The Possession by Michael Rutger

          Nolan Moore and his team of Ken, Molly and Pierre are very definitely back and still looking for general weirdness to feature in their You Tube series, The Anomaly Files.  Although a sequel, of sorts, this is really a separate novel with a recurring cast of characters so not having read the first one isn't a bar to reading this one.  The adventures of the first novel are alluded to but form no real part of this story so the only thing you have missed if you haven't read The Anomaly is some of the characterisation build up for the team - and, if you haven't read The Anomaly why not? get it NOW!

This time the team rock up in New England to investigate a series of bizarre dry stone walls that are an accepted part of the landscape but seem to have had no real practical purpose.  Scattered throughout the landscape they scale mountains and stop and start at random.  Yes, there could be a reasonable explanation for them but that isn't what Nolan does, he looks for the most outlandish reason possible.  Basing themselves in the small town of Birchlake matters are complicated by the presence of Nolan's separated wife, Kristy, and the disappearance of a 14 year old girl, Alaina Hixon.

Throw in bizarre weather conditions, things that move in the mist, strange noises and what seem to be apparitions and things go to the odd side very quickly.  The link of the story to the walls is tenuous initially but the author manages to retrieve it and make a solid connection both metaphorically and in the reality of his fiction (if that makes sense).  In fact, there is a quite good pyschological cautionary tale about the mental walls we build muddled in with the scares, the demons and the witches.

Somehow there is a lot happening but the action feels muted and the read is quite restrained rather than the breathless page turning I was expecting.  There are issues with the story that then get explained away by "the walls made us do it" or as almost out of body experiences but I can let that slide as the author does, on the whole, dig himself out of continuity holes effectively with these devices.  The plot does take quite a while to get going and for the first hundred or so pages I was dubious about this one but once it all settles down it is quite a decent romp.

Narrated by Nolan characterisation of the other protagonists is weak but forgiveable as for all his open-mindedness about "weird stuff" he really doesn't seem to understand people.  He is also quite the snark and there are some good dashes of sarcastic humour tossed in.

I was eagerly looking forward to Michael Rutger's second book after loving The Anomaly.  I did enjoy The Possession but it really isn't a patch on his first for suspense, action and just general all-out weirdness.  Overall I was just a little tiny bit disappointed in the book when compared to his first novel, still 4 Stars isn't a bad review by anyone's reckoning.

THIS IS AN HONEST REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED FROM READERS FIRST.