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Red Dennis
A dark thriller novel
Dennis Fordham has it all: the wife, the kids, the established small business. And yet... he's slipping. Something's changing in his mindset. He's regretting all the chances that he never took. And he's getting a bad itch to visit illicit massage parlors. Even worse: he’s also starting to talk kind of funny. Only it's not a joke — his strange words terrify his dental hygienist, who tells his whole Northern California community that he harassed her. When Dennis tries to push back, he's met with intense resistance. Which is when his troubling thoughts turn into violent ones...
A story of red rage, red madness, and a bright red, all-American, hyper-masculine psycho, Red Dennis gives us a man on the edge, then invites us to follow him down into the abyss.
Dennis Fordham has it all: the wife, the kids, the established small business. And yet... he's slipping. Something's changing in his mindset. He's regretting all the chances that he never took. And he's getting a bad itch to visit illicit massage parlors. Even worse: he’s also starting to talk kind of funny. Only it's not a joke — his strange words terrify his dental hygienist, who tells his whole Northern California community that he harassed her. When Dennis tries to push back, he's met with intense resistance. Which is when his troubling thoughts turn into violent ones...
A story of red rage, red madness, and a bright red, all-American, hyper-masculine psycho, Red Dennis gives us a man on the edge, then invites us to follow him down into the abyss.
Kindle Edition
Published March 11, 2020
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5 people want to read
About the author
Eric Shapiro
27 books18 followersEric Shapiro is a writer and filmmaker. He wrote Macho, the forthcoming Randy Savage biopic produced by Artists for Artists, Midas Entertainment, and Range Media Partners, and Behind the Facade, a feature screenplay developed by Rebel Six Films. His films have screened at Fantasia and Fantastic Fest and streamed on Netflix and Hulu. A California Journalism Award winner, he is editor and co-owner of The Milpitas Beat.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 15, 2020
'WOW!..... Just... WOW!' That was my reaction after turning the last page of Red Dennis.
Dark, intense, chilling and scary as hell, this is one hell of a thriller. The first class goosebumps kind!
Not because of blood and gore, event though there is enough of that within it's pages. But because of that slow descent into madness that Dennis drags you into.
A story of red rage, red madness, and a bright red, all-American, hyper-masculine psycho, Red Dennis gives us a man on the edge, then invites us to follow him down into the abyss. In such an irresistible manner that you won't want to set the book down until you've reached the last page.
Dennis Fordham has it all: the wife, the kids, the established small business. And he is content with it all. Until he isn't!
When did his discontent begin? Dennis doesn't know it himself. Perhaps at his wedding, when he suddenly wondered if it might not be a good idea to grab each and every guest by the shirt, and one by one, pitch those fucks into the sea.
Or maybe later on, at a pancake breakfast, when he suddenly started to talk kind of funny and terrified his dental hygienist. Perhaps the moment he realized that everyone seemed to have more than he did? Or when he started feeling angry because he couldn't have his colleague, the hot Nina!
Whatever the reason, Dennis was slipping. And he knew it.
If he'd planned on wrecking himself, it wasn't conscious. But that's exactly what ole' pal Dennis did.
When he started getting that bad itch to visit illicit massage parlors, Dennis was already well on the way of getting screwed. But the moment everything goes down the drain is when he tried to make things right.
You know the old expression, “You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube”?
Well, I'm Red Dennis.
I was going to try.
Dennis looses it then. Stops being a man. Becomes testosterone. Or perhaps something more. And from here on we witness his direct descent into the abyss of madness, or perhaps fame. In an incredibly vivid and cinematic manner!
What makes Red Dennis truly incredible is that unsettling insight the author offers into a psycho's mind. Dark, violent and terrifying, especially because of WHERE the madness starts. Masterfully done!
This is a book about the #MeToo movement, gun violence, Nazis, and an embittered white male. It will show you in vivid strokes and powerful characterization, all that can go wrong with the human mind. And you're going to find it very difficult to set it down. I know I did!
If you love a good dark thriller, Red Dennis is a MUST READ!
It's a hell of a ride!
Evil... was pretty banal. Flat, regular, run-of-the-mill.
But real evil, I was coming to learn, had a notch more banality than even I'd suspected.
Real evil didn't even come within a million miles of knowing it was evil.
Find this review and more on my book review and cover art blog The Magic Book Corner
Dark, intense, chilling and scary as hell, this is one hell of a thriller. The first class goosebumps kind!
Not because of blood and gore, event though there is enough of that within it's pages. But because of that slow descent into madness that Dennis drags you into.
A story of red rage, red madness, and a bright red, all-American, hyper-masculine psycho, Red Dennis gives us a man on the edge, then invites us to follow him down into the abyss. In such an irresistible manner that you won't want to set the book down until you've reached the last page.
Dennis Fordham has it all: the wife, the kids, the established small business. And he is content with it all. Until he isn't!
When did his discontent begin? Dennis doesn't know it himself. Perhaps at his wedding, when he suddenly wondered if it might not be a good idea to grab each and every guest by the shirt, and one by one, pitch those fucks into the sea.
Or maybe later on, at a pancake breakfast, when he suddenly started to talk kind of funny and terrified his dental hygienist. Perhaps the moment he realized that everyone seemed to have more than he did? Or when he started feeling angry because he couldn't have his colleague, the hot Nina!
Whatever the reason, Dennis was slipping. And he knew it.
If he'd planned on wrecking himself, it wasn't conscious. But that's exactly what ole' pal Dennis did.
When he started getting that bad itch to visit illicit massage parlors, Dennis was already well on the way of getting screwed. But the moment everything goes down the drain is when he tried to make things right.
You know the old expression, “You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube”?
Well, I'm Red Dennis.
I was going to try.
Dennis looses it then. Stops being a man. Becomes testosterone. Or perhaps something more. And from here on we witness his direct descent into the abyss of madness, or perhaps fame. In an incredibly vivid and cinematic manner!
What makes Red Dennis truly incredible is that unsettling insight the author offers into a psycho's mind. Dark, violent and terrifying, especially because of WHERE the madness starts. Masterfully done!
This is a book about the #MeToo movement, gun violence, Nazis, and an embittered white male. It will show you in vivid strokes and powerful characterization, all that can go wrong with the human mind. And you're going to find it very difficult to set it down. I know I did!
If you love a good dark thriller, Red Dennis is a MUST READ!
It's a hell of a ride!
Evil... was pretty banal. Flat, regular, run-of-the-mill.
But real evil, I was coming to learn, had a notch more banality than even I'd suspected.
Real evil didn't even come within a million miles of knowing it was evil.
Find this review and more on my book review and cover art blog The Magic Book Corner
January 21, 2021
Other than following Shapiro on Facebook this is the first work of his I have read and I really enjoyed it.
The style was reminiscent of Salinger's Catcher in the Rye (which I am only halfway through) I'm not certain if its just the style or the theme that carry through here., but that is what it reminded me of.
Shapiro presents a truly claustraphobic mental slide into a white middle class man's descent out of acceptable society. I guess the horror of it lies in the fact of how many Dennis's do we know? Far too many. The grasp for relevance and the realisation that the world is no longer theirs on a platter for the taking. How easy it is to play politics against itself if only you dig a little deeper. I guess it is not so much horror as it is a very aware political/social commentary. I guess in this day and age the line between those is more blurred than ever.
It is probably the horror goon or Hollywood in me that wanted more of a bang at the end, or maybe I just feel a lack of satisfaction in Dennis's demise. I wanted justice, but Shapiro is too much of a realist to give me that. Humans truly are the worst kind of monsters.
The style was reminiscent of Salinger's Catcher in the Rye (which I am only halfway through) I'm not certain if its just the style or the theme that carry through here., but that is what it reminded me of.
Shapiro presents a truly claustraphobic mental slide into a white middle class man's descent out of acceptable society. I guess the horror of it lies in the fact of how many Dennis's do we know? Far too many. The grasp for relevance and the realisation that the world is no longer theirs on a platter for the taking. How easy it is to play politics against itself if only you dig a little deeper. I guess it is not so much horror as it is a very aware political/social commentary. I guess in this day and age the line between those is more blurred than ever.
It is probably the horror goon or Hollywood in me that wanted more of a bang at the end, or maybe I just feel a lack of satisfaction in Dennis's demise. I wanted justice, but Shapiro is too much of a realist to give me that. Humans truly are the worst kind of monsters.
December 21, 2020
The only really legitimate political arguments come from the "red side" of the political spectrum in this fantastic voyage of male oppression, "Red Dennis." Dennis Fordham has problems speaking to women, and the ones he does really hear are folks like his "best friend" Kenny's alcoholic mom, Candace. She's the mom of a Nazi. In fact, she's the only woman to visit him in the slammer, and she forgives him for something very heinous. However, things had gotten so intricately and pleasingly problematic by this point in the novel, that she sounded very sane. What made me love this book was that Red Dennis becomes the anti-hero everybody can love. Like past-president (is it over yet?) Donald Trump (the Orange Menace), Red Dennis is probably a narcissist and psychopath who "accidentally" wins. Who can't admire that? The author, Eric Shapiro, pulls that very difficult magic of creating an unreliable narrator who pulls you along nicely until butter turns to crap, and you wish you were out of that damned car! Five great, twinkly stars for this one.
July 20, 2020
An interesting story that is new and refreshing from other thrillers I have read. Just when you think you have figured out the angle of the plot it surprises you in a pleasant way. It is definitely the kind of book that creeps up on you when you least suspect it, becoming a frantic page turner to find out what happens next. It was very unique for a thriller, because I felt I could understand the characters actions because the narrative fully explains the main characters motivations through his actions and reflections. I also consider the text to have an excellent flow to it being a smooth reading experience. Overall, it was a wild ride packed with a wry humor and a sardonic outlook at American political culture.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews