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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In Sentry by Justin Dec, after his father Doug dies, John Lawson returns to his hometown of Fall's Landing, Massachusetts, where he reunites with estranged brother George after twenty years. John had been treated for schizophrenia since childhood, when an apparition he calls the blue boy appeared after a head injury. Back home, the blue boy begins appearing again. While clearing out Doug’s house, John finds Sentry, the homemade comic he created about a superhero guardian who protected him from the frightening figures he saw. The drawings begin restoring memories John had buried for decades, including Cody Brooks, a neighboring child who disappeared years earlier. As clues inside Sentry point toward Cody, John begins to suspect the blue boy has returned to lead him to whatever happened to Cody three decades ago.
In Sentry, Justin Dec delivers excellent supernatural psychological horror, using John Lawson’s years of being doubted to make every encounter uncertain. The author develops John through the toll that disbelief has taken on him, then George’s guilt explains why he steps between his brother and danger. That relationship feeds spectacularly into scenes like the horror at a quarry. The supernatural elements aren't random, and each scare is tied to John’s family history. The pacing makes places dangerous throughout, like at Brooks’ Farm during a blizzard, when barking dogs disappear into snow before rifle shots split the storm. As fascinating as the mystery of Cody is, like the flavors of a wine, it is just one perfect tasting note in a fully matured bottle, and readers who want horror where every apparition points toward something larger should put this novel high on their list. Very highly recommended.
