Aah, my first RIP book, and it was a doozy! I’ve wanted to read Evans’ debut since reading his second book, The White Devil, back in the spring. To get the requisite comparison out of the way, I enjoyed The White Devil more, but that’s probably just because I was obsessed with Lord Byron when I read it, and so I appreciated the subject matter a little more. Subject matter aside, both of Evans’ books are solid horror novels that are creepy but not too creepy. That’s perfect for me, since I don’t like things too scary or bloody/graphic.

A Good and Happy Child is the story of George Davies in retrospect. In the past, he was a troubled eleven year old whose father had just died. In the present, he’s an adult whose marriage is falling apart because he can’t bring himself to touch his newborn child. He has repressed all the memories from his childhood, but they all start to come out as he works with a therapist to get over his fear of touching his son.

Just like in The White Devil, there are many, many facets to this book. It runs the gamut from schizophrenia to demon possession to murder, and leaves you unsure exactly which interpretation of the events is reality. While many of the events are dark, the book didn’t really get creepy for me until just after 200 pages, when something occurs that seemed almost calculated to terrify me personally. I won’t talk about the actual scene, but I will say that I read that particular chapter right before going to bed and I knew the moment I read it that I should have stopped on the previous chapter! I knew I would dream about it that night, and indeed, I did! Freaked me out!!

Without that scene, I’m not sure I would have enjoyed the book as much. It really sealed the “horror” label for me, the delightful creepiness that I really want in my RIP books. Because of that scene, A Good and Happy Child made the perfect opener for the season, and prepped me for lots of wonderful chills going forward through the next two months!