Ethan Lewis is a precocious, blissful boy. He has wonderful parents who love him dearly. He looks forward to what they all expect to be a promising future. Then, on one fateful day, his life is turned upside down as tragedy strikes.
Twenty-two years later, Ethan is a fragment of the man his parents, or even he thought he would be. He lives in a run down apartment building. He spends his days doing little else but simply passing time in his dreary life.
Then, a string of savage murders take place around his apartment building, wreaking havoc in the neighborhood. Yet, for Ethan, something about this evil is all too familiar.
Given no other choice, Ethan has to look to the past and conquer his darkest fears to find the truth behind these brutal deaths, and try to save any semblance of the man he was meant to become.
Matt Wanicur was born in Philadelphia, PA on October 31, 1978 to his awe-inspiring parents Eileen and Jules. He started writing short stories at the age of eight. His first short story was an award winner titled "A Dog's Kiss". After that he spent years reading and honing his writing technique.
He has hundreds of favorite novels, and to name some of the most influential is difficult, but here it goes..."The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester, "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke, "At the Mountains of Madness" by H.P Lovecraft, "The Silence of the Lambs" by Thomas Harris, and "Demon Seed" by Dean Koontz.
After two years at Penn State University, he left to sharpen his skills at the New York Film Academy. There he learned the craft of screenwriting and directing.
Matt highly enjoys writing. He enjoys creating characters (mostly tortured ones) with problems that seem never-ending and insurmountable. Then getting lost in those worlds as he navigates them through all of the obstacles he sets in front of them.
He also enjoys his fur children he shares with his best friend Crystal. Midnight, Walter, Molly, Kiki, Boo, Oliver, and Elwin, just to name a few. They enjoy taking Walter and Molly for walks around the lake. He also enjoys jogging, often using that time to create new stories or work out where the current one is going in his head.
He is the author of the Born of the Night & Blood Harbor Book Series.
Thrilling read. Ethan's story - both his childhood events and how that shaped him as an adult was portrayed very realistically. Then came the mystery/horror. The twists and the turns in the story were so amazing that I just could not believe it. Finally, the end really stunned me. Loved the book.
Very edgy and riveting read! I am deeply impressed with this suspense thriller. Kept me up all night reading, even when I had work at 11 am. Can't say I didn't try to put the book down, but I couldn't stop turning the pages. Ethan Lewis takes you on a haunted thrill ride through his eerie and creepy life changing experiences. I seriously did not know what to expect next. The graphic, gory images that raced in and out of my head surely kept my heart a flutter. But the greatest twist about this novel is that it's not your everyday slasher book. It's intense, complex and really quite a mystery as you piece this bloody puzzle together towards the end.
Born of the Night was a pleasant surprise! I found the characters to be extremely well thought out and very realistic. The story was fast-paced and had a distinct tone and flow to it. I read on the author's bio that he started out as a screenwriter and that shows through his writing with an emphasis on action and dialogue, and it works extremely well (similar to James Patterson and Mark Frost in that way).
A taut sublime mystery thriller with complex and cerebral characters. Twists and turns that jump off the page and offer a feast of visuals that entice the reader with every turn of the page. Born of the night is an adult novel that engages the readers intelligence in a more than satisfying way.
This book was shock full of unexpected twists and turns. It's vividly written and the descriptions of Philadelphia are on point. I look forward to what comes next!
*This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*
Ethan’s childhood was pretty typical. He had two loving parents, he’s extremely intelligent, and he lived in a nice suburban neighborhood where nothing bad happens. He has a huge phobia of clowns though ever since he was watching a parade with his parents and a clown gave him a creepy look. Since then he can’t stand them and freaks out anytime he sees one. One night, he and his mom are at a carnival having a great time. He stops to use the restroom and in there he runs into a clown that starts to terrorize him. He freaks out and starts screaming, but before anyone can really help, the clown runs away before anyone else sees him, so no one believes what actually happened. A few weeks later tragedy strikes his family when someone wearing an all-black outfit with a clown mask breaks in and terrorizes his family, which leaves Ethan a shell of his former self. 22 years later and Ethan lives in a rundown apartment complex, working two days a week at a nursing home, not going out, not doing anything, not wanting to do anything. Tragedy strikes Ethan’s life again when people who live in his apartment complex are starting to get murdered by someone who wears an all-black outfit and a creepy clown mask. I thought I had figured out the twist pretty early on so I was kind of disappointed. While the twist was good I kept thinking “is that it? That was pretty easy to figure out.” However, the last 1/3 of the book brings so many shocking twists that I did not see coming. My jaw was on the floor the whole time I was reading because there were so many surprises one right after another. The twists and turns were so well executed and done in such a smart way. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who wants to read a creepy horror novel. It’s a perfect time to read this during the fall/Halloween era.
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I loved this book! I could not put it down. I gave it 4 stars because it was a bit slow to start, there were also grammatical and spelling errors that should have been picked up by the editor. BUT, once the story gets going it is a crazy nonstop thrill. It's a murder mystery that takes you on twists and turns and leaves you in the end looking forward to book 2! This is a page turner and it gets you thinking about the characters. At times becoming attached. Any book that makes you feel that way is a keeper.
Psychological thriller with a good story line. A bit choppy but lengthening the sentences would make it more readable. The ending leaves one hanging though it seems certain that a sequel is coming. Needs a good proof reader so that Spellcheck doesn't interfere ( breaks instead of brakes). All in all, a good read.
Lots of twists and genuinely scary at times, interesting take on split personality, and you get sucked into the book, which is a good thing. As another reviewer mentioned, another check over by an editor would've been helpful, for mainly this reason, I'd have to give less than 5, but still decent.
This was a complete surprise. Written in the present tense, it is a sublime, masterful and disturbing piece of work. I found it troubling at times, which at a time when there are an abundance of very average stories in this genre, I was gratified with twists and uncomfortable turns that result in a most worrying conclusion. Set in the city of Philadelphia, there is a 'film-noir' feel that doubles up as a homage to the city. There is a nod to many reputable authors of this genre, and there is an obvious echo of Stephen King within these pages. Matt is a fresh, exciting and talented author with an abundance to offer. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone with a passion for this genre.
Born of the Night is a mystery/thriller that reminded me of Red Dragon, with a dose of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's about a man, tormented by demons from his childhood. As he reaches adulthood, the bodies start to pile up around him, and he has to face a truth that he may not be ready to face.
It's a well-written story, very descriptive, and action heavy. The characters, specifically the main ones, really jumped off the page.
I look forward to the next continuation of the story!
This was the first horror book I have ever decided to read and I loved it. The author paints a great picture and knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat!
An exceptional horror/thriller/mystery. I was extremely impressed by the flow of the story and how the characters grew and developed. CANNOT wait for the sequel!
This is the story of Ethan. As a young child he finds his parents murdered. He sees the murderer, a clown. He had a debilitating fear of clowns before this happened. Fast forward to his young adult life. He is a sad young man. No friends, no social life, lives in a crummy apartment building. People around him start dying terrible, horrific deaths. Enter Cassie, the lead detective in this new string of murders. Her first lead case. Her and Ethan have a lot in common yet don't know it yet. Throughout this book I thought I knew who and what but there were many twists and turns that had me saying WHAT?!?! I can't wait to read the sequel!