Faithful

by Dean Skinner

"It's been 30 days now, about four and a half weeks, but it might as well be forever because I'm in Hell. I am absolutely in Hell and apparently... I'm atoning for my sins..."

Body horror is just the start. Faithful is a suspense-filled novella that unwinds the relationship between a captor and his victim in a cold and agonizing thirty-day plot. With a purposeful and melancholic melody, it will have you holding your breath and body close. 

From the author who brought you Broken, Paths, and Healed, all reaching and maintaining number one spots in numerous categories (#1 in Horror Short Stories, #1 in One-Hour Literature & Fiction Short Reads, #1 in 90-Minute Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Short Reads, etc.), Faithful is by far Dean Skinner's darkest novella yet. As one reader described it, "This 90-minute book f@#ed me up for an entire week."

Within the first week of publication, Faithful made multiple Amazon Bestseller lists in Horror Suspense#2 in Horror Short Stories#3 in Psychological Fiction

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Ebooks

94 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 22, 2023

Reviews

[Dawn Connelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not at all what I expected. It was interesting.

[Reina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found multiple grammatical errors in this book, and the arrangement of the storyline could have been better executed. The story started from the end, worked its way towards the beginning, and the epilogue wrapped it up. The story itself wasn’t terrible, but a lot of the dialogue was horrible. I feel that it could have been rearranged differently. The epilogue was the best part, in my personal opinion.

[Callie Towne · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a reader who prefers that the story be told from start to finish, instead of finish to start, this may not be for you. It certainly confused me at some points before I realized this was being told from the last day of captivity to the first. While it isn't my own personal cup of tea, I know some readers can appreciate the different writing style and story telling!

[Denise Stragazzi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gross. The ending was the beginning?? Another proof that stuff your kindle day isn’t worth it

[Vondetta Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revenge is a dish best served cold

This is a horror story with a twist. A young man is in a nightmare that seems to never end. Until it does, or does it. I love this author and he has done it again for me. Alittle hard to read at times but good stuff

[Maria C · Rating 1 out of 5]

What did I just read?? This was awful

[Shana C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wild ride that takes you on a range of emotions from disgusted, pity and once or twice I even chuckled. Unsure if there are written Tw for this novella but for some id tread lightly. I will definitely be checking out more of this authors work.

[Kendra Kubin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible

The book works backwards in time, which is confusing. The use of the F word in nearly every sentence is unnecessary & does nothing to add to the story. The gruesome violence of the book is just - gratuitous violence. And the story is so laughably predictable that it became boring. Awful, awful novella.

[Makenna Clark-Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was pretty good, the ending and the epilogue were really good. this is definitely one of the more graphic books i’ve read, definitely not for the faint of heart.

[Billie Hager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This is a short read but so good. It starts off on day 30 of the main characters kidnapping and torture and as you read you go back thru those 30 days to find out why he was kidnapped and tortured. Then the Epilogue gives a huge twist I would not have expected. A must read

https://a.co/d/cdcVYhS

[Grecia Montoya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique dark read.

[Charity King · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was disturbing 😶

I enjoyed how this was laid out. We start off with someone on their 30th day being held captive/tortured, and the author takes us backwards through each day, leading up to why/how they were taken on day 1.

Also, I love a good sucker punch in the epilogue!

[Brenda Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was not expecting that!!

Great short story!! 👏 It was intense but worth the read. The ending was a bit surprising but wish it was more indepth when it came to the wife! What was her consequence? I would definitely read more from this author.

[I’m reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed how this was a reverse telling ! Very captivating

[Fianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the reverse storyline, it definitely gave the quick read some extra suspense to it. Although the ending wasn't exactly what I hoped it was still done well.

[Lindsay Erba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super quick read. Super messed up. I’m still not sure how I feel about the reverse chronological sequence of writing. But overall the book was good enough to keep reading and keep me engaged. I’d recommend it for anyone who likes phycological thrillers.

[A_Friend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Faithful

Keeps your attention all the way through. Man gets kidnapped and tortured, he hears the song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon on the Old Oak Tree” before his abductor/ torturer comes in . Definitely a must read

[Abagayle Melton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. Absolutely chilling.

[g · Rating 2 out of 5]

a GENEROUS 2 stars cause there was some decent plot. but very quickly got to a point where none of it was thrilling or unexpected. i fully skipped all of the song lyrics cause it's the same song over and over again just being used to up the word count. being told backwards would have been decent for a much longer story where we can develop time between events. but at novella length, filled with song lyrics, it was rushed and lacked impact.

[Ashley Springs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating. The story is told from end to beginning. It took a few chapters to realize that’s what’s happening. Creative. However, there are MANY grammatical errors throughout the book which is hard to overlook.

[KDMclane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very confusing. I didn't get it.

[Kedrian Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pass Time

I like it, but it’s a little all over the place. Great book if you are looking to pass time.

[Noel Ludke · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn’t like the book from the beginning because it made no sense not even when I finished it.

[Toni Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, twisted and AMAZING!!!!!!

Keeps you interested throughout, my pulse was racing at times wondering what the psycho was going to do next! In reading the epilogue, although I kind of suspected the outcome, it was still great! I went to school with the author, had no idea he had it in him! AWESOME READ!!!!!!!!

[Debra]

Very interesting, short read

I loved the layout of the book, in which the events unfolded. Although, I did find some things confusing at the time it became clear in later chapters.

I enjoyed the revel however did find the epilogue predictable. Overall good read, especially if you're in between books and looking for something quick.

[Kirstie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a style of writing I struggled to get on with at first, this was quite a powerful little read!
It was hard at first to understand that this story was going backwards in timeline, and to work out the change in POV, but that is where the power is held.
3 stars mostly due to my personal hate for books full of only internal monologues.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad short horror, but rather rough. Definitely needs some cleaning up (grammatical errors and the like.) The base story is a good thriller/slasher style horror and the presentation of being in reverse was interesting, but overall felt like a first draft of what could be fleshed out to genuinely terrifying.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

F creepy

Twisted..creepy. I really cannot expand on that. You will simply have to read it for yourself.
P.s. do not consume food while reading

[Zuko has a Bride · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only interesting thing about this book is the fact that it is written backwards.

[N.N. Heaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faithful by Dean Skinner is a grisly tale of a kidnapped man. It reminded me of the horror movie Hard Candy (2005) mixed with the plot twists of The Usual Suspects (1995.) However, we don’t know our protagonist’s relationship to the ‘Batman masked man’ because the book’s timeline is reversed. The reader is as bewildered as the main character with layers revealed in small segments.

The continuity was maintained throughout the book, despite the reversed timeline that was sometimes nonlinear. This is a difficult feat, and I was delighted that all the details were meticulously planned by Skinner. However, the reader misses out on some of the emotional connections that make the torturer’s actions truly scary. For example, when our protagonist lost his friends, I didn’t feel any connection to them. Because their death was my first introduction to them, I didn’t feel a surge of compassion for the protagonist’s loss. I wasn’t connecting to the characters because there wasn’t tension or an established relationship.

These holes make the twist possible. At one point the protagonist endures mutilation that doesn’t have a large impact until the final scare. Be patient with this short read because it comes together in the final pages. You will be rewarded for the confusion at the beginning. ‘Faithful’ is the type of book where you hold it after the last words and allow the building blocks to fall into place in your mind. Overall, ‘Faithful’ is more for the speculative horror fan than the slasher movie fan, although there is plenty of blood and gore for both. I recommend this horror novel to those with a strong stomach and a love of puzzles.

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Reviewed by: Patty

This review first appeared: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/po...