The Damage Done by Tony Tremblay
Haverhill House Publishing (July 2024)
Reviewed by Dave Simms
Old-school horror. It’s a term that’s tossed around lightly these days but many are unfamiliar with that entails (save for those who lived through the first golden age of paperbacks). What it truly means to many is a solid scary story with real people — just full bore ahead without stopping for subtleties, which is refreshing if the reader craves pure entertainment. There’s enough deep tomes in the dark realm to rip hearts and morals apart. Sometimes, a good story is just a good story.
Tony Tremblay knows how to spin a good — and great — story. The Damage Done is 100% great storytelling that makes the reader strap in, thrill ride style, and produces a smile that doesn’t let up until long after the final page.
Begun with The Moore House and continued with Do Not Weep For Me, The Damage Done stands alone yet connects to those previous stories through some returning characters. Yes, the ex-nuns return, thank God (blasphemy intended for those who know), the reprobate priest, and all the enjoyable dirty deeds that accompany them. It’s worth the price of admission just for them.
Yet the story itself is enticing on its own. Choi, a Korean teenager, holds a certain darkness within her. Her parents have instilled in her a control, one that’s necessary to keep hell on earth from being unleashed. Yes, it has echoes of Carrie, but Tremblay has created something all his own here. A sick prank leaves carnage behind and Choi in a coma, one which she might never recover from. However, Pandora’s box has been blown wide open. The local cop, Sheriff Pendleton, handles the small town of New Hampshire the way he should, and knows things lurk in the shadows that make New Hampshire resemble Stephen King’s Maine. His mission to solve the murders and to stop more from happening leads him to the occultish pawn shop, pairing Pendleton up with the owner, who make an enjoyable team. There’s so much to enjoy here in The Damage Done that shouldn’t be talked about, so keep eyes on the characters. both new and returning.
Tremblay draws people so well, and it’s apparent he is having the time of his life doing so. The ex-nuns. Oh boy. Enough said if one is new to the author.
Choi is fascinating herself, with an interesting backstory, that when combined with the other moving pieces, creates the literary equivalent of the best rollercoasters in the world. Fun, fast, frightening, but also living in the peaks and valleys that cause readers to ponder much more than what’s visible at first glance.
This one rocks and deserves the kudos it’s been receiving.
Recommended reading!
