Old Soul

by Leon Peter Blanda

Gory viral videos of the Dalai Lama, the sitting pope, and the president of the United States spontaneously combusting spread like the California wildfires across social media, and the Vatican sends in a priest named Brother Charles Antoine Leviticus to investigate the strange occurrences.

Brother Charlie is a member of a disavowed group of clandestine exorcists known only as The Brotherhood—a sort of CIA for the Holy See. The Brotherhood’s soul purpose is to secretly investigate and extinguish international supernatural anomalies and prevent all Hell from breaking loose, often literally.

Before Charlie can get to the bottom of the unexplainable human explosions, he is redirected by holy decree to the rural town in the Deep South called Pearl Creek, Louisiana, where he must perform what he thinks will be a routine exorcism on a poor White kid in a run-down trailer park.

Lucy, the entity taking up residence in the child’s body, refuses to leave until Brother Charlie agrees to help her, or it, solve another mystery: A biblical plague of sentient snakes has infested the town of Pearl Creek, reminiscent of the malevolent serpent who tempted Eve in the garden.

How do the snakes tie in to the holy men and political leaders popping like bloody pimples across the globe?

Nothing is as it seems—including Lucy—and Brother Charlie is getting too old for this sh*t.

OLD SOUL is THE EXORCIST meets LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE in a darkly twisted whodunit with apocalyptic consequences.

Genres: Horror

254 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2026

Reviews

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old Soul is a rollicking ride through the swampy effluvia of deeply religious Louisiana. It's a unique mix of elements and certainly entertaining. I enjoyed Mr. Blanda's atmospheric focus (the swamp ended up becoming its own character) and the contrast between the two leads, Lucy and Charlie. Plus, the cover design is awesome. All in all, if you like possession-infused monotheistic mystery thrillers (with some enthusiastic gore thrown in), give it a shot. It's a relatively skinny story, which leaves some room to wonder how the world could've been expanded, but the no-frills approach makes it a lot easier to digest the plot. Pros and cons.

Here's area a couples samples of Blanda's writing style that I enjoyed:

"Careful as a cop serving a warrant on a crack house, Kern shouldered the butt of the rifle and swung the business end back and forth, covering his blind spots."

"In the next moment, everything revved back to life, as if the record needle of time-space had been dropped back onto the rotating vinyl of existence,"

[Tobe Sheldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars. I did not expect to laugh this hard at a book this drenched in blood. And I did not expect the laughing to make the blood land harder, but that's the sneaky machinery of Old Soul. The funnier it gets, the more the horror cuts, because you're too busy cackling to brace.

This is the beauty of horror-comedy when it hits. Blanda never deflates a scare to reach a punchline, and he never lets a punchline brake a scare. Both run at once, foot to the floor, and all you can do is strap in for the ride. By trade Blanda is a stand-up, and you can feel the timing in the sentence-level rhythm.

But it isn't all gore and laughs. The surprise is in the tenderness Blanda smuggles underneath the carnage, between Charlie an exorcist for the Vatican and Lucy a possessed little girl. The two of them carry something bruised and human between the detonations, on their mission to save the world.

Verdict: deliciously unique, uproariously funny, and so thoroughly gory you'll check your elbows. 4.5 Stars.

Thank you BookSirens. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Dillon Sessions · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Old Soul" reads like you shook some Tony Chachere's on C.K. McDonnell's "The Stranger Times" series. It is a quippy, and propulsive novel packed with wonderfully gratuitous violence, and characters you can't help but love. It is funny, it is violent, and it weaves together a series of mysteries that keep you itching to pick it up again.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had a lot of fun in reading this engaging occult mystery where a retired exorcist is called back to help a young girl in Louisiana. The case quickly becomes darker as strange deaths and supernatural signs appear. The mix of humour and tension works well and the story keeps a steady pace. A good choice if you enjoy eerie plots with a touch of irony.
Recommended.
Many thanks for this digital copy, all opinions are mine.

[ISlaySharks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Exorcism meets humor with a action packed plot. A comedy as well, like a priest and a possessed little girl named Lucy walked into Waffle House and it’s the end of the world with a twist at the end.

A pairing of an unlikely duo

Thank you Booksirens, I received an advance review copy for free, and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

[Trisha Reader of Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this book starts off with a pop! If you're looking for not only gore but plenty of thrills, look no further. The story is clever, original, and a refreshing change from the same old predictable plots. By pairing an unlikely duo, Old Soul delivers suspense, horror, heart and humor in an unforgettable, action packed plot. If you want something fresh and exciting, this book is definitely worth reading.

Thank you BookSirens for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.