Incubus

by Joe Donnelly

It begins as two separate investigations. An elderly woman collapses, dying in a shopping mall, screaming for her baby. A young girl disappears on the same day. For detectives David Harper and Helen Lamont the two cases seem to have no link.
Except for the baby.
The baby that the missing girl seemed to be carrying.
A very demanding baby.
And the question isn’ What sort of woman would steal a baby.
It What sort of baby would steal a mother?
The kind of baby no woman ever wants to meet.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

What kind of baby would steal a mother??

Scottish author Donnelly serves up a great mixture here of police detective, romance and horror. I would consider this a very dark thriller with mostly horror elements. Incubus (the baby) has appeared over years with a different mother but know one knows where it came from. You do find out a little about its origins, but just enough to keep the mystery. This is a bleak story with no happy endings, beware! Donnelly has several other great horror titles among them Havock Junction, Dark Valley, and Stone. His stories all take place in Scotland.

[H.y · Rating 4 out of 5]

tragic and disturbingly good

[Lisa Wightman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's years now since I last read this book, but it still stays with me. It really got under my skin and I went through the emotional wringer whilst reading it. Would love to read it again.... Will have to track it down!

[Cyrix Instead · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Sharon Bidwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book I’ve read by Joe Donnelly, but it won’t be my last. Though distasteful things happen to women in this book, without them the story wouldn’t work. One might call this the ultimate in evil child tales, but it passes beyond into true monster territory. For some, the book may feel too long, but the strength comes from the inexorable build. The power comes from the writing, the sustained sense of menace, which creeps under the skin and into the mind. A brilliant idea for the horror genre, expertly executed.

[Helen Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this book. love this author. read much of his work which i can never put down until the end.

[Keiko · Rating 3 out of 5]

so many typos

Lurid, creepy read. Good characters, interesting plot. I found the writing to be a bit clinical and dull until the story got moving, TW for violent r*pe and violence against women. And so many typos in the Kindle edition , nearly every page in some sections like someone just used autocorrect without checking to see if the words made sense.

[Steph Stark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up in a charity shop on a whim and I’m so glad I did! Interesting storyline that goes in unpredictable ways and left me excited for the next page. Looking forward to reading more of Joe Donnellys work

[Melanie Mapstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent horror story. I wish he would write more.

A really great book with well formed likeable characters and deeply disturbing in some parts, the plot is fast paced and well thought out. It's so great this is now available on the kindle.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unmemorable

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty meh, but I think that’s due to the way writing styles have changed since it was released. I just wasn’t drawn in to any of the characters.