone who gets mention plays a specific role. Oftentimes, novels crowded with characters can become confusing. Not so with this novel. I had no problem keeping track of who was whom, or what they were all up to, or what part they played in the events that unfolded. Even the minor characters serve more purpose than just examples of creative ways to be killed.

Story aside, I loved the book because of the writing itself. The description is exquisite, and the language dream-like in places, while never leaving the reader wondering, "What the hell did I just read?" It's smart while appealing to the masses.

If I had to make one criticism, it would be that in the first third of the book, the passage of time seemed a little unclear. I found myself stopping and going back in a few places to remind myself of exactly where I was in the scheme of things. But this had cleared up completely by the end of the first third of the book. (And I'm not entirely sure this wasn't my fault inability to pay attention because of other things on my mind, you know.)

I very much look forward to Sarah Langan's next book. I have to echo the cover blurbs on the ARC I received: hard to believe this was a first novel. Some writers I love who came to mind while reading this were Shirley Jackson, Douglas Clegg, Elizabeth Massie, and Peter Straub. Not set for release for another month, The Keeper is a book you definitely need to pick up. I'm pleased that quality horror is still occasionally making its way onto major book stores' shelves, put out by major publishers like Harper Collins.

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