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Michael Slade is the main pseudonym of Jay Clarke, a Vancouver trial lawyer specializing in cases of the criminally insane. One thing that makes his books special is that Slade rarely works alone. Clarke has written books with members of his family as well as with co-workers forming part of the gestalt that is Michael Slade. Death’s Door is no exception. Together with his daughter, Rebecca Clarke, they will write a horror police procedural guaranteed to leave chills down your spine and have you begging for more. Just when you think that you have read the worst men can do, the authors up the ante. If you love horror novels and have not yet become a Sladist, welcome. In this latest work, there are several subplots taking place inside the book. Someone has stolen an Egyptian mummy known as Sleeping Beauty from England; there are mutilated and unidentified bodies of women washing up in the shores of Vancouver; and Wolfe Capp, the leading director of underground snuff films, has been given a special request from his favorite customer. It will make ‘Faces of Death’ seem like a Disney film. Each of these events will have purpose and meaning as the story progresses. The big surprise will be on fans when the mastermind of these events is revealed. It is someone they have met before. If you haven’t meet yet, you will rush to the bookstore by the time you finish. As in the author’s previous novels, several characters from other books make an appearance in Death’s Door. There is pathologist Gill Macbeth, who has gone under the knife and is now a complete knockout; Corporal Nick Craven, with a prosthetic ear and arm after he lost his in Burnt Bones; Chief Superintendent Robert De Clercq, head of the Special External Section of the Mounted Police; and, of course, Zinc Chandler. Other supporting characters will make an appearance. What is good about this is that the authors do not expect you to know who everyone is. They provide enough information for newcomers for readers to follow along as the story progresses. The book is not as strong as other novels but it is entertaining. If you consider yourself to be squeamish, do not read this novel. All the bad guys in the book are immoral and evil sociopaths with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The only good thing to remember is that this is a work of fiction (we hope). It is full of scares, suspense, and lethal cliffhangers. If you enjoy reading these types of books, Michael Slade is your team. They will motivate you to try their other novels.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, January 2003
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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